Never introduced myself...
I have been a member here for a little while now. And I must say, this is the nicest bunch of folks I have ever met! My name is Bert, when I was little my parents used to say "No Bert! Bad Bert!" And it kinda stuck...I was forced to retire in 2008. I have COPD, Diabetes, and Degenerative Disc Disease. Some days I can't breathe... some days I can't walk... But i am thankful for every day that God allows me to stay here with my family!
It was a rough 3 years trying to win SSDI. And during that time, I lost my home to foreclosure and my mother's home to a fire. Insurance paid off the mortgage and we collected enough from our personal effects, to purchase a HUD home and fix it up. It's hard being the parts chaser and food bringer, when you are used to being the worker. But we are living here now, all 4 generations of us! My family worked hard to fix this place up. They did let me do sit down jobs... Like I bought a floor sander a breathing mask and a wheeled chair. So I git to sand the floors! LOL I also did a lot of painting from the same chair with an extension, but my back kicked my butt!
I purchased this Compucarve to spoil myself when I got my SSDI. I paid too much $900 for a reconditioned used A model. I had to replace the power supply to get it working. I also have now replaced the Z and Y gears. Do I regret spending the money? Without this forum, yes. With this forum, HELL NO! I now have an artistic outlet other than Photoshop!
I worked in the Automotive Prototype business for twenty years. http://www.dstindustries.com/index We were the tier one supplier for Ford Marketing. We built three year advance usually, cars you may or may not see, for another three years. It was a wonderful Career. After building (by hand) these vehicles, we would accompany them to Photo and video shoots all across the country. This allowed me to travel extensively to some of the most remote locations, and some of the busiest ones as well. Also I got to work with celebrities! Mike Rowe (dirty jobs, deadliest catch, ...etc), Toby Keith (super nice), Alan Jackson (stuck up and rude), and many others I just can't think of right now. I've been served catered dinners, in the middle of the desert, and had air-soft wars at 4 am in Downtown LA with a four block radius corded policed just for us. I have seen the Golden Gate bridge closed in the morning rush hour, so they could film a vehicle I built driving across it. I stood in awe at purple sunsets on Mt. Rainier. And the amber waves of grain in Washington. I stood on the edge of cliff so high on the pacific ocean that a coast guard helicopter flew under me. You get the picture... I loved my job! And I miss it terribly. But I have a grandson that lives with us, and he makes every day a great day! So that's my story I just wanted to say thanks to all of you, for your wonderful words of encouragement, and all of the help you have all provided!
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Originally Posted by eelamb
