Who is Nikolai Abraham Jackson?
Well, if I weren’t to say a washed up, burnt out, ex-hippy who had a severe drug and alcohol problem,….I would have to say I’m just a person.
Born October 2nd, 1989 in Aurora, CO to a set of beautiful parents. Russian-American Mother & African-American Father Vera Demidon & David Jackson.
My mother was born in Germany but her heritage hails from Belarus in Russia & all I know about my father is that he’s big, black and bald.
My parents were already divorced at the time of my birth so I would be considered a Bastard I suppose, and I guess at times in my life I have been quite the Bastard.
Nonetheless my mothers maiden name is Demidon. Her mother’s name was Nina, also the name of my oldest niece, and my Mother’s Father’s name was Iwan.
I knew my mothers parents very little, and know nothing about my fathers parents. Maybe that’s for another blog.
I was on a United States Army bus to Airborne School when I had heard the news of my Mother’s Mother passing. I was only 17 and she was my last living grandparent.
My mother had me at 46. I wasn’t the first or last. She had my youngest sister at 52 and the oldest sister at 19.
I have 2 more siblings, another sister and a brother making for the infamous Jackson 5.
I’ve had decent relationships with my siblings my whole life. Besides getting smothered with pillows until I thought I was going to die as a kid by older siblings, and the occasional family drama, things have been somewhat peaceful between us all.
I remember waking my brother up early as a kid on weekends and holidays I didn’t have school to play his Playstation.
GTA III and Final Fantasy VII, VIII, & IX were staples along with the memory I have of us 4 huddled around my older brother playing Super Mario Brothers and almost beating the whole darn game.
Another video game memory I have is of me saving over my brothers Final Fantasy VII game as he was in the very last stages of a very, very,…very long game, inside of crater at the finale of the game, with my brand new save slot, not understanding the damage I had done to the 80+ hours he had put into the game. Nonetheless he was serenely calm and shrugged it off with all the non-chalantness you could hope for in an older brother.
My mother raised me 99.9% of the time and did it with all the honor, dignity & class a lower/middle class single parent could. Working at the Aurora Police Station taking non-emergency calls for 35 years she saved every penny and still managed to make my life a living heaven.
She sent me to Black Forest Camp & Counseling Center with the little she had. She sent us all to camp because as she says she never got the chance to go to camp and wanted to make that dream a reality for us all.
This camp was the formative years for me becoming the Jesus Freak I became in early life.
Long before the war, before my loss of faith, and before my substance use, addiction & mental health problems.
I would spend my summers on high ropes courses, 20+ feet off the ground in the trees swinging from rope to rope, or balancing each foot on a separate rope. Ziplines, bible studies at High Vespers, campfires with acoustic guitar, and lots of fellowship with other young Jesus Freaks built a strong conviction of faith in my life.
I would Always come back from camp trying to make damn sure both my parents and all my siblings knew about Christ and had accepted him into their lives as their personal Lord and Savior.
Later in life my faith waivered as I got too old for camp, but I was led by the hand into a youth group at Colorado Community Church by a childhood best friend and rediscovered the fun of being a Jesus Freak.
We would take church funds and buy 100 McDoubles and go Downtown Denver Handing them out to the homeless, or missions trip to Mexico & LA.
In LA we were almost the victims of a drive by shooting but were able to huddle into a nearby school and got out unscathed.
In Mexico we helped build a church and ministered to people.
I helped run a worship group with the girl that brought me into the youth group, lighting candles & preparing lessons of the spirit for other kids.
I even got to deliver a sermon to the church once! I was told I would become a Pastor in later life.
Little did I know the wild twists and turns the Lord had waiting for me later in life.
That’s all for today,…thanks for reading and I will update this blog or start a new one tomorrow picking up where I left off.
Peace!
Nikolai A. Jackson
