That is an awesome story. It is awesome you got some help when (it sounds like to me) you needed it the most. From an Angel unaware.

I was very much in the same boat you were in as a child, however I lost my Dad then my grandpa. My Grandma set up a family friend to bring his brand new Corvette over to her house, and he gave me a ride, (and I mean a "Street Outlaw's) kinda ride in his convertible covette... I was so happy in that vette watching him drive the roar of the engines.... I have always called him my Knight in a Shinny Corvette. I look back on that, and it was a huge help for me to grow up. My grandma also set me up with one of her friends who was a WWII pilot when I was 13.... She thought this WWII Ace would make me feel better too. More on that later, but one of the scarriest things I have ever done, lol...