1952 -
 

1970-1971
Foreign/Exotic Auto Apprentice Mechanic
Cars & Classics, Darien, CT.
Unfortunately, this fellow forgot to pay the feds his payroll taxes, so that was the end of that job.

1971-1973
Foreign/Exotic Auto Apprentice/Mechanic
New Canaan Foreign Car Service, New Canaan, CT.
This was a very tough German who taught me decent work habits and some excellent basic mechanical skills. Thanks Gunther, I certainly owe you for that. I Left here to try my hand at being a dealership mechanic.

1973-1974
Pool Table Moving, Setup and Repair
A  friend moved to Colorado and he taught me this business so someone would be there for his old customers.
You always have to play a game of pool after you work on someones table.
After hundreds of games, I still can't shoot pool.
 

1973
Foreign Auto Mechanic
Continental Motors
Fairfield, CT
Typical (boring) dealership line mechanic work.
These were the years of the first fuel crisis and most of us, myself included, were eventually laid off.
 

1974-1977
Truck & Construction Equipment Fleet Mechanic, Operator, Driver
E.M. Workman Co.
Norwalk, CT
This was a septic tank and portable toilet rental outfit, and some of the best people I ever worked for.
I would have done  almost anything for them.
I finally had taken enough of northern winter weather  and deciced to head south.

1977
Auto & Truck Mechanic, Machinist, & Manager
Ed Lovells' Auto & Truck Garage
Gainesville, FL
Ed is gone now, but I'll always appreciate the time he took to teach a yankee boy the ways of the south.

1978-1979 & 1980-1981
Foreign/Exotic Auto
Mechanic, Machinist, & Manager
Oscars Imported Car Service
Gainesville, FL
Oscar was another very tough old german, and the best mechanic I ever met, bar none.
Oscar's gone now too, and I'm forever grateful for all the things he taught me.

1979
Partners in a motorcycle shop, British Specialties
You know how partnerships can be, and my partner having the nickname of "Rotten Ron" should have been a major clue. I bailed out of this one.

1979-1980
Automotive & Truck Mechanics Instructor
Gainesville Job Corps Center, Gainesville, FL
I do love teaching, but this was definitely "public service", as it only paid minimum wage.
I finally had to give it up and go back to  working with Oscar to be sure I could pay the bills.

1980-1984
Stock Car Racing
Crew Chief
Hobby stockers and modifieds. Local tracks.
This was just at the end of the golden era, when you could win with determination, intelligence, and junkyard parts. Replaced by the era of cubic money.

1981-1984
Domestic/Foreign/Exotic Auto/Truck Mechanic, Machinist, & Manager
Dave Mays Automotive
Gainesville, FL
Dave is still one of my favorite people, he's an entomologist who would rather work on cars.
We sure had a lot of fun, and probably the best repair shop in town at the time.
Dave's still there, still doing good work, and still a whole lot of fun.

1982 - 1984
Newspaper Route for The Gainesville Sun
They canceled my contract because I would not deliver any more papers to people who would not pay.
I never missed a night for those few years but circulation numbers meant more to them. Corporate behavior at its finest?

1984-1990
Salvage/Scrap Metal Business Owner
Dave Bross, Cash for Junk,
Archer, FL
The zoning folks put me out of business after the enviro folks and IRS failed in their best attempts.

1987
Auto Parts Sales
B&L Auto Parts
Archer, FL
My friends who owned this needed a little extra help.
My scrap business had an excellent employee who could handle everything, so I got some good experience in retail sales and parts work.

1990 – 1992
Truck Fleet Mechanic/Driver
Nuts & Bolts Recycling, Seattle, WA
Evil People. This one ended with me injured on the job and some serious interpersonal conflict.

1991-1994
Automotive Teacher
University of Washington Experimental College, Seattle, WA
Shoreline Community College  Seattle, WA.
Continuing education. Courses to teach people how to get the most from their vehicles.

1993
 Pizza Delivery
Pizza Time, Seattle WA
A very  fun part time job. People are always glad to see you when you're bringing them food.

1995-1998
Salvage/Scrap Metal Business Owner
Dave Bross, Cash for Junk , Archer, FL
Seattle "no sun" winters finally got to me, so it was back to the sunny south and back into the scrap business again. Scrap prices were higher in these years then they  had ever been. Then...the Feds let the Asian countries dump all their metal into our markets for pennies on the dollar in '98, and that was the end of the steel industry, along with the domestic scrap metal market.

1998 - 2001
Transport Driver, self employed
Moving trucks, RVs and busses to where they needed to go.
This work started to disappear rapidly due to insurance companies requiring the owners of the vehicles to carry expensive liability insurance on all transport drivers. The vehicle owners had to go to employing drivers and not hiring the self employed.
 

2001 -
School Bus Driver
Levy County School District
My favorite job of all time. 20K a year for part time work with full benefits and the summers off.
You also get to help and enjoy all sorts of terrific kids.

1986 -
Glass Artist.
My work is primarily small sculpture, beads, decorative art and jewelry pieces. Lots of research and experimentation with glass chemistry and melting techniques.