Forgive me this my first BLOG;
bandwidth fear i do not CLOG
so deposit i here
my account of life dear
Some of you knew me as the school announcer who always wore a tie and mumbled the Pledge to the Flag, or the only guy in French class, or the nut who fell 60 ft. out of a King pine tree, or as the only guy they knew who was into trapping and taxidermy. Anyway.....Went off to learn engineering at WPI. Missed the draft pick by ONE point. Spent our parents' 'Activities' fee bringing in Janice Joplin,Tom Rush, Sly, and Joni Mitchell. J.Geils was just flunking out at WPI while perfecting his craft there with weekly performances.
Missed Woodstock because of an exam. Wasn't Dean's list, but WAS called to his office once. Joined a Fraternity, then entered apartment life and met an artist, Gail. Moved in with her and 3 other girls. Good times.
Senior year, made a gentleman's bet with my Math Professor: Whoever found the biggest, cheapest tract of land in Mass. FIRST, won a $1. Within 2 months found 50 acres (no plot plan) for $1000 bucks. Won the $1. Nobody in town knew where it was. Felt more like the loser now.
Entered Grad school at WPI for BioMed. Worked nights welding shopping carts with the other (Indian) Grad students. Left after a year, the field was too young. Left for the Adirondacks to help a fraternity brother survey his folks' property 5 miles into the Forest.
6 months later we had built an 8-sided house out there, living on wild duck, frogs, and cat-tail bread.
Returned to Worcester. Lived dirt cheap in an eclectic neighborhood; hookers, families that ate deer from the local zoo and German Sheppard puppies from the Want Ad, and drug dealer wannabees from Holy Cross wielding shotguns.
After 6 months of researching, we found the missing plot plan at last! At least we knew what corner of town it was in. One day packed up all of our stuff and dumped it onto the ground, on what we were told was our Lot, by an old timer; the only soul living in that corner of town. Cleared an acre, put in a garden, an outhouse, and bought everything to build a Dome. One day, the Owner of the property showed up. The old timer was senile. Put on our Sunday clothes and pleaded our case and had to move our stuff. Desperate, we moved it to another location that the old timer said surely was ours. From there, spent the Winter in a box trailer with no heat, electricity or facilities. Quilted a sleeping bag out of packing foam that kept us alive. Had a mixed-drink freeze next to the bed one night. Learned about the deep snows of Worcester County.
Married Gail. Like in a scene from Gone with the Wind, she vowed she would never live this way again.
Ran the Instrumentation Dept. at WPI's Alden Labs for a year, then went into Electronics at the dawn of the computer age.
Built the first Timex/Sinclair computer at home. Started a mail-order company selling add-ons and kits that we had designed for it. Exciting times.
Worked 3 startup companies in 4 years: Robotics, video editing, airline terminals, sometimes in secrecy for a year at a time. Wet T-shirt volleyball, skydiving, martini lunches, Las Vegas, weird and wonderful software geeks. Magical times.
1975. Got a friend to survey the property and it actually WAS the right one. Started to build a house ourselves, foundation to rooftop. Never got a permit.
Had 2 kids 11 months apart to 'get it over with' and got fixed. How do YOU spell relief?
Town discovers the house in the woods and confronts us there en masse to have it removed. Desperate, we bluff, say we have 3 relatives in Law practices and will fight it. Town backs down. (Only have one sister, a schoolteacher).
Skidding trees with a farm tractor, one snags, the tractor flips over backwards and pins me unconscious. My friend from the Adirondacks shows up out of nowhere and extracts me. Down and out for a while.
Highway accidents were scheduled by God at regular intervals; whether traveling backwards at 70, or sandwiched between tractor trailers at a stoplight.
But as you're worming your way out the side window, and a Samaritan exclaims "That was awesome!!" at least you know you're alive and good for another 6 months.
Lived blissfully in the forest for 30 years, building trust and friendships as you will with kids in the school system.
Father needed to liquidate several properties to buy oceanfront in N. Falmouth.
We agree to buy the runt of the litter, a lot in Mashpee. Visiting there we discover that if we do not build immediately, we may never be able to. (Septic-to-well placements)
1986. Again. Another house to build ourselves. 51 weeks of wiring, plumbing, roofing, and we finally finish. Gail stays down summers, then weekends. Racing the Hobie Cat, diving for conches, windsurfing, campfires at night. Gail starts up part time work Wallpapering & painting as the kid’s progress into Sports. Bored, Laura drops out of High School Sophomore year to join Mass. Academy of Math and Science at WPI (a surprise to us). Stays to get freshman year at WPI free, and then returns to High School to give the Valedictorian speech to a resentful class. Finished her 4 Yr. degree at age 20. She is now a Sonographer in high-risk Obstetrics in N.Carolina (warmer there). Mike drops out Junior year for Worcester State College and on to Northeastern. A CAD designer now, and free line skater, he lives in San Diego (warmer there).
Personally, just didn't meet many new people in Engineering. Got tired of the politics, emails, vmails, meetings bla bla bla.... Had a chance to make a change, and had been working with an entrepreneur doing day trading and home repair.
Quit the rat-race and worked with him for almost a year until he took his life. Second suicide that year for me.
Anyway, Gail had shattered her ankle in a high ladder fall and was walking with great difficulty after a year in a wheelchair, and her boss had fallen down a stairwell and was disabled, so we decided to just work together.
And that's where we've been for the last 14 years; doing Wallpaper/paint/Faux Finish.
Two weeks before the Reunion, an engineering friend from the past called saying he wanted to buy my place in Worcester County THAT VERY NIGHT. He came over, and we made a deal.
We closed the day before the reunion, so it was somewhat weird telling classmates that we were homeless, but, for that night, we were.
We're taking the year off to relax, do Yoga and hike, water-ski, spend time with our folks, and stay longer at our place in Naples.
Admittedly 'cracking the book' before the Reunion made it somewhat easier to walk into than the last two, but those opaque memories and smiling faces made for a night to remember.
Thanks to the folks that finally came, and regrets to those who are no longer with us.
Peace. Jim Graham
