What do you do for a living?

[LilDat]

Life is short. Losing Paul has made me think about just how precious life is. So.. I'd like to get to know all of you better. Some of you I have corresponded with and I know something about but; really I'd like to know more about all of you. What makes you tick, hobbies, beliefs, family, life lessons, work, loves etc. Just let it loose. I'll start:

I grew up in Missouri, the 4th of 5 children with 13 years difference between me and #3. Dad died when I was 12. Mom moved me and my little sister to a farm and I tried to figure out how to be a man. I got into FFA and through that got great shop teachers, you know the stuff the PC crowd won't let happen today, arc welding, saws, oxyaceltline rigs etc. If I were an Army squad leader and told I had to pick 10 guys to go to hell and pick up the devil I'd pick farm boys. You learn early on how to improvise (Matti you'd be my first pick); when you're two miles from the farm and something goes wrong with the tractor, it's a long walk back and you learn pretty quickly to find another way. That also includes my older brother who never said no to anyone who needed their car worked on. I spent a many hour under cars with him teaching me tool work and learning to get the correct sized wrench for him. Anyway, I sold a herd of beef that I grew while in HS and went to college and got a degree in Psychology. I joke that I got that degree to figure out why my family was so crazy! I wound up working for a state hospital and realized that wasn't the life I wanted. I went back to what I knew and that was beef cattle. I worked for a Corporate farm raising registered beef and got screwed over royally with low pay, lots of risk and an expected 7 day work week. In the middle of that I met this crazy woman from Wisconsin through a mutual friend. She was passing through to go to a friends house in Nawlins. We talked alot and she mentioned that the speakers were not working right in her car. Well, I had to fix them, and in the middle of that while I had her laying across the seat holding her 8 track tape player, a couple of objects fell into view out of her bikini top and I was hooked for life. A couple of years later, I was ready to get out of slavery and my niece asked me if I'd come to Charlotte and help build a shed. I took her up on the offer and within a month of arriving got a good Job. The next thing I know my Wisconson-wardrobe malfunctioning girl decided to move to NC too. We got married and three great kids later here we are. I wound up using my degree by interviewing and being hired as the founding director of Cleveland Vocational http://www.cvii.org founded to work with adults who have disabilities last year we took over a competitor that works with children http://www.harvestworksinc.org I have to pinch myself each day and thank my Lord for what we have created in our community.  I have over 200 employees and we work with roughly 250 adults and children each year. We were one of the last of this type of organizations to be formed in NC but I think we have surpassed most if not all in the use of technology with our training associates. Check out the section on what we do and look at the pick and pack order fulfillment operation it is awesome. Anyway, all of my babies have moved out, my eldest just informed us that, God willing, in a few months I'm gonna be a grandpa. Sure hope i have lil-dat done by then so I can take some great pictures of my spoiled grandchild riding around in a 40 year old plus Datsun pickup! Trying to run a small business and dealing with just about every alphabetsoup type GovCo regulatory agency has made me the most conservative person you could imagine. I don't see how new companies make it; it almost seems if you fart they're finding a way to fine/tax you.  Ok, this is my start, anyone else want to tell about their life? Ken