I have been called interesting, boring, a dork, a geek, an introvert, an extrovert, and loud. I have been referred to that guy, him, that writer, and OH CRAP, HE’s HERE!
Which of those descriptions do I like the most? Well……
Let’s say that one or more of them will fit perfectly at any moment.
About me…..
I was born in Cleveland, Ohio, in the turbulent 60s and the 1960s, in case you are unclear. I grew up on the East Side, and yes, it is not the WEST SIDE. If you are from Cleveland, you know the difference.
The neighborhood I grew up in was, and still is, called Collinwood. Named as such after the name of the local High School. Personally, I went to St. Joseph High on the border between Cleveland and Euclid. Today, it merged with another school called Villa Angela - St. Joseph.
I realized early on, early junior year, that I needed a way to get out of there because it would be the death of me. I tried many things; college after high school was not an option, and I was not the greatest of students. In high school, I took an electronics class and found my niche, my thing. Technology.
I decided the best way for me to learn and not kill myself doing it was to join the military. So, I headed up to Euclid Avenue one afternoon and walked into the military recruiting center; I was 17 years old.
I walked in and waved to the Marine guy as I kept walking. The Army guy wanted to put me in a tank, and the Navy guy wanted to put me on a boat. I never reached the Coast Guard because the Air Force guy invited me to his office to talk. He handed me a beer, and for nearly three hours, we talked. He told me about the military, life in the military, basic training, and many other things. The funny part was that he was 100% honest in his descriptions and statements.
I went back and talked to him after tech school. Shook his hand and told him I was very happy with what he did and said. I learned about munitions and explosives and was licensed to drive every vehicle the Air Force has in its motor pool.
I became a driving instructor for new people assigned to our squadron and taught forklift and tractor-trailer operations mostly.
In one day, my life changed. I was injured and told I would need to cross-train because I could no longer be in munitions. That hurt. I applied to go into PMEL, Precision Measurement Equipment Laboratory, which is a lot of words to say a physical-dimensional and electronic calibration specialist. It was great. I enjoyed it a lot.
After 14 years, I left the military during the dreaded downsizing and decided to return to college. I drove a bus for the U.S. Space and Rocket Center in Huntsville, Alabama, and repaired photocopiers and cash registers in the area.
After receiving my Associate’s degree, I worked at a college as a Network Administrator for a time, then took a job at a company in Mississippi for a company as their Network Specialist and PC instructor. At this company, I was introduced to EDI or Electronic Data Interchange. I found it exciting and fun, and I excelled!
I applied and moved to Cleveland again to work on Public Square at BP Oil as an EDI Coordinator and analyst. It was amazing and a lot of fun. The 41st floor was a long way up, and I thought the building was on the same spot as the bookstore stood when I cut school with a friend and took the bus and rapid transit downtown to kill a day.
Stepping back a moment, after retraining in PMEL, I was assigned to Newport News, Virginia, where I met my wife. We were married on June 29, 1985, and are about to celebrate our 39th anniversary.
We have lived in a lot of places, and my stable factor is EDI. I still do it, and it has been more than 30 years in this career. I still enjoy it!
I do have a few hobbies, though. I will talk about two of them briefly.
ONE: I enjoy writing (Duh!) I love writing Science Fiction, but also camping and other books
TWO: Amateur Radio. I was pushed into it by a friend, Elden, who is no longer with us, and I strive to do justice to teaching and testing those wanting to get into radio with the passion Elden had. HIS LEGACY, I guess.
Radio cannot be a money-making enterprise, so it is called AMATEUR radio.
Writing, however, does make a very small residual or royalty. I hope to one day increase it to a point that I can call my income, but right now, that is a pipe dream.
My goal is to write and publish at least four books each year. one every quarter, every three months. Since the beginning of this year, I have published five, so I blew that goal all to hell!
For more information about these new books, click here to go to my WEBSITE. In the Filters, select Recent Additions.
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Chris Cancilla