YEAR END THOUGHTS

Neta and I have been in Sweden a year now. It is pretty incredible. We sold our home in Mariposa and our business in Oakhurst just before the economic melt down. We were very lucky. We could not have planned it better. What a difference six months to a year would have made. We would not be here in Sweden.

I think back to where I came from. My parents came from Sonora, Mexico. I was born in Los Angeles in General Hospital. I lived in Mexico until I was 5 or 6 years old. I learned English in school as a second language. Every Summer when school was out I returned to Mexico and stayed with family through my junior year in high school. I was lucky enough to have stayed out of the Vietnam war. Just luck.

I went to Santa Clara University in California. Again luck. I didn't know what to do with my life. I got a scholarship to go there because of a very persistent high school teacher who made it his mission to get as many of us into college after high school. I was not a very focused student. I ended up joining a lot of social causes organizations. Mexican-American (Chicano) causes, Caesar Chavez grape workers, Community Alert Patrols (police watch dogs), Anti-War demonstrations, etc. I ended up dropping out of school.

I worked at many low paying odd jobs. Then I decided to learn electronics. Because I heard there were good jobs to be had in that field. I enrolled in the "Philco-Ford Technical Institute". I got a job immediately after finishing the school. I was an electronic technician at Hewlett-Packard testing and troubleshooting hybrid microwave components used in instrumentation.

If I got to a point on the job where I wasn't learning new technology I would move on. I worked at many electronic companies in various capacities. I also travelled a lot with the companies.

I met Neta at Hewlett-Packard. Then one day Neta and I had enough of the Silicon Valley rat race. We ended up buying a Feed Store in Oakhurst, California near Yosemite. We sold our home in San Jose, California and bought a house in Mariposa. We grew the Feed Store for 15 years. Many, many, stories to tell. Many friends along the way. And now I am here in Sweden and working with my neighbor in the refrigeration, heating and cooling business. I am learning a new trade. It is fun to keep learning. I am continuing my photography and enjoying life.

Neta and I are thinking about starting a new business at our home here in Sweden.

Neta, also has an interesting life experience starting when she left Sweden when she was only seventeen. Later on that.

Enough rambling.