Spirit Magazine - September 2013 - (Page 81)

“To me,” he says, “turning 30 represented becoming a true adult, a time when you’re supposed to be taking care of yourself. Well, I wasn’t taking care of myself because I always had a longing to be cared for by the one parent that never took care of me, which was my father. So when I turned 30, I went into a fairly deep depression, and a lot of feelings surfaced from when I was 5 and 6. I recognized that I felt abandoned by him.” Greg wrote a letter, which his father brings up twice in our conversations together—telling the story exactly the same way both times. “The letter said, I will never, ever, EVER see you or speak to you again in this life,” the senior Amos recalls. “But I knew I’d done nothing wrong. And I knew it would be just a matter of time before Greg came around.” Recounted over the phone, Wally’s words throw Greg into spasms of laughter. “My father will frequently say, ‘I’m not responsible for what happened in the past.’ Even 30 years ago, in his first book, he was saying a different Wally did X, Y, and Z. But I no longer expect my father to understand my feelings. At this point in my life I’ve made a conscious decision to talk to and spend as much time with him as I can. I’m at a stage where what is healthy for me is to voice my feelings as they arrive and not keep them in. At the moment, he seems to appreciate it. Whether or not it changes his m.o., I can’t tell you.” Greg, twice divorced, last saw his father in May. Greg’s brother Mike, a divorced father of three, keeps only a light touch with his dad. Sarah, Wally’s youngest, wasn’t comfortable talking to me for this story. But she and her father occasionally chat, and after nearly eight years at ABC News she has embraced family by partnering with her half-brother INDOOR KART RACING CORPORATE EVENTS • ARRIVE & DRIVE • PRIVATE PARTIES K1SPEED.com (855)-517-7333 AZ - PHOENIX, CA - CARLSBAD . IRVINE . ANAHEIM . TORRANCE . ONTARIO . SANTA CLARA SAN FRANCISCO . SACRAMENTO, FL - FT. LAUDERDALE, IL - BUFFALO GROVE . ADDISON TX - AUSTIN . HOUSTON . SAN ANTONIO . DALLAS, WA - SEATTLE http://www.texasdebrazil.com http://www.texasdebrazil.com http://www.K1SPEED.com http://www.K1SPEED.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Spirit Magazine - September 2013

Contents
Gary's Greeting
Gary's Greeting en Español
Star of the Month
Freedom Story
From the Editor
Your Words
Your Pictures
Media Center
Eat Drink Sleep
The Numbers
Business
Chomp, Chomp
"Are You Famous Amos?"
Health
Calendar
Fun!
Spotlight
Community Outreach
Products and Services
Flight Service
Terminal Maps
Information
Rapid Rewards Partners
Route Map
The "If" List

Spirit Magazine - September 2013