The Lassiter Family Chapter 1 My Novel Becomes a Game

John David Lassiter II was a business entrepreneur who came from a wealthy, pedigreed family in Atlanta. He already had millions when he arrived in Pleasantview from Lake Norman, North Carolina. Melora was a former hairstylist from a middle class family in Michigan when she met John in NC. She gave up her hair designing career as well as a part-time job singing with a country band when she married John. She hoped to have children and since they had plenty of money she didn't try to get another job when they moved to Pleasantview.

John switched careers and entered the journalism field, becoming a media magnet before retiring early to write what he hoped would be a best-selling novel. It was an immense critical and monetary success. In fact, he had 5 best sellers over a 6 year period. Soon after moving, Melora gave birth to their daughter Grace Elaine, named after her two grandmothers. A year later Melora delivered a son, David Glenn, David after his father's middle name and Glenn after Glenn Caswell, John's closest friend.

David Lassiter Chapter 1 "I Am Born":

After David was born, Melora was still a stay at home mom, but she kept herself busy cooking, making pottery and painting and became a Master at sewing. When Grace and David were going on 16 and 15, respectively, Melora gave birth to the twins, Trey (John David Lassiter III) and Lori (Melora Leigh, Jr.). It was rather late in life for Melora to become pregnant, but she and John were thrilled to have the twins.

John Lassiter

Melora Lassiter

Grace Lassiter

David Lassiter

The twins: Trey and Lori
 

From the beginning John and Melora were so crazy about Pleasantview they talked a few of their friends into moving there, too: the Candeloros, the Brechts, Glenn Caswell, and the Lomax family.

The Lassiters were one of the first couples to buy in Pleasantview and were able to snap up a plum location with an ocean view.

Melora was very artistic and loved crafts like painting, making pottery, sewing, etc. Her biggest talent was cooking and John had encouraged her to pursue her idea of a culinary career once the twins were in out of diapers. So when Trey and Lori were three and in pre-school, Melora decided to try for her dream of a career in the culinary field. She excelled, eventually have her own cooking show on TV.

However; she began to notice how little Lori and Trey ran to greet her, clinging to her when she came home from work every night and wouldn't let her out of their sight. Eventually she could see that they missed her and really wanted her home. She gave up her job as chef, because after all, she'd wanted what was best for them. Even though the twins were barely 6, children always grow up too soon. Melora was a stay at home mom once more.

John preferred fishing, rebuilding cars and writing. He had a number of best-selling novels under his belt now and even had published a cook book on grilling fish. He liked best to write mysteries with an occasional suspense story and these suspense novels he laced with science fiction. His first novel was titled "I Like Dreamin'". It was really (like most author's) an autobiographical story of his life and how he met and fell in love with Melora. His second one was a variation on that them and called "Jazz Club Girl". They both did very well and enabled him to get more books published.

A couple shots of Grace, a very popular teenage girl (kissing bug):

Grace gave Alexander Goth his first kiss. (She did this happy task for a number of neighborhood boys...)

Grace, bored, impatient and unimpressed as her beau sparred with her brother in fun

Giving Brian Ottomas HIS first kiss...

The twins always brought friends home from school with them. Here Lori played Mary Mack with Lucy Burb.

Here Trey was playing with Jeannie.

The twins having grilled cheese sandwiches with Andy Lomax after swimming and fishing.

Grace and David wanted to have a little more freedom, especially David, and they talked with their mother about it over supper one night. She promised to discuss it with John.  They were starting college now; certainly they really did need to have the rules adjusted.

Lori and Trey playing with Damon Ottomas and Harvey Ferguson 

Grace and David were nearly finished with college. The serious, but artistic Grace thought she wanted to go on to med school. John and Melora encouraged her to pursue her goals and told her they would pay for medical school and all related costs. She could stay at home if she wished or they would help her get an apartment nearer to school. Grace said she would remain at home at least for now. David now wanted to get on the police force the minute he had his degree. His parents were relieved that, at least, he intended to finish his education. It would surely be a help to him in law enforcement as well as any other career.


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