Born a southern boy in the city of New Orleans La, Charity hospital. Attended Harden Elementary school until the ripe age of 9. Lived at 2301 Tubelo st, I think I was a naturalist since a child. Most of my childhood memories were spent remembering the lessons my mother taught me, like every summer instead of playing all day long, I remembered summer school lessons, taught my mother. Which I had to attend whether I wanted to or not. Growing up I found that these were the most important lessons of my life. The lesson of my ABC’s as taught by my mother, miss Ivy. A school teacher at the same elementary school. And her reputation preceded her. My most favorite animals were birds. I had a thing for birds, I would steal all sorts of birds eggs out of the nest if possible and try to incubate them. I got as far as keeping them alive for at least a few days in the beginning.
Responsibility
until I figured out how to feed them. Once at night, I robbed some pigeon babies just hatched from an abandoned building. I took the two babies home and figured out how to feed them. I used a straw. Sucked some mixed cornmeal grits and milk up into a straw, and kind of blew it into their gullets. The wonder of all it worked and they grew up.
They thought I was the momma. As I came home from school some days they got very hungry if I neglected to feed them in the mornings. So soon as I would turn the corner over a block away they would recognize and fly to me over a block away and hover over me, and landing on my outreached hand, imploring me to feed them. All the other kids thought I was special that the birds flew to me they were hungry As a boy I fished in the gator filled swamp just over the levy, where we walked with buckets along the railroad track during the spring to pick up all the little turtles born on land trying to make it back to water. The very first thing I built was a treehouse, in the china ball tree. The china ball tree was very important as we used its fruit, the china ball as bullets to our pop guns which we made out of an abandoned hose pipe. And that’s another story. We moved from New Orleans to Chicago in 1962 south side. I graduated from Harlan High School in Chicago Illinois, 1971. Growing up in Chicago was an education in itself. One only had to live there and exist and survive to consider oneself educated in life and survival. At which time after graduation, I went back down south to Johnson C. Smith University. I got to college on a hope and prayer, and a one-thousand-dollar loan from my mother. Which got me on campus. Where I tried out for every sports team available. I landed on the swimming team. As I won a full scholarship to swim for Johnson C Smith University in Charlotte NC. 1971 – 1976.
I graduated in 1976 with a BS degree in PE. At which time I relocated to Chicago, and started life as an adventurous young man. I tried my hand at construction work, as I entered into a business opportunity with investors to start up a construction company. I left Chicago in 1979 to relocate to Minneapolis Mn. In 1981 Attended Ceta CDI computer classes and began my career as a computer engineer, working on Cray Research supercomputers in Chippewa falls wi. That began my illustrious career as a computer engineer. Working for various fortune 500 s/w companies. From around 1982 until early 2013 my main source of income was derived from working with computers. I attended Master Gardner classes at UC, and in 2015 and was awakened to a world that I had been in love with since my early life as a kid on the farm in New Orleans. Since I presently own a farm, I started raising animals, like giant Flemish rabbits, and Guinea pigs, and worms. I started composting and loving it. Selling worms and guinea pigs and rabbits was a lesson in the love of work.
The symbiotic existence between animals and plants was fruitful and rewarding. I’m presently endeavoring to try my hand at writing as I have a product that I will have to explain to lots of people I hope. As I was always motivated by things in nature, the condition of our environment has always been of concern to me. And when I’m motivated about something I usually do something about it. So being very concerned about the water shortage I started thinking about that. This device which I have created was first done some 35 years ago, yes I was a closet activist some 35 years ago in my life. Back then laws were not in my favor concerning gray water systems. But today is a new day and with new laws, I can see light at the end of the tunnel. Some two years ago I took classes at UC Master Gardeners Program. I passed all class lessons with a 70% pass rate, but due to a misunderstanding of the instructions for completing the final exam, I did not pass the final exam, as I was not allowed to retake the final exam. Still, I found the course most rewarding and fruitful. I have benefited immensely from knowledge derived from the course. That knowledge can never be taken away from me. It has awakened me to the fact that I am a natural Activist as born. Knowledge has no borders.
So although life has taken many turns, I will start this story some 28 years ago.
I was just married for the first time. Living in Santa Clara California, owned my first home. Had a successful job as a computer engineer, life was good as always. Although calm and cool in appearance and demeanor, inside burned a fire. As I glimpsed out into the world I saw a picture of too much garbage, disease, pollution everywhere, crime, pestilence all the above.
Then the drought hit us hard here in California. One day perplexed by it all I said to myself, what can I do, but sit here and complain about everything. What is going to happen to the world if we all just sit here and complain about it and everything anybody does to fix anything? So being the “Doer “, that I was i.e. always making things, always fixing this or that. I thought about water as it was with all its power to heal, soothe, and provide life to us all no matter what your struggle is you’re going to need water to do it. So focused upon these facts I started to create a system that I felt could save water from the shower and tub and recycle it to a lawn and toilet application. It turned out to be quite successful and applicable at the time and one day I called up the TV station Channel 11 and spoke to a young reporter lady named Penny Nikamuri. Who thought it was a great story and did an interview of my new system. And below is and copy of the interview of me some 28 years ago.