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Post by trailboss on Aug 18, 2018 15:38:19 GMT -5
I had a very unconventional childhood, therefore I made some poor choices as I was growing up. Fortunately, they didn’t have a lasting effect into adulthood.
I spent a few years living with my grandmother, she was quite a woman that had some amazing experiences in her life as a child also, and the lessons and wisdom she imparted to me have stuck with me even though after I was no longer under her authority, her counsel always beckoned to me, and still does. There wasn’t a lot of shades of gray with her.
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Post by McWiggins on Aug 18, 2018 16:08:25 GMT -5
I kept mostly to myself and felt most at home when not at home in a library. I had few friends but the one's I had, they were close and very trusted.
I'm pretty much the same but I don’t really use libraries anymore. My reading and research continues but through the internet and I keep a small library of eBooks on my phone. I know more people today but still am not into the normal going out type of thing. When out, I'd rather be in rural areas taking pictures or gathering food to put in my freezer.
My wife is good with how I am and only asks me to be more social at certain times. Like tonight where we have plans to play a board game with the neighbors.
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Post by Legend Lover on Aug 18, 2018 18:04:57 GMT -5
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Post by Deleted on Aug 18, 2018 19:03:17 GMT -5
He sure did, now tomorrow when you sober up you can write more about yourself 👍 |
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Post by rostybird on Aug 18, 2018 19:58:22 GMT -5
According to most people who knew me at that time, a complete jackass. +1 |
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Post by Legend Lover on Aug 18, 2018 20:34:51 GMT -5
He sure did, now tomorrow when you sober up you can write more about yourself 👍 stayed sober all night. However, It's 2:30 am and I have to be up for 9. Not good. |
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Post by Matthew on Aug 18, 2018 22:14:04 GMT -5
According to most people who knew me at that time, a complete jackass. We must be related,,,That's what most people call me now. Wife though calls me A$$HOLE,,and I earn it...  |
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Post by Legend Lover on Aug 19, 2018 3:45:53 GMT -5
He sure did, now tomorrow when you sober up you can write more about yourself 👍 I'm not sure what more I can say about myself as a child. I was innocent and naive, but I'm glad I was a bit sheltered from the big bad world when I was young. From an early age I loved computers, getting my Commodore 64 when i was 8. I progressed to an Amiga and then an IBM 386 with a 40MB hard drive and dear knows how little RAM. I was never good at sports - I never liked sports. I wasn't cool. I wasn't smart. I was, what I considered to be normal, but was probably more of a nerd than normal. But, like I said, I had other nerdy friends and we did our nerdy stuff together. After school I went to uni to study chemistry. I had a part time job at the time and my parents lived 10 min walk from the university so I had no student loans and no debt coming out of uni. I continued to do a PhD in chemistry and then post-doc. After that I did a masters in Theology and then finally got a full-time job. I was always a bit of a nerd, but I had loads of friends from many different jobs / uni / school / church that I was very sociable. During my PhD I was out every night of the week with different people. I knew so many people, walking through Belfast I'd stop every 5 minutes and talk to someone I knew. I even met people I knew when I was on holiday in Lanzarote, Gran Canaria, and other places. Today, that's not the case. I have a handful of good friends and that's about it. Life changes. Is that enough for you, @lonecoyote? |
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Post by Deleted on Aug 19, 2018 4:12:28 GMT -5
Paddy, thanks for sharing....now we all know a bit more about you and your life’s achievements. You have plenty to be proud of!!! Today I even learned something new....in Ireland the bathroom is also called the bog👍
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Post by oldcajun123 on Aug 19, 2018 8:00:42 GMT -5
 LL you’ve got to be a good person, screw that nerd shite, anybody that walks down his town and talks to people or people want to talk too is a good guy in my book. In life you have to interact, accept people for who they are. I’m proud that at my Exxon Retirement where 20 to 30 people is the norm, I had over 200. Hey the news said a storm is coming your way.
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Post by Legend Lover on Aug 19, 2018 8:18:07 GMT -5
LL you’ve got to be a good person, screw that nerd shite, anybody that walks down his town and talks to people or people want to talk too is a good guy in my book. In life you have to interact, accept people for who they are. I’m proud that at my Exxon Retirement where 20 to 30 people is the norm, I had over 200. Hey the news said a storm is coming your way. Thank you. I appreciate that. |
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Robert Perkins
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Post by Robert Perkins on Aug 19, 2018 9:17:09 GMT -5
Thanks, man. Yeah, I woke up yesterday thinking about something from my childhood, and that's what sparked the post. From an early age I loved computers, getting my Commodore 64 when i was 8. I progressed to an Amiga and then an IBM 386 with a 40MB hard drive and dear knows how little RAM. I had a Texas Instruments TI 99/4A that ran basic language, and I totally geeked-out with that for awhile. My biggest accomplishment was writing my own text-based blackjack program for it. It was nothing fancy, of course, but I did manage to effectively "shuffle a 52 card deck" and work through the stack of cards, just like a real blackjack dealer would do. And you could bet money, win and lose money, go broke, and so on. After school I went to uni to study chemistry. I had a part time job at the time and my parents lived 10 min walk from the university so I had no student loans and no debt coming out of uni. I continued to do a PhD in chemistry and then post-doc. Good for you, man. I went to study mechanical engineering, but I dropped out because I wanted to be a rockstar. As you can imagine, that didn't work out nearly as well as I had hoped.  On the upside, I landed a job as a draftsman at a local doorlock manufacturer and went on to work as a designer/draftsman for various boat builders. That's where I learned the curves that I use making my pipes nowadays. After that I did a masters in Theology... Cool. Yeah, I was brought up with religion, drifted away from it during my teens and 20s, and really came back to it in a big way in my 30s. |
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Post by Deleted on Aug 19, 2018 12:07:03 GMT -5
Robert Perkins - "but I dropped out because I wanted to be a rockstar." Ha, ha - I did that, too. Though I did go back years later. Let's hear more about your rock star years! @legend Lover where did you do Theology and what was your focus?
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Robert Perkins
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Post by Robert Perkins on Aug 19, 2018 12:50:19 GMT -5
Robert Perkins - "but I dropped out because I wanted to be a rockstar." Ha, ha - I did that, too. Though I did go back years later. Let's hear more about your rock star years! Oh man, let's see ... Well, I started playing the guitar when I was 12, learned what I could from others, eventually started learning stuff by ear, and played a lot of Lynyrd Skynyrd, Led Zeppelin, AC/DC, that kind of stuff. Owned a ton of cool guitars: a '63 Gibson Firebird, a '58 Gibson SG, a 70s model Gibson ES335, a '51 Gibson ES-125, a Telecaster, several Les Pauls, lots of Strat copies, a couple Kramers, and at least two dozen other guitars I can't even remember right now. Oh, and some nice amps, too. I never could finagle a Marshall, but I owned several Fenders, Peaveys, and some sweet oldschool tube-amps that I bummed from my Dad, who installed sound systems and took in a lot of cool old stuff in trade. I played in several bands, but as time went along, my focus turned more to writing and recording, since I really thought the right song might get me "discovered". Of course, that was before the internet. Nowadays pretty much anybody can make it big after launching themselves on the internet. But not back then. Back then, you had to get "discovered" by a record company talent scout. Unfortunately, living in a town of 16,000 people in the middle of nowhere sure didn't help matters. But I did make a big push to move out to LA in the 80s. I just never could get the money together to get there. After that fell through, I got really discouraged and set the guitar aside for a few years, during which, I got married to my first wife and divorced. A few years later, I met my second wife, and we've been together for 16 years. And I picked the guitar back up not long after I settled down with her, partly to give myself something to do in the evenings that didn't get me into trouble, and partly because I still had this music in me that wanted to come out. Literally, if I didn't play the guitar for awhile, I had dreams at night about playing the guitar. Well anyway, that's a quick overview. So what about you, Chico? What's your music story? |
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Post by Deleted on Aug 19, 2018 14:18:41 GMT -5
Robert Perkins - "but I dropped out because I wanted to be a rockstar." Ha, ha - I did that, too. Though I did go back years later. Let's hear more about your rock star years! Oh man, let's see ... Well, I started playing the guitar when I was 12, learned what I could from others, eventually started learning stuff by ear, and played a lot of Lynyrd Skynyrd, Led Zeppelin, AC/DC, that kind of stuff. Owned a ton of cool guitars: a '63 Gibson Firebird, a '58 Gibson SG, a 70s model Gibson ES335, a '51 Gibson ES-125, a Telecaster, several Les Pauls, lots of Strat copies, a couple Kramers, and at least two dozen other guitars I can't even remember right now. Oh, and some nice amps, too. I never could finagle a Marshall, but I owned several Fenders, Peaveys, and some sweet oldschool tube-amps that I bummed from my Dad, who installed sound systems and took in a lot of cool old stuff in trade. I played in several bands, but as time went along, my focus turned more to writing and recording, since I really thought the right song might get me "discovered". Of course, that was before the internet. Nowadays pretty much anybody can make it big after launching themselves on the internet. But not back then. Back then, you had to get "discovered" by a record company talent scout. Unfortunately, living in a town of 16,000 people in the middle of nowhere sure didn't help matters. But I did make a big push to move out to LA in the 80s. I just never could get the money together to get there. After that fell through, I got really discouraged and set the guitar aside for a few years, during which, I got married to my first wife and divorced. A few years later, I met my second wife, and we've been together for 16 years. And I picked the guitar back up not long after I settled down with her, partly to give myself something to do in the evenings that didn't get me into trouble, and partly because I still had this music in me that wanted to come out. Literally, if I didn't play the guitar for awhile, I had dreams at night about playing the guitar. Well anyway, that's a quick overview. So what about you, Chico? What's your music story? Mine is short but not so sweet  . I wanted to be a rock star pretty much since birth. My mom had a great record collection, then on my own I discovered Bowie and then punk. I started out playing in punk bands at 14 but we were too lousy even for that genre! Then I got more into stuff like Joy Division and started playing in goth-type bands but with a very strange infusion of 60s psychedelic pop. We knew were great, but nobody else liked us! We weren't looking for worldwide fame, but a certain level of indie cache', like New Order or the Cure. Then I did the same as you - lots of 4-track solo recording, sending out demos, and even hand-delivering them to all the cool indie labels in London. I had some interest and a couple of near-misses, at least! Listening to my old songs I do see some talent and originality, but also a lack of real discipline or sense of craft. It was like the songs were vomited out. I had some BS ideas about musical expression being "pure". There might be a good verse, or chorus, or bridge, melody, harmony etc. - but rarely all in the same song. Add that to the fact that the musical style was so odd, it's kind of hilarious that I ever thought I'd "make it."  |
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Post by Legend Lover on Aug 19, 2018 14:27:52 GMT -5
Robert Perkins - "but I dropped out because I wanted to be a rockstar." Ha, ha - I did that, too. Though I did go back years later. Let's hear more about your rock star years! @legend Lover where did you do Theology and what was your focus? I did it through Queen's University in Belfast. I looked at events in history when science challenged the bible. For the sake of the forum rules I'll leave it there. |
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Post by qmechanics on Sept 12, 2018 5:19:41 GMT -5
I was perfect at least that is what mom says.😁
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Post by morallynomadic on Sept 12, 2018 7:23:33 GMT -5
I grew up in the middle of Cleveland. Very typical inner city kid. Parents were divorced and everyone was pretty poor. We lived on a lot of donations and assistance. I ran with a lot of rough crowds, got thrown out of a lot of schools when I actually bothered to go, in and out of courts, etc.
I survived and got out of the city as soon as I was 18. I still miss it sometimes but I would never raise my own daughters there if I have any other options.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 13, 2018 5:13:47 GMT -5
I was an oddball, alienated, quiet kid but also precocious, observant, and very critical of the world around me. During recess I'd wander as far away from the others kids as possible, or I'd escape to the library and read science fiction or listen to old time radio cassettes - a totally random hobby for a kid my age at that time. In many ways I was the same as I am now, only as a kid I was less confident and less able to roll with the punches. I had to move to a suburb for a couple of years, and in Southern California in the 70s, life there was basically like this movie: Over the Edge. Kids were feral, and adults didn't really notice or care, and . Moving back to the city coincided with puberty, punk rock, and all forms of misbehavior! I think it hadn't been for the whole sex, drugs, and rock 'n' roll thing I would have been a D&D nerd. I was a military kid and lived on military bases until my parents bought a house in the suburbs when I was nine. It was quite a shock. Feral is the right word for the kids, at least compared to what I was used to .
Over the Edge (1979) was made when I was thirteen and was literally filmed down the street from me. I knew several kids who were extras in the movie. I probably would have been too if I had heard about it in time. |
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Post by haebar on Sept 13, 2018 5:39:26 GMT -5
I had an ideal childhood; lived out in the country but we had access to Atlanta within 30 minutes or so. Had 5 acres with a pond and I loved to fish and roam through the surrounding woods. There were acres and acres of unpopulated forests near my house that I explored and camped out in. Since there were no kids my age around, I became kind of a wild child, shy around others and only saw kids my age at school or church. In my early years, I was just a somewhat normal kid who loved all things outdoors and spending time with my dog.
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professorthroway
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Post by professorthroway on Sept 13, 2018 6:12:35 GMT -5
A brainwashed Catholic, weighing the same as a Cambodian refugee. This sounds like the plot of a Kurt Vonnegut ripoff novel. Did you have a catch phrase? |
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tr
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Post by tr on Sept 13, 2018 10:06:19 GMT -5
I'm from a small town in central Illinois, Germantown, which was just outside of Peoria. Youngest of 5, my closest sibling was 6 years older than me. They all married at an early age, by 18 or 20, so by the time I was 12 or so, I was the only one at home. My dad worked at Westinghouse Air Brake Company in Peoria, my mom never worked.
My dad was a big time outdoorsman. He did hunting, fishing, trapping, camping. Anything that he could kill, trap, or pull out of the water ended up on our dinner plate. You wouldn't believe some of the stuff I ate as a kid. Every year our vacation was to go to Wisconsin fishing. One time we went camping out in Colorado.
My father passed away when I was 10, so I was alone with mom in the house. I became a very independent, self reliant kid.
I was rather shy and awkward as a kid, not particularly athletic or top of the class academically. I had a few friends because I did have a sharp whit and sense of sarcasm, so I guess I was funny. I loved to read, still do.
My mother re-married a couple of years later and we moved to Kentucky for a couple of years until my step-father retired, and then to Florida, where I remain to this day.
Only really had two close friends in high school, who I still keep in contact with. Went to college, but never finished. Met my wife in high school, got married, been married for 36 years with two daughters and two grand daughters.
Love to camp and hike in the mountains. Sometimes fish, never liked it enough to buy a boat, but I go occasionally with friends. My step-father loved to fish.
I'm a manager in a retail grocery store. I'm sure some of you in the southeast have heard of Publix.
That's about it, pretty unremarkable.
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haveldad
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Post by haveldad on Sept 13, 2018 10:28:59 GMT -5
Sad and angsty loner. Spent most my growing up on my n64 and playatstion 1. Learning to appreciate nature more/spending more time outside now though. I liked art but never stayed dedicated to it enough to get any good.
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Post by toshtego on Sept 13, 2018 10:47:39 GMT -5
I was the kid no one liked. Not because I was a brat, just big, dumb and slow moving. Not what adults wanted in kids. Teachers, coaches, neighbors I was shunned by all. Except, the old wrangler at the horse barn. Over several days, I watched him from a hidden position to learn what he did and then approcached one day. Since I seemed to know something, he put me to work and was he ever glad to have the help.
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Post by Cramptholomew on Sept 13, 2018 14:40:36 GMT -5
I was a fairly good kid. Middle child of a minister. I had few good friends. I was a little off, I guess. I got made fun of a lot, and usually ended up fighting. I was always in my own world, off doing my own thing, making my own stuff. I eventually got into punk, and post punk, etc., which outcast me even further at the time. I was extremely critical of the established culture norms. I hated sports, and sports people. I turned to music and art. I played guitar from 14 (eventually bass and drums as well), had bands, painted, did a lot of mind altering chemicals. I hated school, and practically outright refused to do the work, since I felt it was beneath my intellect. It seemed everywhere I looked there were a bunch of hypocritical authority figures, trying to squash the creativity out of me - so that I would fall in line, and be "normal". I spent my entire teenage years, and on into young adulthood bucking the notion of "normalcy", being as outlandish as possible. I eventually grew up, but not before I went through years of self destructive behavior. I've ALWAYS held a job. Starting with a paper route, when I was 12, and have an outstanding work ethic as a result. That's the gist of it.
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Post by Dramatwist on Sept 13, 2018 14:59:33 GMT -5
...chased women all my life, lol...
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Robert Perkins
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Post by Robert Perkins on Sept 13, 2018 16:28:50 GMT -5
I was the kid no one liked. Not because I was a brat, just big, dumb and slow moving. Not what adults wanted in kids. Teachers, coaches, neighbors I was shunned by all. Except, the old wrangler at the horse barn. Over several days, I watched him from a hidden position to learn what he did and then approcached one day. Since I seemed to know something, he put me to work and was he ever glad to have the help. Wow, Tosh, this sounds like a Disney movie. |
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Post by monbla256 on Sept 13, 2018 17:12:54 GMT -5
I was a good Catholic boy NOT !  |
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Post by Legend Lover on Sept 13, 2018 17:13:42 GMT -5
I was the kid no one liked. Not because I was a brat, just big, dumb and slow moving. Not what adults wanted in kids. Teachers, coaches, neighbors I was shunned by all. Except, the old wrangler at the horse barn. Over several days, I watched him from a hidden position to learn what he did and then approcached one day. Since I seemed to know something, he put me to work and was he ever glad to have the help. Wow, Tosh, this sounds like a Disney movie. 😂😂 |
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desolbones
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Post by desolbones on Sept 13, 2018 19:37:26 GMT -5
Until third grade I lived in rural central Alabama, near Talladega. Paternal grandparents farmed 160 ac East of town, maternal grandparents farmed 60 ac West of town. Lived with maternal family till third grade. Roamed the hills and farms locally, debarked a few hickory limbs when "neighbors" called up to say they had seen me cutting across pastures 6..7 miles away. Followed the spring that came down the mountain up towards the head water, was run off by a couple of guys doin some kind of building up there. Mom was divorced by the time I was four and married an Air Force Sargent who was almost immediately sent TDY to Colorado. I could see the mountains from my second story classroom...nearly failed third grade. Left Colorado for MacDill AFB (Tampa Fl) caught a blizzard when leaving (by car) saw a truck load of cattle that had jackknifed, cattle frozen standing up scattered all over, eerie sight. Spent the rest of my school days in Tampa, was smart enough to be bored with the std curriculum.
Was small for my age but played baseball and football thru jr high. At 14 skateboards were making their first wave of popularity, shattered my right elbow. An AirForce Ortho Surgeon just back from Nam spent 10 hrs in surgery piecing it back. Was told I'd never have full use of it and maybe none. Regained 80% range of motion, but was eliminated from all sports. Didn't go over well with me so I rebelled and started to hang with greasers that would in 2 or 3 years turn into hippies. Meet a guy a few blocks over from me while he was working on his KnuckleHead (HD) hung out cleaned parts, fetched wrenches and by 18 I had a panhead. Got fed up with that scene for a while, tried to join Marines..no, Army...no and finally Navy.. again no, because of the elbow. This was during Viet Nam. Navy recruiting officer decided to talk with me a while, I had done well on the aptitude testing. He steered me to a National Alliance of Small Business training program for the shrimping fleet. Off to Freeport Texas for the classes, attended 2 classes and was hired on by a 60 yr old transplanted Buckeye. Stayed on with him for 2 years. When at the docks I'd attend a class or 2 so the guys running it would get their money out of it. I learned shrimping... that includes navigation, net mending, net rigging, splicing and general rope handling, was also introduced to radar, radio, loran and automatic direction finders.
Worked the boats for 6 years from the Florida Atlantic coast to Brownsville Texas on the gulf.
Spent a few years as a machinist, rebroke the same arm in a bike accident. Got a job handling ropes for a tower construction company, within a year was climbing towers on a daily basis. Skip ahead 10 years still working towers, lotta road time, oldest daughter starting school..time to get off the road. Got hired as the first full time employee in the installation dept at the 3 year old Houston Cellular. A year later transferred to the field engineering dept. Houston Cellular became Cingular Wireless became ATT Mobility. I retired after 25 years as senior field engineer. So idyllic childhood, some potential, wrecked in my early teens followed by years of angst and rebellion, got tired of it and worked to a satisfactory level within the system. Now can I go back to lurking? THIS should count for at least 10 posts and a dozen Hail Marys.
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LL you’ve got to be a good person, screw that nerd shite, anybody that walks down his town and talks to people or people want to talk too is a good guy in my book. In life you have to interact, accept people for who they are. I’m proud that at my Exxon Retirement where 20 to 30 people is the norm, I had over 200. Hey the news said a storm is coming your way.
. I wanted to be a rock star pretty much since birth. My mom had a great record collection, then on my own I discovered Bowie and then punk. I started out playing in punk bands at 14 but we were too lousy even for that genre! 
