After awhile, the air travel that I had to make became wearisome. Immediately after 9/11 the security regulations seemed to change by the hour. What was okay in Portland wasn't accepted in Denver and vice versa. I just kept my head down and accepted it all, although the sheer foolishness of so much of it made me grit my teeth. Air travel was a big part of my job and it was quickly becoming more of an irritant than I could take. I soon dreaded seeing the big blue van, the airport shuttle, pull up in front of our house on Monday mornings to pick me up. And then the check-in at some mediocre hotel where you never knew how you would be treated. That hotel was home for a week...sigh. Then there was the boredom of the lessons and the reluctance of the students to embrace technology. I would have fired 90% of them right then if I had the power.
Finally, I saw that I could not continue doing this if I wanted to keep my sanity. I declared that I wanted to retire. Laurae and I talked about it first and looked at our resources. Then I went to my boss and told him of my plans. I would retire at the end of the year, 2004. He said he was sorry to see me go but that he understood.
Before that date arrived, we had a group meeting held in Las Vegas with our wives included. That time turned into a retirement party for me and was much appreciated. Then there was one more trip to Kansas City for the annual Christmas party, where I spent some time saying goodbye to my fellow workers. A flight home and I was retired.
It was a pretty good run for a guy who started washing dishes in a Chinese restaurant. I followed that with liquor delivery boy and gas station attendant. Then it was the Navy followed by a job driving a forklift in a warehouse. Lucky me; a neighbor asked me to become a carpenter apprentice in the newly created drywall trade. He also wanted to teach me to be an estimator. I accepted. What a break! I was soon a foreman; even while still an apprentice. I worked piecework jobs where I learned to be fast and commercial construction where I learned to be clever. Commercial drywall and steel framing was just beginning and I was on the ground floor of a great opportunity. Through the years I became a foreman, superintendent, project manager, estimator and even a contractor. After leaving Nevada and beginning a new career with PCI, I was 'lucky' enough to be there for the introduction of technology into construction. I became the local 'go to guy' if you had computer problems. I was noticed and soon I was instructing others on how to use their computers. I got to work on software development and programming. I was moved to the Strategic Development department where creative thinking was encouraged. And then came the grind of flying, hotel rooms and recalcitrant students. It was over.
After all of that, I can say that my happiest days were the ones where I was working with my tools. Where every day I created something. I left a little part of myself in every building I worked on. Those were wonderful days!
this link will take you to the beginning of this chronicle.
