Embedded Files
1961 Graduation Photo
Boy oh boy, did I have hair back then. It was a true, towering Pompadour, and if you saw the back, it was a perfect 'DA' (Duck's Ass)—exactly like Danny Zuko in Grease. We were the 'Hoods' of the 1950s, a group of guys who lived by one rule: never wear anything that would mess up the hair. I would have skipped baseball entirely if I could, simply because a ball cap was the enemy of my style.
Looking back, the 'Lucky Generation' wasn't always a smooth ride. Some of the friends I grew up with were forgettable, pulling me toward all the wrong directions. I started smoking when I was 13; why not, all my friends did. Others were good for my soul, but for a hundred wrong reasons, we drifted apart. It's a sad reality of that era—we didn't have the 'Invisible Tools' we have today. We didn't have smartphones to bridge the miles or social media to keep the flame of friendship alive. Once you walked away from those Chicago streets, you often walked away for good. What's Next?
Typing Class and the QWERTY Connection
In my senior year, I had an elective class to take, so I decided that the best thing for me was to be where the girls were: in typing class. Taking that class would allow me to speak their language. It worked; I met a gal named Donna, who was a sophomore. She was the Homecoming Queen and hot.
Maybe you need to check the photo, it was generated by Ace with his wonderful AI tools.
What's Next?
Ribbon Writer
Today, I have a totally different use for typing, and writing this book. Without the invention of the typewriter, and all the other critical inventions, like the keyboard and touchpad, we would not have smartphones or pads that are so easy to use.
This kind of early typewriter had a ribbon that the keys would strike to make a print on the paper. Great, but making mistakes meant you had to start all over or use a product called whiteout to cover the error, and then you could put the right letter over it.
QWERTY
They say some systems never change, but the tools we use to master them certainly do. Sixty-four years after that typing class, the mechanical 'strike' is gone, replaced by a Bluetooth keyboard that links invisibly to my MacBook Air, iMac, iPad, or iPhone, using QWERTY on all of them. My workspace is a high-tech 'Command Center.' I have a massive 36-inch monitor at my desk that lets me see the entire 'Streets of Chicago' journey in high definition. But I'm still a mobile operative, talking to the computer and watching it type my voice into the computer, and onto my book. QWERTY will soon be retired in the near future. When I'm traveling to see family in Washington, I can go 'Portable Mode' and use the built-in screen. Technology has finally caught up to the 'Chicago Rebel'—giving me the power of a boardroom anywhere I choose to sit.
The name comes from the order of the first six keys on the top left letter row of the keyboard (Q W E R T Y). The QWERTY design is based on a layout created for the Sholes and Glidden typewriter and sold to E. Remington and Sons in 1873. It became popular with the success of the Remington No. 2 of 1878 and remains in widespread use.
What's Next?
Work, College, Trade School or Military?
1961: Finding Direction
1961: Finding Direction
I graduated from high school in 1961. Back then, I was smart enough to do the bare minimum amount of schoolwork required so I could have the maximum amount of fun. I got good grades, but I never seriously thought about college. I was just going through the motions, floating along with no real interest in sports or academics. I didn't have the financial ability or a scholarship to go to college, and looking back, that definitely had an impact on my path. To get to the upper echelons of management in a major corporation, you usually needed that college degree. I don't even remember knowing anything about trade schools back then, so that wasn't an option either. So there I was: working a job that wasn't filling my bucket, with no degree, no trade, and no real plan.
Choices
I didn’t have the financial ability or a scholarship to go to college, and looking back, that definitely had an impact on my path. For a long time, I felt it limited my ability to advance. To get to the upper echelons of management in a major corporation, you usually needed that college degree. I don’t even remember knowing anything about trade schools back then, so that wasn’t an option either. So there I was: working a job that wasn't filling my bucket, with no degree, no trade, and no real plan.
Discipline
Realizing I needed a drastic change, I joined the United States Marine Corps at eighteen years old. I went in as a kid with a sketchy history, zero direction, minimal respect for authority, and a cocky attitude. But after serving exactly two years, nine months, and thirteen days in the Marine Corps, my attitude was permanently elevated. The Corps stripped away the cocky kid and replaced him with a man who understood respect, honor, and a lifelong sense of discipline.
No need to type today.
They say some systems never change, but the tools we use to master them certainly do. Sixty-four years after that typing class, the mechanical 'strike' is gone, replaced by a Bluetooth keyboard that links invisibly to my MacBook Air, iMac, iPad, or iPhone, QWERTY on all of them.
My workspace is a high-tech 'Command Center.' I have a massive 36-inch monitor at my desk that lets me see the entire 'Streets of Chicago' journey in high definition. But I’m still a mobile operative, talking to the computer and watching it type my voice into the computer, and onto my book. QWERTY will soon be retired in the near future. When I’m traveling to see family in Washington, I can go 'Portable Mode' and use the built-in screen. Technology has finally caught up to the 'Chicago Rebel'—giving me the power of a boardroom anywhere I choose to sit. What's Next?
Sandy's Donuts
Sandy's Donuts
During the summer of 1961, I started working with my dad, driving a van and delivering bakery goods. Dad wanted to make extra money, to get ahead so to speak, so he took a part time job on weekends at a bakery. He was hired to deliver bakery goods to businesses for them to sell. He needed to get up at 3am to get to the bakery early enough to deliver the fresh, hot yummies. Months went by and then he asked if he could establish a home delivery, after the business deliveries. That business grew fast, he bought a Ford econoline van and set up racks for the product.
When I graduated high school he asked me to join him. I agreed and he bought a second van for me to start a second route, soon he needed another driver. I built my route quickly but hated getting up at 3am, seven days a week. While I genuinely enjoyed the selling aspect of the job, I still wasn't thinking about my long-term future. I didn't think of it as a career—I was just trying to help him out.
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