PROLOGUE: A true story of a greenhorn kid from Kentucky fresh out of high school who thought he was a man who had the heart of twenty lions with adolescent big dreams only to find out by cold hard reality that it took work.
Walking A Tightrope Over The Ohio River
I finally graduated from high school in 1979 and between a Catholic upbringing of 7 long years being tortured by old penguins who ruled with their tiny fists and a wooden inch-ruler and 6 grueling years split between mid-school and high school I was ready. I couldn't believe I was going to be my own man. But, reality sat in and that was I had a job that only paid $4.35 an hour. My life was already in peril from the start but I had a car and motivation and that's all a kid at nineteen needed.
I worked at a burger joint and it sucked, got old the very first day, so I quit and started to carry hod and brick, I was tough as a 16 penny nail, but hated carrying hod and brick 6 days a week for $5.00 an hour, and when I came home I was dead tired. So, one night I asked my dad if he could help me land a job like my cousin Stingray who made $12.00 an hour. He said he'd talk to the foreman who he knew very well and told me to keep my head up. I came in one Friday night flopped on the couch, and dad said, "I got some great news, you're hired!"
"What, are you kidding me?" I said elated waiting on a confirmation.
"You start Monday, and you make $12.00 an hour," dad said smiling and winking at me.
I jumped so high I hit my head on the ceiling in our basement and thought I'm rich, I'm going to be somebody. This was by far one of the happiest moments in my life.
"You want to go play cards with me tonight?" Dad said smiling.
"Hell yes, and here's twenty bucks to open up on!" We left together in dad's old blue Chevrolet. I was glowing like November's full moon that night.
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