Sparklers are the appetizer to the 4th of July’s main meal—fireworks.

My brother, sister and I weren’t allowed to wave sparklers.

This is the third of four chapters from Steven V. LeShay’s semi-fictional autobiography, “Tales from An Asylum: A Memoir Unlike Any Other.”

When my dad, The Hon. Thomas S. DeLay, passed away on July 30, 2012, I was given the task of writing his obituary.

Mom handed me instructions from the newspaper with a list of rules no self-respecting obit should be without.

“Asylum” is a metaphor for my creative-writing mind – as a voluntary patient in a mental asylum.
There are 12 other creative personae who tell stories from 100 years of playing the “Game of Life,” from 1943 to 2043.

Sandy and I envisioned a normal wedding when we set the date on 8/8/70.

However, it was not to be. Our difference of religion caused havoc in trying to please both of our families.