After WWII, many returning GI's and their brides in the New York area moved to Long Island. This was almost considered as moving to the country. In 1951, my parents Joe and Marge, being part of that greatest generation, decided to do just that. I was 5 years old at that time, my brother John just born, and my brother Ed not yet on the scene. We grew up in a town named Valley Stream, and it was a great place. We even had a stream that ran through our yard and ended at Green Acres, not the one of television fame, but the site of one of the first shopping malls in the country.
I can't tell you how many hours of fun that stream provided for us kids in the area. When it rained the stream would rise to a raging torrent, especially during the hurricanes of those years. Most of the time we simply explored up and down the length of it, looking for snakes, frogs and other critters, or just did the normal kid thing without some definite plan of action. The stream was piped and covered over in the early 70's, and I feel that the children who came along after us missed out on a lot. Such is the price of "progress".
In 1964 I graduated from V.S. Central High School and headed off to the University of Texas. It was the sixties, with all the things you younger folks have heard about, and I was immersed in events of those times immediately. A relative of one of my closest friends enabled me to pledge for a Catholic fraternity, Phi Kappa Theta.
The pledge class was small, about 6 or so freshmen students, one of whom was Hispanic from South America. After a few short weeks, he was no longer part of our aspiring pledge group. Being me, I inquired as to where he was and was told that the Inter-Fraternity Council would not allow any Spanish students to join any fraternity on campus. He was, in effect, blackballed. I couldn't believe this was happening, and immediately went to the fraternity's president and told him I was quitting. There was no way I would be part of that kind of discrimination. Thus, I began a a journey down a path that I had no idea of where it would end.
I quickly found out that there were others who weren't accepting these kinds of injustices either. A newly organized group known as SDS, Students for a Democratic Society was becoming popular around the country, and was active at U.T. I became affiliated with that group and participated in civil rights demonstrations in Austin as well as on campus. I have no regrets about those particular actions, I believed them to be correct at the time and still do today. Unfortunately however, school work became a secondary interest, and Bob Dylan appeared more relevant to life. My university experience ended after one year.
After returning home, I worked a few different jobs, got into a little trouble, and then eventually decided to try college once again, this time enrolling in Nassau Community College. As in my first college try, I found myself engaged in more radicalism, again with SDS, only this time in a few anti-war protests. However, this time I would be destined to quit my involvement with the radicals because I did not accept what they were doing.
Very soon after the school year started, I and a girl that I was dating at the time were approached by a college professor. In the privacy of his office, he informed us that we were the kind of couple "they" were looking for. What I took that to mean was that "they" were communist organizers, and we were "hippies" that they could manipulate. His idea was for us to plant bombs in shopping centers and other public places as part of a wave of terror to begin the destruction of America. We left quickly and I have never looked back. I was never against my country or our soldiers, I never called any GI a babykiller, and I certainly did not want to destroy America. What I really was opposed to was the government, but in a naive kind of way. Today, I am still opposed to government, but this time I understand the problem and know what to do about it. I never served in the military, but the Viet NamWar took the lives of two friends of mine.
My time at NCC was also over soon and I moved on to other things. I joined a fundamentalist christian church for a period of time, and married a woman in that organization. We lived in New Mexico for many years, and returned to New York in 1987. For a variety of reasons, and without any bitterness, we divorced in 1991, and she and my daughter returned to New Mexico. She still lives there, and my daughter, Yael, her husband, Matt, and my grandson, Shane, live in Las Vegas. These days I live in on Long Island, with my wife Christina (we were married in 1998), 2 dogs, Lucky & Kachina, Espy and J.C., our two cats, and Captain, a green winged red macaw parrot.
In 1973 I began working in the copy machine business. I worked for 2 different companies in New Mexico, twice at each one, and 2 years with my own business in between. Since returning to NY in 1987, I have been working for the same boss. In every place that I worked, I always found myself promoted to a mangerial position. In NM, I was a branch manager for both companies, a service manager, and a parts/warehouse manager. Here in NY, I was first employed as a technician, became a field service manager, then a product manager. When a need arose, I was asked to take over a small shop operation that the company wanted to expand. We grew to 20 techs rebuilding 200 copiers each month. Today, I am managing the company's warehouse, with responsibility for over $2 million in inventory.
I feel that these opportunities came my way because employers recognized certain attributes in me that are important to them. I have always been a responsible, dependable, and trustworthy employee. I am also well organized and a hard worker. With persons over whom I have been a supervisor, I have always tried to be fair and considerate while at the same time encouraging them to do their best. I would like those who work for me to be successful not only at their job, but also in their personal lives.
Perhaps the type of jobs I have had do not seem important. They do not require a college education and are not highly thought of. But I believe they illustrate some of the vital characteristics of which I spoke in the Qualifications page of this website that point to a different kind of leadership.
What is needed today in America is leadership that inspires people with a vision, not just an ideology. Our leaders should seek success for all and not partisanship and selfishness. In dealings with other nations, we should emphasize shared goals and opportunities, while maintaining a firm stance on principle. We can be thoughtful and careful and not so heavy handed as to discourage co-operation. We can be strong and encouraging at the same time, and still expect others to take responsibility for their actions and their own future.
I believe the experiences I have had in my life and the aspects of character that I have learned would enable me to provide just this kind of leadership. Any success I have had is certainly modest by comparison to others, but a strong and correct foundation can support whatever is built upon it. Entrusting power to the same 2 political parties now ruling this country will only perpetuate the divisiveness and ineffectiveness that permeates our nation's capital. It is a display of power for power's sake, rather than a representation of the people, by the people, for the people. The power of this great nation belongs to us all, as well as the responsibility that goes with it. We must recapture that power from those who have for too long abused it, and this presidential election is the time to do so.
I hope you will consider voting for me, because if you do, you will have a President who considers you as the rightful heirs of this nation.
|
|
