Consolidating my tales: from Tales & Travels... Back to the future again... In 1982 I failed at my attempt to start up a personal computer training school. I, as well as everyone I spoke with back then, could see the bright future of personal computers, and as a result I was able to gather a small group of investors and opened our school in Las Vegas. We set up a really sweet pretty store/classroom with lines of Basic scrolling along the walls. We bought a dozen Commodore 64 computers, small TV monitors and a (at the time) huge projection screen for the class. We advertised, we talked to everyone, we hustled, but we failed. We failed at realizing that people dont want to have to learn computing, they wanted computers to be easy... I mistakenly thought everyone would see learning computer languages as necessary for the future as reading... Wrong. Bill Gates and Steve Jobs were a lot smarter than I, and knew that software would and could make computing easier than having to learn languages. As a result I ended up driving out of town busted and defeated with only an old car, two of the Commodore 64s and the clothes in my suitcase... I had two more things with me of consequence, a camera and several legal pads. By the time I reached San Diego Id decided to try my hand at writing, have always enjoyed tales and although I realized I didnt have the ability to tell them, I thought perhaps I could create them with a pen and paper. Of course as cash strapped as I was I knew Id have to figure out a way to avoid being homeless (as I indeed was at the time). On a whim I stopped at a used car lot and talked with the owner. I sold him on his need for one of the 64s I had, to help his bookkeeper move into the future. We haggled and negotiated and finally settled upon a deal that allowed me to trade in my car and the Commodore 64 for a six year old blue VW bus and he also paid me $250 cash to show his bookkeeper how to use the computer. Now, I had a little more cash, a bus to convert into my first RV and a plan... Off we go (Helga and I) heading north up the coast highway with a song in my heart and a plan in mind, again... more to come, please leave a comment, encouragement is wonderful for the ego.
Posted on: Sat, 20 Dec 2014 13:19:20 +0000
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