After about a year living in the ghetto section of Rockford Illinois I had become a bit less inclined to do much of anything. This remained true through several moves of residence including a few foster homes. At the age of 15 my aunt and uncle in Wisconsin agreed to take in and raise my youngest brother and I. My uncle owned his own business, a huge house, and even had two cars. In our eyes he was rich. (Actually middle class)

I can never thank them enough for their efforts and sacrifices made for my brother and I. If it were not for them I probably would have kept on a road to either crime or, at minimum, sub middle class mediocrity. Bob and Shirley Austin, from Black River Falls, WI, along with their Daughter Angela where the prime motivators for my life turn around.
(Thank you, thank you, thank you)

That winter I learned how hard it was to farm Christmas trees. At $1.35/hr the work was tough but paid for my models and .22 ammo.

That summer was another great experience that helped formulate my future work ethics. I was allowed to participate in a program called The Youth Conservation Core. (YCC) I lived in a dorm room (shared with another young man) at Ashland College. Each morning we would get up before the sun, make our bag lunches, and head out into the woods to work as conservationists. We pruned the large planted stands of pine trees, cut down the Aspen and other, faster growing, trees that competed with our smaller stands, built foot bridges, trails, and even a small dam.

The teachers that led us were nothing short of amazing. Not only did they seem to know everything about the "wild lands", but they had the patience and perseverence to teach a large group of teenagers about themselves. At the end of the summer I cleared about $700. (More money than I had ever seen)

That winter I worked part time with my uncle learning a bit about electrical work and how to "rough in" houses. It was not all that interesting at the time as my mind was generally on either girls or fishing. I now wish I would have paid more attention to what he was trying to teach me as it would have saved me alot of time and money in later years.

Speaking of regrets...That summer I took one of the two jobs that I still regret. I agreed to paint my uncles house for $300. (A huge sum) I won't go into it but I will say it was probably my worst performance of any job before or since. If I where to be allowed to go back in time this is one place I would have made sure to go back and do a better job.

My next job was the "normal kids' job". I worked as a stock boy at the local IGA food store. I kept that job through my senior year of highschool where I made another life-changing decision. I decided to join the Air Force.

In the military service I finally learned the meaning of teamwork. Football, basketball, baseball...they all stress teamwork but the concept just doesn't sink in until you realize your success, and possibly your life depend on it.

I spent eight years in the Air Force as a Security Specialist. From standing in front of an open hanger in the German winters to being responsible for securing dozens of missile silos in North Dakota to getting 128 men into defensive positions around cruise missles in Belguim. Looking back it was a great ride:)