How did I get here? How did I get to this Job and career? Let's go back a bit.
Born on a Naval base - Here's me as a cute baby, Here's a picture(left top), one of the few that I treasure of my Dad, My brother was my best friend and constant companion. That's why I am so aggravated that he became such a bastard, and I was forced to disown him. My brother has (at last count) 9 or 10 children. I only lay any claim to the first four. My nieces are perfect - but the other ones, much like my father's children from his third or fourth wife, just are no family to me.
When I was eleven I was hit by a car in Temple Terrace, Florida. Got a concussion, (go ahead, make brain damage jokes here) and lost some teeth. I ended-up wearing braces for seven years. SO, with very thick braces (full bands, no cutesy plastic ones like they have now) very thick glasses, standard puberty awkward-ness, hand-me-down clothes - and that hair - I was such a lady-killer!
There are several people who along the way influenced me, and steered me down this path I am on. One of them was my Mother's brother, Uncle Tommy. Tommy was cool, he was a professional Magician, and kind of a big deal in Mobile and New Orleans - What's this? You can earn a living and have adventures by entertaining people? I even wore a handlebar mustache for a few years because of him.
I have some good news for all the geeks and nerds out there; There's hope! From what I have gathered from Riki and Jef, we were all total weenies in school. Jef was your typical drama-nerd; Riki seems to have been your standard puny geek - And me? I was the worst outcast, weirdo of us all.
I used to ride the bus to school, and I was such a fashion and social train wreck, that the kids on the bus called me "Space"? I was such a space case. Huge backpack, thick glasses, constantly reading some sci-fi novel or other - I talked to myself. Oh yeah, I was the worst. It's funny that, for a while, the name they gave me as an insult became my alter ego. I guess it's time to introduce the next really important person on my personal quest; June Casagrande. Sorry that this is the only picture I have of her. June was this big, big crush I had - My mother takes great pride in embarrassing me by telling folks about me crying on her bed, because I wanted to marry June so much (Hey I was 14! back-off!) Got to give mom credit though, this picture was taken in the Cayman Islands; My Mom took June on vacation with us. Again, GO Mom!
How did June change me, guide me? Well fore most she was the first real girl I ever talked to, I learned a lot from her. It's interesting to me to look back at the chain of events that created my destiny. If aRonn, June and brotherny one of them (good or bad) was missing I would be a completely different person, and I think that would be a tragedy indeed ---Remember, I really like who I became. So what was June's contribution?
Me and June
