Gettysburg Address

Benjamin had to memorize the “Gettysburg Address” for a class last week and it amazed me how much I remembered, having memorized it for a class of mine over forty years ago.

In sixth grade, I had one teacher I’ll never forget. Mr. Copeland. He was an amazing teacher, one that made a large impact on my life. There are a lot of things I could write about him, like the math puzzles he got us to do in our heads or him making you wear a big pink ribbon tied around your waist if you didn’t wear a belt, but this is about the “Gettysburg Address”.

Mr. Copeland announced one week that he was going to run a contest, a poetry contest, for anyone who wanted to participate. You didn’t have to, but there was going to be a reward for the first person to memorize six pieces of poetry. He told us the first five and I only remember the first couple of those: “The Children’s Hour” by Longfellow and “Concord Hymn” by Emerson. He said he would tell you the sixth poem after you had completed those five.

This was irresistible for me. I worked very hard to memorize everything because I sure wanted that reward. After finishing the five, Mr. Copeland told me the sixth was the “Gettysburg Address”.

I don’t remember anything about that. It’s not like he told me what it was and I was scared or concerned or whatever. I think I just went home and started working on it. I do remember being nervous and not being able to get through it all when I first tried to recite it for him, but I think that was because it was for the reward. I did get it correct the second time and won the prize; a book of poetry. More to the point, it was One Hundred and One Famous Poems, compiled by Roy J. Cook.

I was disappointed.

I’m not sure what I thought the reward would be, but a book of poetry never crossed my mind. I mean, what was a boy in sixth grade going to do with a book of poetry?

Fortunately, I never got rid of it. I guess I stuffed it into my stacks of books and forgot about it. Maybe I kept it because of what Mr. Copeland had written in the front of it:

Andrew Shepard, 1966

For excellence in literature

To see young minds expand and grow makes teaching the most exciting and rewarding of occupations.

Continue to strive for excellence and thereby avoid mediocrity.

The world today is full of the latter and crying like a voice in the wilderness for people who are willing to exert the extra effort that produces excellence.

Each honest calling each walk of life has its own elite, its own aristocracy based on excellence of performance.

My best wishes as you continue to strive for excellence in all your endeavors.

J. Reed Copeland.

I still have the book. The dust jacket is long gone and it’s somewhat battered and stained, but it’s still here. It’s my favorite book. I still read it occasionally and think about everything he did for me.

Woolly mammoths

There have been quite a few news stories in the last week about the possibility of cloning a woolly mammoth. Scientists in Russia supposedly discovered a complete DNA strand for the animal and scientists in Japan think they’ll have a clone done in the next five years.

I thought Benjamin, being the big elephant fan that he is, would find the news interesting, but he was actually upset by it. He had a number of concerns about the whole process:

• The mammoth went extinct around 10,000 years ago. Is it even possible for it to exist in the modern day?
• This mammoth won’t be allowed to run free. It will be kept and studied by scientists. This is cruel for any wild animal.
• Elephants are very social creatures. We know they don’t do well when they’re not in the herd. Mammoths are almost certainly similar, and just as certainly there won’t be a herd of them anytime soon.
• Japan is no place for a mammoth. Siberia, maybe.
• Lastly, this process is going to take several years and many attempts. Most of those attempts won’t be successful and some of those will result in a live animal that is somehow not right. That’s a lot of unnecessary pain and suffering for the animals.

Looking at it from this point of view, I have to say that I agree with Benjamin.

Just how intelligent are you, anyway?

Iris and I used to travel around quite a bit on vacation. We went to Australia on our honeymoon, drove through England a couple of years later, spent time in Yosemite and St. Thomas, and made a couple of trips to Hawaii. We didn’t intend on going to Hawaii twice; we were supposed to go to St. Martin, but a small event named Hurricane Andrew in 1992 made that part of the Caribbean somewhat uninhabitable for a while.

So, we ended up going to the big island of Hawaii and it was a blast. It’s a quiet island, really, not having nearly as much tourist appeal as Oahu. What it does have is Volcanoes National Park, macadamia nut plantations, green and black beaches, and an active volcano. Yeah. Flowing lava and everything. It also has the Ellison Onizuka Space Center, which is just outside the airport on the west side of the island.

We got a rental car and drove everywhere we wanted to go. They call Hawaii “the big island” for a reason. It’s huge! You can’t drive through the middle of the island because of the old volcanoes Mauna Loa and Mauna Kea, so you have to drive around and that makes it a much longer drive to anywhere you want to visit.

There are a couple of areas of interest with regards to the volcanoes. There is the main park, which is inside the old caldera of one of the volcanoes. It’s an amazing place. It looks quite like the surface of the moon, so it’s no surprise that NASA trained the Apollo astronauts there. Then there is the active lava field way down on the south side of the island near the ocean. You drive along this little one and a half lane road that follows the coast until you come up to this black wall, maybe four or five feet high, that cuts right across the road. That’s the lava field. It flowed down the volcano and across the island until it emptied into the ocean and then cooled.

We knew the National Park Service had set up shop here and had planned for it. We came prepared with hiking boots, hats, and backpacks with plenty of water. The rangers had some wooden steps set up so you can climb up onto the field and had laid out a scenic path for people to follow. They also had installed a couple of portable toilets and such, just in case. The field itself is tricky to walk on. It’s volcanic glass, very slippery in spots and very sharp everywhere. Remember the hiking boots? Very important. It’s also jet black, which made it that much hotter when you’re out in the middle of it.

Taking our time, we hiked along the trail, stopping to talk to the rangers that were stationed along the way. They seemed as surprised to see how prepared we were as we were to see the other people out there in bathing suits and sandals. Eventually, we got to the end of the trail where there were a couple of spots of lava oozing up out of the field. It wasn’t difficult to find; from fifty feet away it felt like you were standing next to an oven on high with an open door. We were allowed to get as close as maybe twenty feet to it and that was about as close as you wanted to be. Despite the small size of the flow (maybe a foot or two across), it was still quite impressive.

As we were standing there, admiring the lava, a thought occurred to me. A very simple thought to be sure, but somewhat disturbing all the same. That thought was “WHAT IN THE WORLD ARE WE DOING?”

Here’s the situation: we’re standing in the middle of an active lava field. Active. Lava. Field. Got it? We just spent the last 30 or 45 minutes hiking across a field of razor sharp volcanic glass to get to this point. Was this a smart thing to do? I don’t really know.

It was fun, though.

Dad’s stories, Chapter 5

EBS, Memories

Following the birth of Steven, things settled down somewhat. Work was scarce, times were hard. Martie and I decided that two children were about all we could handle and we should stop the child thing. Also we felt that another child would be a boy and we had two of them. Enough already. We were both 35 years old and based on age alone it was time to stop. Martie had always wanted a girl. We hadn’t had one. We would just have to live with that. In my heart I wished for a girl for her. I felt I knew how important it was for her to have a girl to love and watch grow up. But it was over – no more children.

A little over a year later while we were on our way to Bundy Lake, Martie informed me that she was pregnant again. She asked if I realized we would be a hundred years old by the time the children were grown. I said that I hadn’t thought about that part. She said that I ought to think about it – that all this was my fault anyway.  I decided I had better play my trump card about now as it was getting kind of warm in the car. I said, “Hey this is great. This baby will be the little girl you always wanted”.  She said, “Big deal, I know you Sheppards; All you ever have is boys”.  From that point forward, I said that this new child was a girl.

Martie was an old hand at having children by this time. She knew all about it. How to do everything. This time she had a better plan for the hospital trip. She prepared her best dress, best underwear, best shoes and stockings. The plan was that when she got the call, she would shower and dress. We would casually drive to the hospital. We would walk in, check in, then stroll casually to the delivery room. Sounded like a good plan but it didn’t work out that way.

Martie continued to be cooperative until the end. She had called Granny to come and be on hand to care for Andy and Steven. The stage was set. Shortly after supper she informed me it was time. OK now, in the shower, underwear, stockings, best dress, best shoes. Then on our way. She did make it to the shower. About two minutes later she called me and said, “This isn’t going to work, let’s go. So, bath robe, bedroom slippers, out the door, in the car. On the way to the hospital she complained about her legs.  Kept saying, “Something is wrong with my legs.  I can’t get them together”.  This worried me. She had nice legs and I didn’t want anything to happen to them. I drove faster. Hurried to the hospital.

By now I knew the quick way to the delivery room. I got her there in record time. The doctor was waiting. I handed her to the doctor, took off downstairs to check her in. This took about 20 minutes. I hurried back to the delivery room. Still worried about her legs. When I arrived I met the doctor outside the delivery room door. I asked, “How is my wife?”. Doctor said, “She is fine and so is the baby”. I asked about her legs. The doctor said, “If you had been about 10 minutes longer in arriving at the hospital, you would have found out a lot of things about her legs and other things too. The baby would have been born in the car”. He told me that our little girl had arrived about the time I arrived at the check-in desk.

Now you see I had an overall plan about this baby. I figured if Anne had been another boy, my options would have been to not tell anyone, leave home and never return. Thankfully, Anne not only arrived on time, she was a girl and I got to keep my happy home. I felt good about that.

I went in to see Martie as soon as I could. I was anxious to tell her about our new girl baby. She was in recovery and less than half awake. Once when she opened her eyes, I said, “Honey, we have our little girl”. She said, “That’s fine. Come back later and we will discuss it”. When she finally awakened, she did not remember my visit.

The next day, Martie was fully awake and was telling the world about our daughter. She was happy. Granny was happy. Andy and Steven were happy. I was happy also. Especially happy about my wife finally getting a baby girl. Time passed, we took our daughter home. The thing about girls is that they are not boys. I knew that. I could tell by looking they were different. Anyway girls were supposed to have long hair. As you will remember I was the youngest of five boys. I knew about boys. Most of my girl experience was with Martie. And I had enjoyed every minute of it. Now however I had to learn about little tiny girls. That proved to be different, much different.

I loved Anne. Played with her. But didn’t like to change her. I always played rough with the boys. I couldn’t play rough with her. I was afraid of hurting her. In the beginning I would bathe all three children together. When Anne was about three I could no longer continue that practice. I felt it was Martie’s responsibility to bathe and care for her. I think Martie thought I was strange. However she took the responsibility. Anne probably felt that I didn’t care for her as much as I did the boys. That was not the case. I really love my little blonde girl.

Anne did a lot of growing up on Longboat Key. She enjoyed the beach, sun and sand as much as Steven did. She was happy and content. About this time, she must have been about four, she was beginning to be quiet and a young lady. These were my first years with IDS. And I was spending most of my time working. I had learned how to make money. My office was in our home and the entire family was behind my efforts. Because of the above, Martie had taken charge of most paperwork and was training the children to help. All incoming phone calls were important because all prospects and customers called my home phone. As a result of this Martie had instructed the children on correct telephone procedures and saw to its’ perfection. Martie did most of the phone work. Occasionally Andy or Steven would catch a call but never Anne. She was just too young to do it, at least that is what we thought.

The phone rang. She answered it. We came back in the house a little later. Anne very proudly told me that some lady had called. She didn’t remember her name but she had the phone number and I was to call immediately. Now I was working on a large case, about $3,000.00 commission large. I had this feeling that these were the people who called and knew I was in trouble. I grabbed the phone, dialed the number. Lady answered, I said, “This is Shep Sheppard. How may I help you?”. She gave her name and I wilted. She went on to say that they were ready to invest but first she wanted to know who the darling little girl was who answered the phone. I quickly revived and said, “That was my 4-year-old daughter, Anne. She said, “Let me tell you about that call”.

This lady says, “The phone rang and I knew I was talking to a small child. This child says, “This is the Sheppard residence. My Daddy can’t come to the phone now. May I take a message?”. I gave her my name and asked her if she thought she could remember it. She said she probably couldn’t but that she could write numbers. She asked me to wait for her to find her purple crayon and some paper. She said she would write down the number and have her daddy call. I said all right. She found her materials and wrote down the number. She thanked me for the call and hung up”.

Anne proudly presented me with the sheet of notebook paper with all the correct numbers and probably was the reason I made the sale. This lady always remembered Anne.

Anne continued to grow and learn on Longboat Key. She survived our sojourn in Jacksonville, Fla. and the move back to Orlando. She continued to develop. But the trouble was, she was developing the Sheppard personality. You know, the personality like mine. I want to do what I want to do. Nothing else will do. Anne, like Steven, led with her head. Got hurt and wondered why. Quit school in the eleventh grade and was married soon thereafter. She has since acquired a GED diploma as I did. It took me a little longer to get mine. I was in my fifties.

Anne’s marriage simply didn’t work out. She eventually divorced and came home to live. One of the better things that Anne did for me was to have two fine grandsons, Daniel and Jeremy. They are very close to us and bring much joy to our lives.

The thing about Anne was she had a very high IQ. For some reason, she didn’t seem proud of it. She is highly intelligent, a quick study, can learn and do anything she want to do. For the next few years, she continued to cast around for something she wanted to do. She could sing, had acting ability and seemed to have a desire for the film industry. She decided to become a script supervisor. We didn’t know what that was. Anyway she studied up on it. Worked for a theater group for a year free. Got experience. Anne was now ready for the world. The world was not ready for Anne. At least the world didn’t think it was.

Anne went to Hollywood, CA. Was invited to spend a couple of days as understudy to the script supervisor on the current tv series, SeaQuest. The SeaQuest series moved to Orlando, Fla. for production. She was called to be script supervisor for the second unit. Makes $300.00 a day. Has unlimited future work. She is the only Florida born and bred script supervisor in the world. She has found her place in life. I am proud of her.

Dad’s stories, Chapter 4

EBS, Memories

Prior to the arrival of our first-born, most things had been impossible for us during those first eleven years. We had managed to buy a home which had seemed impossible. We had wanted children, but they hadn’t arrived. Not even a promise. In our discussions we had given up on having a family and were discussing in some detail foreign missionary work with our church. Of course the birth of Andy changed all that. The Lord works in mysterious ways.

To my knowledge there is no training program for raising children. One mistake that first-time parents make is to believe experiences with the first child carries over and applies to any additional children. Of course that’s wrong. Trouble is, it takes 20 years to find it out. We therefore applied the same yardstick to Steven and Anne. I hate to admit it but we made some mistakes in this application. Anyway number one son is here.

For the next two years, Martie and I lived for Andy. He was our pride and joy. Where we went, he went. If he couldn’t go, we didn’t go. He started going fishing with me at age two. I always took him with me – Bundy Lake, hunting lodge, anywhere. He was my son, I loved him and lived for him. Martie was the perfect mother. Nothing unclean ever touched him. He was probably the best cared for little boy in the world. I realize now that this special relationship can only exist with the first child. This has to do with having only one child and time available to spend with him.

Time marches on. I came to realize that Andy was very much like his mother. He learned quickly and was highly intelligent. He always seemed to know exactly where he was going. He would ask questions, listen carefully and take action based on good information. I was proud of that. He grew into a fine young man.

Upon graduation from high school, he received four recommendations for West Point. He couldn’t qualify because of an injury received in high school. I was disappointed. He and Martie weren’t. He was not of the military mind. I see that now. Finally he applied to GA Tech. He was admitted and graduated with a degree in computer science. At this date Feb. 2, 1995, he is a senior software engineer and is a manager in a company in Dallas, Texas. He is married and has three children. Two girls, Andrea and Jennifer, and finally, a little boy. Little boy Ben is about two months old. I will enjoy watching him raise his son.

Now about year two of Andy’s life, Martie decided that he needed a little brother. I believe she was really hoping for a little sister. We worked on this second project faithfully. But as usual we couldn’t get it right. So Steve came along about three years later instead of the two years we had planned.

When Andy was born, Martie suffered some complications that should not have occurred. This was extremely hard on her and the baby. Neither of us wanted this to happen again. We found a new doctor, explained the problem and let him know we didn’t expect those problems to happen again. I didn’t want anyone messing around with my wife and family. I let him know that. Anyway time passes and the time came for Steven to arrive on the scene.

Martie was always very cooperative about having children. She always picked a convenient time. Shortly following supper this date, Steven gave us the call. She was packed and ready. All plans were made.

We gave Granny a call, got everyone in the car and left for the hospital. We dropped Andy off with a friend and proceeded to Orange Memorial. I got Martie settled in and went down to check her in. Following this I met with Martie and the doctor. They both assured me that nothing would happen until the next morning. Said, why don’t you go home and get some sleep. Said, we will call you as soon as anything happens. Would you believe I bought that? What they were doing was removing me from the scene. Guess they didn’t want me out in the hall screaming while she was having the baby. I went home.

Upon arriving at home, I was content. I went to sleep with the full knowledge that things would happen exactly as they said. When I awakened about nine the next morning, I felt that something was wrong. No noise, no Martie, no Andy. Then I remembered. As I was reaching for the phone, it rang. The lady on the phone said, This is nurse-something. I’m calling to tell you that your wife had a baby boy about eleven last night. Your wife and baby are both doing fine. At this time I knew that I had been had. When I arrived at the hospital I found that Martie had had a reasonable good night’s sleep. The new boy had been cleaned up and looked fine. By the way, Steven, I appreciate your ease of entry into the world. You were sure easier on me than Andy was. Thanks.

I believe Martie’s mother arrived that same day. She always came to help us the first two weeks with each new baby. She informed us that she was to be called Granny. With grandchildren, she was Great Granny. Anyway, we retrieved Andy from the neighbor and went home. Everything is much different now. I wanted things to be the same as before but they couldn’t be. I see that now.

About a week later we brought Martie and favorite number two son Steven home. The house was much smaller now. Things more complicated. We had to learn to live with two babies. As previously stated, we had no training on how to cope with this situation. However we were learning. We did it. We made it work.

Steven was a healthy and happy baby.  He simply wanted to be left alone. He was happy within himself. Trouble was, he was very smart. He figured his mother and I out in short order. Now remember, we thought all children are alike. Andy would always take an afternoon nap. If Andy did it, then Steven would do it. Now to put this into practice. Martie would say, Time for Steven’s nap, go lay down with him. Of course she knew about these things. I would take Steven to bed and lay down with him. He would close his eyes and become very quiet – until I went to sleep. Then he would get up and go on about his business. He worked this on mef or the next four years. I never did catch on.

Andy is very much like his mother. Now Steven is absolutely like his father. I see me in him at every turn. He loved to fish, camp out and be in the woods. Always wants to be outside. He thinks much as I did. Has to lead with his head. Do things the hard way. Learns slower, but never forgets. He has an excellent mind. Can excel at anything of his choosing. Always wants to be free.

When Steven was about four, we moved from our home on Outlook St. in Orlando to Sarasota, Fla. Work opportunities were better there. Steven used to come to me and say, “Dad, I like it here ok. But don’t you think it’s time we went back home”. He loved his home in Orlando. We never returned to that house. I guess the consolation is that we have a bigger and better one in Orlando today.

About this time in our lives times were really tough. I was working my new job, putting in 12 to 15 hours a day. Pay was better but still not enough. Due to my long hours, most of the child raising fell to Martie. She never complained, just kept working, trying to keep home and children together. Christmas was approaching and not a dime extra to spend on the children. We were plenty worried. But Martie came up with a plan. One day she brought out her plans. Those plans were pretty detailed on how to build toys for your children. Building things was not my strong suite. I informed her I was not a carpenter and couldn’t do it. After she pointed out my choices I decided to try. In my spare time at work I managed to build each of our children a nice toy. Christmas was looking better all the time. Christmas morning comes. The kids were happy with our offering. Thanks to Martie, Christmas did come after all.

During our second year in Sarasota I happened to be working with a builder, that had built a spec house on Longboat Key. Three bedrooms, two baths. This was a nice house and in a good location. It would not sell. It had been sitting there for more than two years at the time. This builder started trying to sell us the house. Of course we couldn’t buy it. Absolutely no cash. I finally told the builder that we would like to have the house but simply couldn’t swing it. He eventually told us to move into the house, pay the bank a $25.00 transfer fee, assume the mortgage. And it would be ours. We did this and moved into a very nice home.

This move to Longboat Key was the savior for Steven. He came into his own. He could swim in the Gulf, fish off a good dock, dig clams, catch stone crabs and all the good things his heart desired. All of us loved the place. Payments we could afford and freedom for all. Steven rapidly turned into a happy little boy.

Times and earnings improved. While we lived on Longboat Key, I joined IDS. And for the first time I was able to supply my family with everything they wanted. Martie was by now working almost full time with the children at school. Our family was growing and happy. We had found the key.

Steven continued to grow and learn. We received a promotion to Jacksonville, Fla. After two years another promotion which made it necessary to move again. Would you believe – back to Orlando. We had begun to play golf. Steven was showing real talent. As a result of this, we looked for a home on a golf course. We all wanted to play the game. We found our current home at Bay Hill Country Club and turned the children loose on the golf course. Steven played golf every day. By age 15, he was shooting sub-par golf. He played high school golf and in many tournaments. He won many trophies. We were all very proud of him.

Upon graduation, Steve was again at loose ends.  He decided he wanted to learn golf course management. He went to college for a couple of years but seemed to lose interest. For the next few years, Steve did many things. None seemed to catch his interest. Recently a friend of his recommended him to a company for the job of Threshold Inspector. He of course didn’t know what that was. That didn’t stop him. He acted like he knew all about it. At this time, he is probably the best inspector in the county. He is doing well. I am proud of him. More important he is proud of himself. He is on his way. He is and will become a great success.

Steven has one child, Elizabeth. He loves her very much as do we all. She visits him and us every other weekend.  She is a joy to have around.

Rattail

Yup, I have to admit it. I had a rattail. But, see, it really isn’t my fault. I never wanted one. The opportunity just sort of came up, if you know what I mean.

You don’t?

Okay, here’s how it happened. I really dislike taking time to get a haircut. This means that more often than not, my hair is a bit long and reasonably shaggy looking. Sometime back when rattails were popular (1990?), I went to get a haircut and took Andrea with me. The woman that was going to cut my hair asked what I’d like and I said something silly, mostly for Andrea’s benefit. She rolled her eyes and gave me the “oh, Dad” bit.

Now, that struck us (me and the haircutter) as funny.

So, we rolled with it. We went back and forth, each idea a bit wilder than the last, until she finally suggested a rattail. That really got Andrea. Out of sheer perversity, I agreed and the woman left a longer clump of hair a bit off of center to the right on the back of my head. Iris thought I’d lost my mind when I got home, until I told her what happened. She thought it was funny, too.

It seemed like a day couldn’t go by without Andrea making some sort of comment about my hair. After a week or two of this, I decided to keep it until Andrea said she liked it. What I hadn’t anticipated was it would take quite a while for her to like it.

Time passed.

My rattail became reasonably respectable. When braided, it was maybe 18-20 inches long. There’s even a picture of me in a tux at a friend’s wedding with Iris braiding it. I actually liked it.

All good things must come to an end, however, and so did the rattail. Andrea decided it was okay and said she liked it. I got up, went in the bathroom, got a pair of scissors and cut it off.  I went back into the room where Andrea was and dropped it into her hand. “Glad you like it”, I said, “you can have it.”

Harry Needs A Place to Rehearse! Can You Help?

If you’ve read any of my posts, you might remember an article or two about the black & white plays at Pegasus Theater. I got an email from them recently. They’re working on a new play and need a place to rehearse. Here’s the email:

Dear Pegasus Theatre Friend,

We need a place for Harry Hunsacker and crew to rehearse the next “Black & White.” Our usual spot isn’t available so we’re asking around. We need a space where we can put tape on the ground to mark off the dimensions of the Eisemann Center stage plus some extra “people room.” Ideally we need a room that’s 40 x 50–although we can make smaller work. We also will need a space that has access to bathrooms. Things that have worked well for us in the past include empty storefronts, warehouses, meeting halls, etc.

Our normal rehearsal schedule is evenings during the week and afternoons on the weekend. Do you have some space or do you know someone who does? Please contact me at comedy@pegasustheatre.com if you do.

Sincerely,

Kurt Kleinmann

Anyone out there able to help?

A big day for Jennifer!

Jennifer graduated from high school this year. Her graduation ceremony was last Tuesday. She was decked out in her blue graduation gown with three accessories: a white stole that showed she was an honors student (4.2 GPA), a gold stole that showed she was a member of the National Honor Society, and a silver tasseled cord that showed she was a member of the National Art Honor Society.

I didn’t take a camera with me, but managed to get a shot of the ceremony when she was on the stage, accepting her diploma, on my iPhone:

It’s hard to tell, but that’s her on the right side of the big screen at the top of the picture.

And yes, there were almost a thousand students that graduated along with Jennifer.

Way to go, little girl!

The Jogger 5k Series

A large number of the people that worked at Convex back in the early days were into jogging. It was very common to see a dozen or so of them stretching and warming up in front of the office late in the afternoon. As time went by, more and more people started doing this, including me.

In addition to jogging around the office, some people went out on the weekends and did the 5k races that seemed to pop up everywhere about that time. Nobody seriously tried to run these things (except maybe Denise’s husband, Ian). We were just doing it for the t-shirt and the fun.

During the summer, a local athletic store sponsored a weekly 5k race near downtown Dallas. It was on Wednesdays, starting around 5:30 in the afternoon. The race followed a small jogging sidewalk around Bachman Lake. It was small enough to where everyone couldn’t start at the same time, so they divided the runners up into groups by age and sex. So, I was in the male age 20-29 group.

On a good day, it took me maybe 30 minutes to finish the run. This meant that I was always last in my group. Even worse, one of the female groups started about 15 minutes behind us and the fastest runners in that group would pass me just before I got to the finish line. It was pretty embarrassing. But, I kept after it, vowing that at some point, not only would I not finish last in my group, but none of the women in the next group would pass me, either.

It came down to the last race of the series. I had slowly improved over the summer and felt pretty good about that race. The first couple of miles went by pretty quickly, but the third mile was really difficult for some reason. I had started losing hope. As I rounded  the last corner, I could see the finish line a hundred or so yards ahead of me. I could also see a guy from my group just up ahead. I ventured a quick look over my shoulder and could see the first of the women runners not too far behind me.

Now, you have to remember that I had always finished last in my group. I usually got a lot of encouragement from my friends, but I also gained a bit of notoriety among the other runners who were usually standing around the finish line, waiting for their turn to race. All of them started yelling and cheering when they saw me. “Run!” “Hurry!” “You can do it!”

I have no idea where I got the strength to sprint to the finish line.

I finished about 10 yards ahead of the other guy and about 20 yards ahead of the women. It was an amazing feeling.

Dad’s stories, Chapter 3

EBS, Memories

During this time our three children were born and again I was not making enough money to keep things together. We had moved our family to Sarasota, Fla. where I was managing seven branch stores for a major lumber company. I had the title and responsibility, but simply could not get paid for my efforts. I simply had to earn more money. I was hired by an industrial paint company in Tampa at a better salary. I was fired about a year later. I was 39 years old at this time and without a job. Worst of all we were without assets or possessions after 21 years of effort. Martie and I discussed this at length and decided that a new direction must be taken.

In our great wisdom we decided for me to secure a few good paint lines and sell on my own. That worked but I still could only make about $200.00 a week. Still not good enough. Along about now, Martie decided to make me an appointment with a church member who sold securities. Said we needed a savings plan. Of course I didn’t know how we could save money when we were having trouble paying current bills. As you will know this guy and his wife showed up in spite of all I could do. I wasn’t interested.

Now this guy breezed in, in all his glory. He was 10 years younger, taller than I, had on a $300.00 suit and a new car. I should have been impressed. Instead I was intimidated. Of course church association and common courtesy prevailed. So I listened to his pitch. I was impressed with the plans, stated that they should be easy to sell and wanted very much to buy one.

His closing statement was, “If you like the plan, buy it. If you are not making enough money to buy one, come to work for my company and make all the money you need. Then you can buy plans and enjoy selling them also”. Now there was a new thought. I stated that I would like to work for his company. He stated, “No problem. I will get you the applications.” I received the applications, filled them out, sent them in. I was hired. My question was, “When do I start?” I was told that I could start as soon as I passed a simple security exam. The company would supply the study material. They did.

Upon receiving the study book, I picked it up, read a part of it. Not one Damn thing in the book made sense. I threw the book down and screamed. I knew I couldn’t do it. About this time, in walks Martie. She picks up the book and takes one look at the material and says, “Nothing to it. You can learn it and pass the test. I will help you.” I told her it was easy for her to say, because she had all the family brains. For me it was impossible. The more I insisted, the more she insisted. As you will know, because of her help and assistance, I did exactly what she wanted. I passed the exam.

I sometimes think that she wanted me to do this task because I saw it as impossible. Martie always had a way to get me to do the impossible. I think she saw me as passing the exam. But never saw me working in the securities business. I was informed by the company that I had passed all exams, that I should proceed to the division office and pick up supplies. Along about now Martie says, “You are not going to do this, are you?” (She was afraid of leaving a steady paycheck for commissions.) I stated that I was. We had worked too hard not to try it now. She said she didn’t feel I should leave the paint business. That I knew it and we were getting along fine and could continue. I was determined to give it a try.

The first three months were hell on earth. I knew I was a good salesman. But I simply couldn’t sell the stuff. I was not getting training from the company and not much support at home. I was completely on my own. I was frightened and failing. I recall one morning as I was starting to work, I told Martie that I had two calls to make. I was supposed to pick up investments from both. If this didn’t happen, I would drive to Tampa, turn in my equipment and resign. Martie understood that. She was in favor of this action and encouraged me to do it.

Now you must know that I was completely defeated at this time. I made the two calls, bombed out on both. Now I’m ready to leave for Tampa, I had one small piece of service work left to do. I figured to stop by this house, complete it, then go to Tampa and resign. I can still see myself ringing the door bell. The gentleman came to the door to let me in. When he saw my face, he knew I was having a bad day. I will be forever grateful for what happened next.

Mr. Dorsey George gave me a big smile. He said, “I’m sure glad you are here. Come on in. My wife is making sandwiches. I will have her make one for you. While she is doing that I will get my checkbook. The money came, I have a nice check for you.”

These things happened. The lunch was good. The check was better. During lunch, Dorsey George gave me a pep talk. He told me how lucky I was to be working for a great company like IDS. Told me how lucky he was to be investing with the company. Explained how I could help people and help myself at the same time. He said to call on the people. Tell the IDS story, make money, enjoy life. He gave me such a lift that I put off my Tampa trip and decided to work the rest of the day.

I left on Cloud Nine. Picked up another account and made another call. Same results. Between the two calls I picked up $25,000 investments for the day. My commission on the two sales was $1100.00 – not bad for a Georgia boy.

I arrived home late in the afternoon. Knew what Martie was going to say. But I had a plan. First thing she asked, “Did you turn your supplies in and resign?” I said no. Then her face fell. She asked why. About this time I said, “Let me show you.” I pulled out the $5000.00 check. Neither of us had ever seen a $5000.00 check. She asked how much commission. I stated $240.00.

She still was not happy. Then I said, “I have this other check also.” I pulled out the $20,000.00 check. She asked how much commission on that one. I told her $1,000.00. Now Martie said, “You mean to tell me that you made $1,240.00 today!” I said yes. She wanted to know when we would get all this money. I told her.

Now my wife is a practical woman. She knows a good thing when she sees it. So she then talked a while. She said, “Now if these people really pay you this commission, and if the law doesn’t arrest you for stealing money, we are going to make this thing work. You go out to the car, bring all those books and literature in. Let me work on them awhile and we will be in business”. She did and we were. I earned $16,000.00 in the next 3 months. About $32,000.00 for my first year. I am proud to say that during the following years of my working life, I had total family support for everything I did. It was a total family effort. We have all prospered.