While at GHS, tried to get into the Naval Academy. They told me that I was too tall (something about bumping my head in submarines) and couldn't see worth a darn. They were kind enough to leave it at that without any personal judgments. So opted for New Mexico State University or the University of Tennessee at Knoxville. Out-of-state tuition at NMSU was ridiculous (at least for me) so I spent the next four [4] years at Tennessee majoring in History - and trying to keep Morgan and Hunter out of trouble (sometimes even succeeding, believe it or not!).

After finishing at UT, I took a job in Grants, New Mexico, as a teacher. I mean, what else can you do with a degree in History? Taught Geography and Civics at Webster Junior High School, and coached the 8th and 9th grade basketball teams. The 8th grade team did OK. All I can say about the 9th grade team is that they had a lot of heart. But, then, look what they were dealing with.

Not being one to linger long on my successes (?) I moved back to Nashville. Taught History (American and World), Geography, and English I at East Robertson High School in Cross Plains, TN, for two years.

Decided that (a) I was not very good at teaching (average, but that wasn't good enough), and (b) I did not like the pay scale. So in 1973 I left ERHS and took a job as a programmer trainee with a company in Nashville. Shortly thereafter proposed to a graduate of Donelson High School. "Jerry, you're the nicest guy that I know. I would like it very much if we remained friends." Despite repeated follow-ups by me, never saw her again.

Honed my skills as a programmer and systems analyst in Nashville for the next six [6] years. Attended Middle Tennessee State on off hours to work on my MBA. Moved (see below) before I could finish. Sometime during that period, got together with a young lady from Portland, TN. Started to propose to her. Before I could, she said, "Jerry, you're the nicest guy that I know. I would like it very much if we remained friends." (There's a theme developing here.) There was the pony-tailed blonde in the seventh grade, but she moved to Texas (some people will go to extremes), but those eyes! [All names withheld to protect the innocent, which ain't me.]

In 1979 I left Nashville to become the Data Processing Manager for a construction company's job-site in Richland, WA, just off the Hanford Nuclear Site. We were subcontractor for five [5] nuclear power plants for the Washington Public Power Supply System (WPPSS - pronounced, appropriately, it turned out, "Whoops").

From there went to work in Westminster, MD, (west of Baltimore - but, then, what isn't?) for a men's tailoring company. The Chairman of the Board and I had a few philosophical disagreements and since he was, well, Chairman of the Board, I went to work for a construction company in Las Cruces, New Mexico, as their Data Processing Manager. Las Cruces is a great place to live and the home of New Mexico State. One of the many benefits is that the president had season tickets to the NMSU football and basketball games. Not much of a football power, but back in the 70's and 80's they were a power in basketball. It snowed once in Las Cruces on Christmas Day; you know, the kind that doesn't really settle, just blows around. Boy, was everyone excited that they had a "White Christmas." It melted (what little there was) before the day was out. When a foreman at the company once complained about the "rush hour traffic" in Las Cruces (it took ten [10] minutes to make it across town at its worst), I looked at Dick (the foreman in question) and said, "You don't have a clue, do you?!" Attended New Mexico State part-time (another theme) working on a doctorate in History, but moved before finishing the ol' thesis (it was really brilliant, but you'll just have to believe me).

In 1985 left Las Cruces. The company was downsizing and the economy was in the doldrums out West. Went to work for a software firm in Phoenix as a programmer and installer. Phoenix is much too big for my tastes, but I loved the climate, the geography, and the people. Morgan even stopped by once when he was in town visiting a client (you don't think he came all that way to see me, do you?). The job usually called for me being on the road two weeks out of each month. I got to see some of the country's finest airports: Minneapolis and Seattle come to mind. (It really does rain all of the time in Seattle. Well, at least the three or four times I was there for a week each.) The most interesting place that I got to visit was Prudhoe Bay, Alaska. If you've never heard of Prudhoe Bay, it is the northern terminus of the Alaskan Pipeline. I was there for New Years Eve, and it really is pitch black at 3 PM at that time of year, except for the lights in the parking lot. Oh, yeah, it was 70 BELOW zero one day (or night, couldn't figure out which it was at the time). I got to see the Arctic Ocean. OK, so it was frozen; any of you even seen that much of it?

In 1986 the president of the software firm and I had philosophical disagreements. (There's another theme developing here.) After much discussion and gnashing of teeth and temperaments, I left Phoenix and went to work for another construction firm (another theme) in Charlotte, NC. Much to my surprise, Charlotte is a really nice city. If you can get over the fact that the names of the streets change every few blocks, it really has a lot to offer. Anyway, I worked there as their DP Manager until 1993. I would probably still be working there except that we lost our major customer, which accounted for 85% of our revenue (ouch!). We were bought out by a firm in Florida. My choices were to either move to Miami or hit the road. Not wanting to be that close to Spurrier, I left Charlotte and returned (like a bad penny) to Nashville. By this time my mother had retired and was getting up in years so I came back to take care of her (thanks to all of those women who said I was "the nicest guy they ever knew" and then vanished I had no particular strings binding me to any one spot).

Sometime during all of this I got involved with COMMON, which is the world's largest IBM users group. No, we don't push dope. It is a volunteer-run educational organization. Took on responsibilities for speaking at presentations, software coordinator, hardware manager, and a few other things. Just to prove, as Dorothy Parker said, "No good deed shall go unpunished," I was elected to COMMON's board of directors. Still attend COMMON Conferences twice a year.

Worked as a consultant, primarily for my previous employer in Charlotte, until 1995. Had a few other gigs independent-wise until 1997. At that time joined a software firm that was developing Y2K (remember that?) software for the IBM AS/400. Programmed it, installed it, supported it. That is, until January, 2000, when the bottom fell out of the Y2K market.

During the last couple of years worked as an independent consultant (when I could find a client) for a magazine sales company and a web application developer. Recently (8 October 2003) was offered and accepted a position as an IBM AS/400 (System i) programmer/analyst with a wholesale distributor in Murfreesboro, TN. You need a roadmap to find my office. The other plus to it (the office) is that I've got the data center, which is huge, all to myself. I may become a hermit.

At COMMON's Spring, 2003, Conference (in Indianapolis) I was presented its Distinguished Service Award (DSA). This is the most prestigious award that COMMON gives, and I appreciate it very much. The only downside was that I had to stand still and quietly (and we all know how hard that is for me!) in front of 2,000 people while the president read the citation.

Some of you may remember that, when I was eight years old, I had a run in with a dynamite cap. I was in Vanderbilt Hospital for nearly a month. Recently my mother, while rummaging through the cedar chest for something else, found the bill from Vanderbilt. Thought that, in these days of high medical costs you might like to see what it cost to stay at one of Nashville's premier hospitals for a month. View the bill