Eerily similar to the main character in the book, I was born in Dallas, Texas and my parents moved us to Fort Worth when I was a baby. We lived on the west side of town, until I started the 3rd grade and we moved to the near south side – Rockridge Terrace. Having the distinction as one of the first hippies in Fort Worth, I traveled extensively around the states, Canada and Mexico. One day I settled down, tried out a few colleges, but then went to work for my father’s business and became a successful typography craftsman. Fort Worth Linotyping Co. was the premiere typesetting company in the Southwest – second to none. There wasn’t another type house that could touch our quality but sadly we suffered the same fate as the horse drawn buggy upon the advent of the automobile – the Apple Mac arrived on the scene. My chosen profession disappeared with the invention of the very computer I now write my manuscripts on – the Apple iMac.
Along the way, I was fortunate enough to have four wonderful children who have grown up to be incredible adults. With five grandchildren, I am a lucky man.
When LINO closed its doors, I moved to the Midwest and for a few years worked as a Print Production Manager for two very different Advertising Agencies. In 2001, several employees, including myself, were shown the door. I tried different jobs: I delivered Schwan’s products; I worked three months at Sam’s Club in the Marketing & Advertising Department; I spent a year working for the best employer ever (my sister, Patti), creating computer generated product pics of the AWACS. When the military contract ended, I was out of a job, again. My mother-in-law in Topeka, a wonderful woman by the name of Laura Anderson, was a loan officer for Super Chief Credit Union. She told me I should be a banker. So, I became a banker. In a year I was a branch manager for one of the largest banks in the United States, but I left and went to work for Capitol Federal Savings.
I retired early and as I went through some personal paperwork at home, I found a handwritten manuscript I had penned when attending college. It was dreadful. I knew I could do better, so I took a long forgotten, pot-induced comment from my friend John Shirkey and turned it into a book.
My book would not have been possible without the help of some incredible people who read the first chapter or so and gave me great feedback: My daughter, Cherri: my sons, Che, Dustin and Jordan: my sister, Julie: my sister-in-law, Sadie: my friends, Randy Wills, Barry Goldblatt, Bruce Horn and my best friend, Ron Gabioud.