For some reason, my mom and dad called me Gary all my life, so a little bit different in school. But I was born January 11th, 1954, here in Higgins Hospital. I only weighed three pound and six ounces.

So after I was born, there was two foot of snow on the ground. So they packed me in a little aluminum box with two little windows, packed quilts and hot bottles around me, and sent me on to Asheville.

My daddy ran in the ditch line out Ball Creek. And after we got out of the ditch, from what I’m told, is Highway Patrol broke the road for Daddy on the way to Asheville, and that’s where I ended up for about ten days or so till I got big enough to come back home.

That’s a pretty good story.