I am just another guy sitting in my kitchen chair trying to figure out how to become a successful author. I just read David Baldacci's autobiography who is the best selling author and he made writing seem so easy. He made it sound like just telling an interesting story to a friend was the trick.
I am a 75 year old male who is retired and disinterested in almost everything I have been doing lately besides talking to my family of kids and grandkids. Writing seems like the one way I can justify an admittedly indulged existence only because of the good fortune of a well endowed family and some lucky business success.
Otherwise, I feel very empty sitting out here in Florida far away from my roots in Chicago.
I never saw the point in going to school so I en1ded up graduating last in my class in both grade school and high school then got kicked out of 3 colleges and inducted into the army at the height of the Vietnam war. Being scared to death of actually being sent to fight I fooled the shrink at the induction center with an academy award performance of a neurotic, disturbed, terrified, bullied kid who said he could not urinate with other people around.
I did the whole interview head down and hardly ever looking up at the army shrink and speaking creepy softly.. He bought my crazy act even though he still had me come back 3 months later. I came back and performed the same act of being a man that was potential total liability to the army. I was permanently rejected.
I headed straight to the local pool room where my friends were waiting for my results. I took them all out to dinner and we got drunk to celebrate my good fortune not to be drafted. My friends were mostly nice boys who got deferments because they were in college studying to be doctors and lawyers.
That was back in 1969.
In the ensuing years I have been the same lucky dope that I always was from grade school on.
I gambled, smoked dope, did a lot of coke and chased women all this time. I did get married to a wonderful woman and that union lasted from 1975 to 1989 although we were pretty done after 1982.
In fact, I just had a reunion with some guys I have been friends with for 69 years who are all friends from the old neighborhood who started school with me in 1953.
It was great.
