After one year at St. Pete JC, I enlisted in the Army and became an Air Traffic Controller. I was stationed one year in Korea and one year in Savannah, GA. After I was discharged I was hired by the FAA as a Controller. I first worked from 1974-1977 at St. Pete-Clearwater Airport Control Tower. Then transferred from 1977-1981 at Pensacola Approach Control. In 1981 I was one of the 12,000 striking controllers fired by Ronald Reagan. I moved to Savannah, Georgia and decided I rather be self-employed so I opened a record store near the army base Ft. Stewart, GA. After several successful years the Desert Storm conflict caused most of our customer base to be deployed for over a year and at a time when technology made it necessary for us to expand into CD's. In addition our shopping center was anchored by a K-Mart, and a Walmart opened a block away, so with all these factors in mind, we did not renew our lease in 1989. I moved to Spring Hill, Florida and tried my hand at selling real estate. Later that year I visited my relatives in Baltimore, MD and decided to stay in Maryland. I married a Baltimore girl and began working as a dispatcher for a messenger company. In 1994 I opened a mail order import CD business and in 2000 expanded with an online website. I retired in 2005. Later I discovered the retirement community The Villages after visiting, we sold our home in Maryland and my wife and I moved to The Villages fulltime in 2011.

My parents moved from Baltimore to St. Petersburg in 1959. I grew up on the southside near Bartlett Park and I first attended Roser Park Elementary in the 4th grade. I believe it's now the site of a hospital parking lot. At that time it was a one class per grade school for each of the first six grades. No air conditoning, wood floors and a asphalt playground. In 7th grade I went to Southside Jr. High School on 10th Street and 17th Ave South. High school came next, 9th street was the dividing line between Gibbs and and SPHS and I lived on 7th St South, so I made it. From Bartlett Park to Central Ave there was only about 10 of us going to SPHS and we all knew each other from riding the bus to school. About 5 of us became good friends and would ride our bikes all over downtown St. Pete. We would go to Al Lang Field during spring training and get autographs, Webb City, Maas Bros, the Pier, Sone's Magic Shop was a favorite stop. We once made a soap box cart and raced it down Roser Park Hill, there was some advantages to living near the city. At the end of 10th grade my parents moved near Northwest Park and I was told to go to Dixie Hollins, or I could continue at SPHS if I had my own transportation. I got a car and I stayed at St. Pete High for my last two years. What was unusual about living in the northwest area was there were so many young people. I was used to seeing so many seniors on the southside as neighbors. Everyone I met went to Dixie Hollins. Most were pretty nice and I hung out with several of them on nights and weekends. We had a hangout called 83rd, it was 83rd Ave east of 4th St North. Some canal lots were dredged in with seawalls but yet no homes had been built. It made a great place to hang and have an occasional beer until one night St. Pete's finest found us. At SPHS a few of us weren't into the cafeteria or the roach-coach offerings so we would find a way to sneak up to Steak & Shake. It was easy. put your books under your arm and walk out like you know what you're doing, going to a job if somebody asks, never got caught. If my yearbook photo looks bad, I know it is bad. I was a late bloomer, I believe when I graduated I was 5'7 115 pounds. I remember coach wanted me to go out for the wrestling team, he didn't have anybody in the 125 group and in phys-ed I beat everybody he put me up against. Anyway, wrestling wasn't my thing. I grew up quite a bit in basic training, I gained 35 pounds when most of the guys were dropping weight. Today, I'm 5.9: 155 pounds and go to the gym 3 days a week.