Sufficient pressure was applied to the skinny pedal, and the Duster ran at full song. Chicago radio stations heralded my return, getting louder as the miles fell away. At this pace, I'd hear the Boogie Check on WLS without static for the first time in years. Ooh! Aah!

Nassar Supply was a new contractor yard in the area where I graduated high school. They needed a salesman who could drive a forklift. When the contractor left their partnership, the remaining owner, an architect with no retail or yard operations experience, promoted me to Manager.

Snagging a copy of the alternative newspaper from the pile on the cigarette machine on my way in, I thumbed through pages as I slaked my thirst. Then, right next to the Life in Hell comic strip, my future was foretold in yet another ad! Before the sweat on that longneck had loosened the label, my future had found me. 

Thoreau warned me about leading a life of quiet desperation in sixth grade, so the advice of my well-intentioned pals: "Don't quit your day job!" was cheerfully ignored. Citing the high failure rate of startups in general and/or prevailing market conditions, they all thought I was out of my mind to go into business for myself.

The alternative newspaper in Key West got a new publisher, and I got invited to an interview for Sales Manager. Japhy rode shotgun, scouting locations for his new futon factory. On the road, the un-resignation of the previous Sales Manager was accepted. Adjourning to Barefoot Bob's on Duval for a beer, we were welcomed by Kathy, who shared how she and Bob came to run their joint and suggested moving down anyway. This daring notion made absolutely no sense, and I loved it.

The Meyer's Manx dune buggy launched the kit car industry back in '64. Enthusiasts purchased bodies and parts in kit form, then built vehicles using the running gear from a "donor" car. Innovative Street Machines in Miami offered kits for Porsche Speedsters that used VW parts, plus three '30s Fords & a '66 Cobra based on Ford running gear. Reporting to the sales office in Plantation in November of '99, I began selling kits manufactured at the factory in Little Haiti.

Freelance work sustained us upon arrival in Elko, NV growing to include the new practice that hired my bride as a medical assistant. You can take the boy outta Radio but cannot take Radio outta the boy, so in time, I got a gig selling radio advertising, first for one radio station owner in the market, then another. Asked to deliver sales training to new reps at a third owner's station, the lessons David and Chris gave me back in Milwaukee were illustrated with anecdotes from my decades of sales experience. One of those radio stations shared their newscaster Lori with the local NBC TV affiliate.