I married my high school sweetheart, Linda Drendel, in July of 1970 during which time I was rehabbing at Valley Forge Hospital in Phoenixville, Pennsylvania from my gunshot wounds that I received in Vietnam. We came back to Illinois to get married and then returned to Pennsylvania to finish my rehab as an out-patient. We lived in a very small apartment above a shoe store in town, cockroaches and all. We lived there until I was released from the Army.
I was officially retired from the Army in October of 1970 with an honorable discharge and we moved into an apartment in Westmont, three blocks from Linda’s parents. We lived there for a year and then bought a new condo in Woodridge in 1971. Our first son, Christopher, was born in February of 1972 and Brian was born in March of 1974. We soon grew out of the two bedroom condo and bought a four bedroom home in Woodridge.
Chris and Brian grew up as most typical kids in the suburbs. They played in a soccer league, built skateboard ramps, and helped with the chores around the house. I helped them with their homework (ad nauseam for them, I’m sure). Ironically, a few years later when I was taking calculus at night school, Chris helped me with my homework. We put up a swimming pool and the boys spent a lot of their summers keeping cool swimming.
My career at Lucent Technologies began with my dad’s urging me to apply for a job at Western Electric in Cicero. I schlepped my sample drawings with me to my interview. As it turns out, they were hiring draftsmen the very day I applied. This was an entry-level position and I remember the pay was $365 a month. It wasn’t great, but it was more than I was making as a part-time stock boy at the local clothing store. Plus it came with benefits. I was 17 years old just two weeks out of high school and had a new full-time job with the potential of it becoming a career. I landed up working for the person who I interviewed with, Lou Murphy, for the next eleven years.
I was still working as a draftsman 2 ½ years later when I received my draft notice.
When I returned from the service, my job was waiting for me at Western Electric. I went back to the same department as a draftsman – doing the job I thought they desperately needed in Germany when I got drafted.
I moved up in the company gradually and landed up in the engineering group. I spent a few years there, not really going anywhere when software design positions started to become available. I was looking for a new challenge and I began taking classes on my own and learned enough about software and software design that I was able to find an opening in a software development group. By this time, the company had transitioned into Bell Laboratories.
I went to the College of DuPage and earned by associate degree and then to Governors State University to complete my Bachelor’s Degree. I continued on to graduate school at Northern Illinois University. In addition to Uncle Sam paying for my tuition and books under the GI Bill, I received a monthly subsistence allowance of around $400 a month. That sure came in handy while raising a family.
I had finally found my niche. I worked on a few projects as a member of a development team and travelled to various company locations to learn more about the product as well as the company’s unique software language that I was using at the time. I found this environment to be very challenging, and I had spent several productive years both as a team member and as a team leader. Software development teams were usually comprised of 3-4 team members. We would get an assignment and split it up amongst the team members. We each would develop and write the appropriate code and test it for various scenarios. We would then have a team meeting and review what we had developed. We then tested each other’s code and run it through rigorous test plans for accuracy and compliance before delivering it to the field.
In the late 1980’s the company began cutting back on its workforce. It was time to look around for available openings within the company. I was very fortunate to land a position in Training Development and Delivery. I had absolutely no desire to teach, but I was intrigued at the thought of education. The company had once again changed their identity and would now be known as Lucent Technologies.
This new assignment included learning about a new product and its nomenclature, as well as the writing platform required to transition this knowledge into training manuals. I would learn about the product and transform that information into training materials that could be used to teach in a classroom. The training was to be delivered by Lucent Technology trainers from my organization to telephone equipment engineers in the field. I spent a lot of my time with the Bell Lab engineers and took related classes learning about the product in order to be knowledgeable enough to train the trainers.
In 2001 the company was again downsizing and it had to make some difficult decisions. Well, difficult for me at least. They decided that I fit into their plans to include me out. They presented a buyout package that included nearly a year’s salary, payment for all of my accrued vacation time, and a full pension. The effective date of my retirement was on my 35 year anniversary with the company. This all came as a shock to me, as I had just moved into a new home the year before and now my income would be somewhat decreased.
When I first became involved with computers at work developing software, I finally got enough interest and bought a ‘home computer’. These were relatively new gadgets at the time. They used the BASIC computer language, which was very basic and easy to master. Chris also took an interest in computers, which he later turned into a career.
It was also about this time that I began to get more involved with veterans groups. I began a journey that took me away from my family more and more as time went on. I was obsessed with my newfound interest of working with veterans groups. I found out that I had a talent for knowing how to get things done and/or who to call to get them done and had good organizational skills.
Unfortunately, this took a toll on my life at home, without my even realizing it at the time. It was something that I had taken for granted and, looking back on all of it, I was very selfish with the time I spent away. I should have been more aware of not spending more time with my sons and wife. I just didn’t see it until it was too late. I do regret a part of that, but at the same time I feel that the experience has made me a better person.
Sparing the details and to make a long story short, Linda filed for divorce in 1989. My extra-curricular activities had finally taken their toll and she would no longer put up with it. Divorce is a very difficult time for everyone involved. It devastates some people and some never recover. I lost my sons respect as well as their friendship for a long time after that. It took me getting ill to get them back. Ironically, I have been very fortunate for all of the circumstances that led up to that because I now have a great relationship with both Chris and Brian.
I had a lot of help coping with the entire divorce/estrangement situation. My current wife, Linda, was there for me and supported me through the rough times. But I am a survivor and I have moved on.
On November 14, 1992 a new chapter in my life began - I remarried. I had found my soul mate that understands me and, for the most part, puts up with my quirks. This is not an easy task. We are very happy and enjoy doing things together.
It was difficult at first because my former wife was very much liked by my family and friends and it didn’t help that I was the only person in the family that had ever gotten divorced. That’s me – the pioneer.
Once my family realized that my new wife, Linda, was not the monster that my ex no doubt made her out to be, we did just fine. It took them longer to realize what I had known for a long time and that Linda is a very intelligent and caring person.
We like to travel, work out in the garden, go to summer fests, play card games, watch movies, cook out, try new restaurants, spend time at the pool and hot tub, share our thoughts together, and build our dreams together.
She cared for me when I was sick and I have done the same for her. We have been through some tough times, but have also shared the best of times.
I don’t get to see my sons nearly as much as I would like. Brian lives with his wife, Julia, in Chicago and Chris lives in Tennessee with his wife, LaDonna. They are both very happy where they are and that’s most important.
Linda and I have been blessed with great families. I have my brother, Mike, and my two sisters, Kathy and Cindy. My dad still has his health. Linda’s mom is well and has a brother, Bobby and his wife, Lori and two sons, Jordan and Maxwell. We don’t all get together as often as we would like - everyone seems to always be so busy these days.