I was adopted by my step dad, and he has been a pretty damn good dad to me.He taught me so much about life, business,history, art and craftmanship,he has been the foundation of my life. Though we butt heads all the time like any father and son, at the end of the day, I still hold a tremendous amount of respect for the man, that is when I don't feel like strangling him!
I was raised in Royal Oak Michigan, and lived there until my 1st year in Kimball.At that time my mom,dad and I moved up north to our cabin.
The whole time I was growing up, we went to this small cabin in the woods every weekend, holiday, and summer.The whole time we were up there my dad made this little cabin bigger and nicer-BIGGER AND NICER! It was truly a dream home, small, but wonderful! Overlooking the Pere Marquette river, on about 2-3 acres, this place has everything. Hot tub, sauna, green house, 30x60 pole barn, three level deck going down to the river, etc.
I learned alot from my dad during these times when I was growing up, cause he made me help him build, and add on to this place the entire time! All the while, strengthening my work eithic, and teaching me alot about building.
Ten years of building, and this place was'nt a cabin anymore, it was a home! So the summer after 9th grade my dad sold his portion of his roofing company and we all moved to the cabin,
It was a bit of a shock for me, as I was used to the hustle of the concrete jungle in Royal Oak, and now I would start school in a building that had 6 classrooms! Yep thats right,6 rooms for 7th grade through 12 grade. ONE HALLWAY!
There were a mere 16 people in my class.Four of us were from a small town, not even on the mapand 11 miles from the school, called RUBY CREEK.There were a few other kids from Ruby Creek that went to this school, but they were'nt in our class. They were a grade above or below us.
Oddly enough one of the kids in Ruby Creek and in my same class was a guy that also moved up there, from the concrete confines of the Detroit area.Thats where I met Josh Schmuck.Josh, Wally, Mark, Lisa,Michelle Ed,and I pretty much made up the gang from Ruby Creek. Some of these peolple called them selves
"The Ruby Creek Skulls"
Not everone in Walkerville High School saw things the way those from Ruby Creek saw things, in fact most people hated us! Three of us were from "Detroit" one of us was from Muskegon, one from Hart, and one was born and raised in Ruby Creek.Even the school addministration looked at us differently. We were'nt athletes, we were'nt nerds, we were'nt them period.
At the end of our sophmore year one of us got explelled from that school for not much more than just dislike.
Thats right, we were'nt liked much, but one of us just got a bad shake all together, the school's administration just could'nt stand my friend/blood brother, Josh.
At the drop of a hat, they would kick him out for anything they could. He was only trying to help comfort his girlfriend cause she was crying. But after the school bell rang and we were suposed to be in our next class, Josh wan't to make sure his girl was ok. Then when confronted by the principle about his tardiness, he just told the guy to back off, as he was trying to help his girl.It wasn't much more of a conflict than that, and upon the principle's word, the school board explelled Josh.
Josh was the glue that bonded us in Ruby Creek together.He was our rock, he was our voice, and our opinion when we did'nt want to say anything.He was big, arogant, voiceterous, and would be there when ever you needed him to be EVERYTIME.He was the kind of guy that you want on your side when things go south in a brawl.
After he was expelled, The gang and I pretty much fell in with the locals. We went to all the parties, started hanging out with all the "Cool people" We had the biggest, and best parties at my house (People still talk about them)
All the while Josh got left behind. I feel bad for this, so I am mentioning it, but don't think for a second that he doesn't remind me of it every chance he gets! He still put his chest up to my nose,cause he's like 6'4" and points down at me and says," SUP DEN BRUA?!" Thats when I threaten to wrestle him, and he backs off, but I do feel bad for the path he was forced to take.
Wally and I went to ALL the parties, and got real popular, and before long we were not only in the "IN" crowd, we were running it! I swear its the only place on earth where we could do this. I mean I was on the Homecoming Court, and Prom King! WTF? Hell I was voted most likley to succeed! The other people in Ruby Creek kind of fell away as time went on.I broke up with Michelle, and she was older, and living in Muskegon, going to school, so that was the end of her. Ed was a year older, and he went to jail for some trouble he got into. Mark ended up moving to Muskegon with his sister Michelle,(My old girlfriend)
Lisa was still around but just hanging out with what ever guy she was with at the time (There were many) I should take this time to slander her name here...Just about 2 years ago, her and her dirt bag husband and someone else decided to break into the cabin my parents have in Ruby Creek, and steal my family's shit.Luckily we didn't have anything of value in the house at the time, but the fun part is, these SCUMBAGS spent alot of time and energy moving a real big and heavy safe, and broke it apart to find ABSOLUTLY NOTHING! BTW, safe tampering can be life in prison. Lisa and her husband got arrested, and served time in prison. I am told she got out sometime last year, got divorced, and is now living in her mom's house with her GIRLFRIEND! I hope she reads this someday, and knows that some day our paths will cross, and it won't be pretty!
Anyway, we all graduated in 1991. And I move back to Detroit to go to college, at MacComb Community, for Auto Body Design. I was always real heavy into art and the like, and thought I could go far with it, cause I loved drawing cars. I failed miserably in school, as the school I went to in Walkerville, was not as preparing for me as I needed it to be.The classes were way too advanced for me. So that was the end of that. The other thing I lost out on that year was my high-school- sweatheart. Jami was my girlfriend at that time while I was failing in college. And I was'nt the best boyfriend to her, at all, I didn't realize what I had, took her for granted, and as a result she left me.
Then it hit me, I really loved this girl, but she was gone.Long gone and I lost my mind! I really went crazy. I even got a tattoo of her on my shoulder, I was soo pissed at myself for letting this happen.But after about 8 months of locking myself in my basement and playing pool on our pool table, I decided I wanted to be back with my old highschool friends who were going to college in Muskegon. So I moved up with Denny and Lori and enrolled in MCC.
MCC offered a pocket billard class, and so I took it. I played the instructor, and whooped his ass....bad. So he wanted to play me again, so, I whooped his ass again...BAD!
My car's transmission kept breaking down, so, soon I had no way to college, as I was 50 miles from campas. So, I failed all of my classes-exept one....pocket billards! So when my parents got the report card, they saw this, and figuired I only attended the pocket billards coarse, and not the others.And they pulled the plug on my schooling.
Dad offered me a job with him, travelling around the country installing store fixtures, cabinetry and millwork.
Thats when I started realizing, that I love carpentry, and I was real good at it. All those years at the cabin, helping my dad build the place, were starting to pay off. I had a great work eithic, so I really took off!
I had worked in 130 cities and 29 different states, from New York to Hawaii, before I quit working for my dad. After I quit working for my dad, I met someone who would become one of my best friends, and mentor, Bruce Campbell. Bruce had a small cabinet shop in Clawson, and a few days after I left my dad's business, I called him out of the yellow pages.He did'nt have an "Installer" at the time, so when I told him about my back ground, he hired me on the spot.Bruce exposed me to some of the most complicated woodworking I had ever seen. It was in his shop that I had learned the most about cabinetry, and millwork, design, and finishing.Bruce also tought me a tremendous amount about life, and through him I was working in the homes of some of the weathiest people in the country. Watching how these people lived was a great class too. I was working for doctors, lawyers business owners, educated people from all walks of the sophisticated side of life.Most people I worked for, you would'nt recognize, but some you might. Like Steve Marriuchi, Lions head coach, Bill Davidson,owner of the Detroit pistons, Jim Grossfeld, the original owner of Pulty homes, Ken Kajoian, Kajoian Development, Ken Eisenburg ,Kenneth steel co. and many others too boring to mention.
Bruce and I built on to the business he had whenn I started there, I'd like to think I had a key role in taking it to the top, cause it sure felt like it. But.... That all ended on September 11th 2001. Shortly after that date is when we closed up the shop, because all the work dried up.
Thats when I started my own business,"Blackett Design and Development" Blackett Design was open for about 4 years. I started out working out of my 1 car garage in Ferndale, and was making a little money, so I bought a 4 bedroom cape cod with a real deep 2 car garage, and continue to build my business from there. Then we moved the shop into a real shop,and things were booming! So we put on another shop, with an office. And the money was coming in thick, but I was working over 100 hours a week, and it seemed like the money was good but we were'nt getting anywhere. So after much though, and relization that we were too big, and actually losing money, my wife and I made a very painfull decision to shut it all down.We were in debt pretty bad, so we stratigically chose some undisirable jobs that were profitable and finished them up, to finance the closing of Blackett Design. We cut the debt almost in half, and I have since started back working with My dad and brother. And now, with my family I am building Tiffany & Co. stores all over the country.
Alot of time has passed since I wrote all that, and somethings have changed, so I'll continue for a bit. Since I wrote all of that "crap" I have had all of the ups and downs that I have always had. Iv'e been in touch with old "friends", and made new ones. I don't think I have lost any, though I have had terbulant times with some, but it seems that my bond with friends is always strong. I have had low points in my marrige, and high points. Most times its' day to day, but all and all my wife and I have weathered the storm. Currently, I feel as if we are as strong as we have ever been...maybe stronger.I can say with certainty that she is about as commited to me as anyone can be. I have always tried to be a good husband, though I know I have failed a few times. I know that I can be a lose canon sometimes, and I know that I have ALWAYS been loving, considerate, and eager to support her in anyway I can. I know what a shity husband can be, I've seen more than a few in my day, and I don't want to ever be one of these guys.But through thick and thin, she has remained a strong and VERY tolerant wife.
Working with family has been a pain, and also rewarding. We have lost 90 percent of the work we usually do with any Tiffany store. Our main client has pretty much lost that account. Work has been slow in 2008, but some very promising things are on the horizon.Working along side with my dad and brother has introduced a side to me. I guess you could say I have gotten more interested in politics, and I err on the side of the ever unpopular conservative side.Not sure, as I look back, that I ever could say I agreed with any liberal on pretty much anything. Somehow I have become more interested in this stupid election, and I have come up with this view, and please note that its' just a dumb carpenters opinion. I wouldn't vote for a democrate, as it seems like nothing really happens, no real work gets done, there doesn't seem to me any possitive forward momentum. And to vote for a republican is somehow wrong because they're the ones that do everything, but seem to do it wrong. So what difference does it REALLY make? I guess I adhere to the beliefs of the people who started this country. I am sure they got it right so any change to those core beliefs, and I am not going to be easy to talk to. I believe this is one nation under God, and we should recognise that. I believe I have the right to defend myself, and my family, so don't try to take the right to own my gun away-in fact don't even joke about it. (And no, I don't think we should label and record every one of my bullets) I believe that we should speek english here.And I think that so long as we have the means, when we are attacked we should attack back, and win. And leave a reminder to our enemy that they really shouldn't mess with us.And yup, pretty sure we can drill for oil in Alaska. I could go on and on about that, but if you don't get it, you don't get it.Not sure about the universal health system yet. But so long as we keep on letting people in this country illegally, we probally should NOT offer this ADDED bonus. And no, I have no problem with Obama's color, I'd vote for Colon Powell tomorrow. Enough about politics, I know half of you don't agree with me anyway. But before I leave the subject I suggest 2 things to everyone:1) read Lone Survivior by Marcus Luttell, and 2) don't ever say a bad thing about America or the American flag in front of me, because I will either just walk away, and never speek to you again, or throw a truck load of haymakers at you windmill style!