After high school I started a career in automotive parts and service. I met my wife, Shirley Koehler, at Maple Woods Community College. We married in December of 1970.

Shirley worked for Southwestern Bell (SBC) and in 1980 I began a career with SBC. I transferred to AT&T in 1983 and Shirley in1984. In early 1984 AT&T moved me to Florida were I became computer programmer. By years end I was moved back to Kansas City. My AT&T career expanded to computer programmer, systems analyst, and systems administrator in a UNIX environment. In 1990 AT&T transferred Shirley and I to Atlanta, Georgia. There I worked with several teams to develop some of the largest UNIX base applications in the nation. Although I enjoyed the work and my co-workers, I never really liked Atlanta. In 1996 Shirley and I got the opportunity to move to Dallas, Texas where we currently live.

Living in Dallas brought major changes to our lives. One Saturday in May 1997 I went from being able to walk to being on crutches. Three months later I was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis (MS). I was told I would be bedridden within 6 months. I found one of the nations leading MS Neurologist. With his recommended treatment I was able to continue my career until September 2000. Since that time my efforts have been used to maintain my abilities. Although I am disabled, I am not bedridden and most likely never will be.

Having MS has some up sides. Without MS I would have never gotten to spend time with David Lander. David played Squiggy on the TV show Lavern & Shirley. My Neurologist assisted with part of David's treatments. I got to spend an hour or so with David after an MS seminar. We shared experiences and talked about his book “Fall Down Laughing”. Its subtitle is “How Squiggy Caught Multiple Sclerosis and didn't Tell Nobody.” David reminded me to look for the funny side of things. Now if I fall down in the shower and can't get up, it's OK. After all, it means I get to moon the paramedics. Hey they need a laugh too. Remember, if you learn to laugh at yourself, people will always be laughing with you, not at you.

After 39 years Shirley has retired from AT&T and we are looking into moving back to Kansas City.

Good fortune to all and have a great day.