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By the time I was 5 years old, it was determined that I needed surgery to correct the congenital defect. This was no small feat in 1976...a miracle was needed, and we got one. A few weeks before my 5th birthday, open-heart surgery was performed. I recovered quicker than normal, running around chasing girls (no lie!) just a couple of days later.
This was the first of a series of "miracles" that shape my belief that I was put on this earth to accomplish something special. I don't think it was coincidental that while other children who had the same condition didn't make it, I did. It was a combination of excellent doctors and the power of prayer...or at least the collective force of will of the people who loved me.
I spent the first 11 years of my life in Delphi, Indiana until my father, Michael Griffey Sr., a prominent photographer, got a job working in Louisiana. For two years, we lived in the New Orleans area, and my parents eventually created a thriving newspaper, "La Prensa U.S.A.".
Always laughing and smiling, I found humor in the simple and the subtle. I loved the Three Stooges, Jerry Lewis, and The Wizard of Oz. I read every book I could get my hands on, eventually enjoying the thrill of Edgar Allen Poe, Alfred Hitchcock and Stephen King.
Never one for mincing words, my father eventually raised the ire of the corrupt city police with his scathing editorials and expose's. They cornered him and my mother one night and taught us how the N.O.P.D. takes care of people who tell the truth too loudly. Tired of big city life, we moved back to Delphi, Indiana when I was 13, where I lived until I was 19.
During that time, my parents began a local newspaper, "The Journal". I learned everything about that business, from layout to typesetting...from mind to press. I wrote a weekly opinion and teen interest column. I eventually joined the wrestling team in junior high, and that continued through high school. In High School I played chess, learned french, enjoyed etymology and the idyllic life of a small town boy. I tried my hand at writing a novel, wanting to emulate Stephen King and Clive Barker, but all I excelled at were short stories. I wasn't one of the "popular" kids, but the friends I had were the best of the best. I spent a lot of my older teenage years trying to start a band with some of these friends. We had a lot of fun, but once we got old enough to drive all we really did was hang out on the courthouse square, race cars, and chase girls and more importantly, we laughed. The phrase is overused, but it really was the best times of our lives.
When I was 19, my parents' marriage ended. My mother moved to San Francisco, and my father roamed around Central America, a region he loved since his military days. In turmoil, my first wife Kelly and I roamed about Texas and California. The young marriage couldn't hold under the pressures of real life and her parents who disliked me. We split up in early 1992, and I continued on the streets, roaming the country homeless until I ended up back in Lafayette, Indiana.
I met the woman who would become my second wife, Sally, in December of 1992. I credit her with saving my life; saving me from despair. After a stormy courtship, we eventually moved in together in 1994 and married in 1996, eventually separating in 2002. It wasn't anyone's fault. We carried each other as far as we could go. Our amicable divorce was finalized on May 1, 2006.
My work experiences have taught me the value of hard work. I have worn many hats: Dishwasher, Grill Cook, Grave Digger, Columnist, Typesetter, Webmaster, Musician, Photographer, Salesman, Writer, Truck Driver...to name a very few.
I currently live with my life partner, Missy, in rural Attica, Indiana where we are planning our last wedding. They say three times is the charm, and I wouldn't have given up my past for anything. It has made me who I am today.
