A/N: I am not a professional writer and have never claimed to be. All standard disclaimers apply. Constructive criticism is welcome, flames are not. No likee no readee.

Now that that part's out of the way, a little explanation for this story: After writing 'The Legacy' I received several reviews where the readers said (in a variety of ways) that the story lacked emotion. This was a deliberate attempt on my part to relate the thoughts of a reasonable, logical adult recounting their memory of a childhood full of upheaval - after they had grown old enough to rationalize it, recover from it and recall it without pain. Apparently it was less than successful.

HOWEVER

I was recently contacted by one of my favorite writers (I leave out the name simply because I've neglected to ask permission to use it - you know who you are) and they suggested I revisit the story and retell it in a more immediate and in-depth manner. The idea intrigued me. I once read a story written in this particular style and loved it, so I thought I'd try my hand at it for this. I'm not stealing an idea, merely utilizing a novel method of telling a story. I hope I've done it justice. It's not necessary to read 'The Legacy' first as I've taken a few liberties here and this story doesn't strictly follow that one. It might, however, give the reader some idea of where this one came from.

That being said, this is uncharacteristically a WIP. It's currently at 9 chapters and growing daily (in-between course loads). I've had to remove the first bit because FF doesn't support Word formatting so strikethroughs don't show up and there's no workaround. Also I'll likely be posting two chapters at a time because the chapter breaks are in the most sensible spots but the chapters seem awfully small to me on here.

November 15, 1977

This is the first entry into the journal of Jimmy Reed Jr. Actually, it's the second entry but the first one doesn't count because I scratched it out. As soon as I wrote 'diary' I quit because diaries are for girls.

I wasn't going to write in this but I changed my mind because one, my Uncle Pete gave it to me for my birthday last week and two because he says if I write stuff down like I'm talking to someone it'll help. I don't know what it's supposed to help with but Uncle Pete is a smart guy and I love him so I'll do it. He also said "don't erase stuff" so I only scratched it out. I hope that's okay.

November 28, 1977

I wrote that first bit and then put the book away and forgot about it. I'll try to write something every week if I remember.

Since I can't think of anything I'll just write stuff about my family.

My full name is James Allan Reed, Jr. I am 8 and my birthday is November 8th. I was born in 1969. I have a brother named Michael Joseph Reed and he's 1. He was born in the summer but I forget what day. I'll have to ask my mom.

My mom's name is Jean Reed and she works at an office writing letters and talking on the phone. She doesn't work all the time because Mikey's little and she has to take care of him, plus she wants to be home by the time I'm off school.

My dad's name is James Allan Reed and I'm named after him. He's a police officer here in Los Angeles where we live. He used to live with us but him and Mom had a big fight and now he lives in an apartment. Me and Mikey spend every other weekend with him and sometimes my Uncle Pete, too.

Uncle Pete's real name is Peter Joseph Malloy. Dad says his middle name is the same as Mikey's because Uncle Pete is his best friend in the whole world. He's not really my uncle, though. Dad says he's my godfather which means that if I ever need a new dad, he's the guy who's supposed to do it. I don't know why I need a godfather but I love Uncle Pete so it's okay with me.

I guess I should also put Mikey's godfather in here. His name is Steve Price but he doesn't come over to our house. I saw him once when we went to the church for Mikey's christening (Mom helped me spell that) but I haven't seen him since. He sent Mikey a birthday card, though.

Oh and I also have a turtle named George. Dad got him for my birthday because I really, really wanted him even though Mom wasn't happy about it.

That's it I guess.

December 24, 1977

I forgot about this journal again. Stuff has been happening around here and I just remembered Uncle Pete told me to write in here when I needed someone to talk to.

Dad came over to spend Christmas Eve with us. He was really happy when he came in but Mom gave him a letter and now he's just pretending to be happy. I can tell because when I finished supper and went into the living room to open presents, him and Mom stayed in the kitchen talking soft and then when they came in Mom looked mad and Dad wasn't smiling. He almost always smiles around me and Mikey.

We usually have Christmas on Christmas day but Dad had to work so we did it early. Mom says we'll have Santa presents at Grandma and Grandpa's house tomorrow. I don't know if I believe in Santa anymore but we went to see him at the mall and I told him what I wanted for Christmas. I'll find out tomorrow if he's a big faker.

December 25, 1977

Santa Claus is a big fake. I don't believe in him anymore.