Schooling
Elementary and Middle schools were normal enough with the exception of my parents getting divorced when I was 10. A year or two after moving to Florida my father got a job in St. Louis. We (mom and me) were supposed to move up shortly after. But, a year passed and we were still in St. Pete. I could see my parents drifting apart, but I have no idea why we never followed. For years it didn't seem all that strange, but when I look back now, I realize what a profound affect it had on me. I remember crying my self to sleep many a night, missing my father. Yes, I know that sounds sad and sappy but what 'A&E' life story would be complete without a few speed bumps.
By the time I reached High school, I had stopped regularly playing Dungeons and Dragons and was growing out of my scrawny, geeky stage. Something I compensated for by being quite the class clown. (Go figure!) As a matter of fact, I grew about 3 inches that summer. It was painful but very useful my freshman year when confronted by the same 'short' bullies that terrorized me in previous years. But I still considered myself a geek, because my biggest love was computers. I excelled in computer programming and computer graphics and animation. I believe the year was 1982 and I remember my computer science teacher walking in on me working on a graphic project and saying, 'Gee, that's nice, but what are you gonna do with that ability. I mean what use is there for a guy that can make pictures with his computer.-Â Well thanks for the push in the right direction! We all know there's no use for computer animation now-a-days.
All through high school I buried myself in extra-curricular activities. By my senior year I was president of my thespian troupe, on the yearbook and newspaper staff, as well as the competition choir. I had actually been singing in choirs since I was 9 or 10. I started doing mime while in high school as well. I'm not particularly proud of that now but at the time it seemed cool. As a matter of fact, I got a superior rating in one of my competitions. Heck, I even taught latchkey kids (mime) for a while. I graduated in 1984 after 4 years of winning awards and turning a little geeky kid into a very well known and respected name around our school. Don't get me wrong! While I was so deeply involved in all these activities, I was getting extremely average grades. Believe me, I was no valedictorian.
Thus ended my high school career
