I wish I knew my grandparents better before they passed. What I know of them comes from a few visits as a child and conversations with my parents. Genealogists are often surprised by their discoveries about past family members. But what will my descendants be surprised to know about me?
That question is why I love to tell my legacy stories. If I don't then someone else will or those who find me in the world database will draw their own conclusion. So, in the interest of answering this question I hope my descendants are surprised by many jobs I've had with my time here on earth.
Talk About a surprise. Here's a list of jobs, careers and businesses I have done so far. More to come I'm sure:
- Paper boy-Natick Massachusetts. Delivering the Boston Globe and the Natick Bulletin at 13 years old
- Lemonade stand (didn't we all do this?)
- Science lab assistant at the US Army Natick Labs. Summer job at 16. Chopped off the heads of experimental rats for a reason I never knew.
- Maintenance assistant at Continental Can Company, in the paper division at 17
- Janitor at Wonder Bread. Loved this job because I got to eat the brown & serve rolls as they came out of the oven.
- US Marine-Viet Nam grunt, 106 mm team, M-60 machine gunner, tunnel rat, sniper.
- Cabinet maker and installer-Dad got me this job with a carpenter because I couldn't find work as a Viet Nam Vet. Ended up cutting off my fingers on a table saw.
- Taxi driver
- Insurance salesman for Bankers Life and Casualty
- Band member with my brothers, Brothers Kingdom 1971-79.
- Band member in a duo with Al McIntosh- Great Relief, a musical two seater.
- Sign Maker for LaBarge Signs
- Countertop maker for Formatop, Inc in Conway, NH
- Started my own sign business, The Sign Cellar- 1980-89
- Started the first Survival Game in New England- Closed during a media event where the disc jockey had his eye shot out. Unreal experience.
- Sold cemetery lots for Greenlawn cemetery in Knoxville, TN
- Started LTA Media, a direct marketing company,y with $50 borrowed from my brother Jim. It grew to over $500 million in sales from my kitchen table
- Let's Talk America. Hosted my own talk show airing on over 450 radio stations in the US and Canada. 1990-2003
- Started Telliquah Development Company, a community development enterprise that renovated a vintage mountain village in the Smoky Mts.
- Started the Tellico Bear, a retail shop
- Founded Legacy Stories
- Founded the International Association of Storekeepers
I gave up thinking of more. Is it possible to do all this in 60 years? Given that 100 years ago most people did one job for a lifetime it is amazing how much one can do today to taste life from many angles and pursuits. I seriously doubt this is the end of it either and this doesn't include all what goes into a 42 year marriage with 2 sons. I hope my descendants find this array of jobs to be a surprise.