SOLO:   SOLOFLEX8
 
I was born in the house my father built. Oops! That was the
first line of Richard Nixon's biography, not Richard
Willard's. My biography goes something like this...
 
My life began on the evening on June 15, 1957. My soon-to-be
mother, was experiencing labor pains, so they brought her to
her doctor's hospital, Beth Israel Medical Center in Newark,
NJ. While she had labor pains most of the night, no new
child seemed to be forthcoming at the moment. The next
morning, she told the nurse she had to go to the bathroom,
for what she thought was to relieve her bladder, but
instead, out I came! Splash! I have had an aversion to
swimming in round porcelain swimming pools ever since. So,
my actual date of arrival was Sunday, June 16. It was
Father's Day. When I was growing up my dad would tell me I
was the best Father's Day present he ever received. I liked
when he said that. As for my name, my mother chose Richard,
because that was the name of the son of Lucille Ball, a
woman she admired. To this day, everyone even remotely
connected to my family calls me Ricky.
 
I lived in Newark until I was 7, then we moved to the
`burbs. I lived in West Caldwell for five years, then
Bloomfield for the next twenty before moving to Parsippany.
I attended various Catholic grade schools, but when I reach
7th grade my mom let me make my own decision. I opted for
public school. Little kids should not have to wear ties to
school.
 
After graduating from Bloomfield High School in 1975, it was
off to college. I went to Rutgers University. I entered as a
Zoology major, switched to Math, then English, then
Psychology, then a dozen others before settling on Chemistry
in my third year. Having had exactly two chemistry courses
to this point, I had a lot to make up, so it took me a total
of five years to get through college. My choice of Chemistry
was strange even to me. I had come very close to failing
Chemistry in High School, and probably should have, except
for a generous teacher. I had trouble getting those abstract
theories into my rigid-thinking mind. I guess I saw it as a
challenge to be won. I remember being in Dr. Hemis's
Structure and Bonding class when a light bulb went off over
my head. At that one moment, all of the abstract theories of
Quantum Chemistry and Wave Mechanics made incredible sense.
I spent the next two years taking virtually nothing but Chem
courses, culminating with 41 credits of them my senior year.
During my senior year, I also used to make up my own joke
exams which would mysteriously be waiting on every student's
desk when they arrived to take the real test. My questions
included "Use all 108 elements in a sentence" and matching
male professor's names to various articles of women's
clothing. The Chemistry Department launched a massive search
to find out which miscreant was behind those fake exams. I
never admitted it to anyone till now. It's so hard to get a
scientist to have fun. I would have told them it was really
me, but they were already mad at me because I put a few drops
of nitric acid in the hand wash solution. Several fellow
students had the skin on their hands turn yellow for a few
weeks. Some people just can't take a joke! I never really
wanted to be a chemist, I just saw it as the most attractive
degree to have to go to medical school, a possibility I
wanted to keep open.
 
After college, I wasn't sure what I wanted, but I figured I
had to keep going to school while I thought about it. I
enrolled at Rutgers in a Biochemistry Ph.D. program. I was
also hired by the University to be a Teaching Assistant and
instructor in Organic Chemistry, a subject I truly detested.
I lasted all of a semester and a half, before deciding to go
to med school. I didn't get in to any of the four American
schools to which I applied, but I was accepted to St.
George's University School of Medicine on the island of
Grenada in the West Indies. That was fine with me. I had a
half-dozen friends already there and the thought of
traveling 2500 miles to a virtual third-world country to
study medicine intrigued me, so off I went in August 1981. I
suppose I could dwell on living in a place where it was
oppressively hot, running water was worth more than gold,
electricity was occasional at best, and the smallest
creature comforts were either unavailable or very costly.
All of that is true, but it really didn't bother me. I was
having to much fun exploring, living in a foreign land, and
learning medicine, a subject which thoroughly enthralled me.
Anyone who has experienced the joy of cutting a fellow
human's body to shreds would know exactly what I mean. For
several years after that, I thought the odor of formaldehyde
was the way everybody smelled. I had a lot of fun while I
attended Club Med School. I got to see a number of Caribbean
islands and meet a lot of new friends. Grenada is where I
met Notabene (Barry Eagel) and we have been friends ever
since.
 
A degree from St. George's was expensive, and it was cash
only. I would take an occasional semester off to earn more
money and then return. I earned the tuition money mostly by
working of the loading platform for various freight
companies. The work was hard, but the pay was good. I
continued this until tuition became prohibitively expensive.
At about the same time, Yellow Freight offered me a position
in management. Being a bit weary of the financial struggle,
I took it. I had grown tired of the cold winter nights on
the dock. I originally thought I would work there for a few
years and then return to school. I never counted on liking
my job and my company as much as I do though, so I never
left. All in all, I finished 5 semesters of a 9 semester
program. I was in Grenada during the U.S.-led invasion in
October 1983.
 
The invasion was quite interesting. If you have never
experienced the thrill of having bombs dropped within 100
yards of you by your fellow countrymen, I heartily recommend
it. It can really get your blood pumping and allow you to
reach new heights in psychotic behavior! The invasion began
as a single plane I saw in the sky at 5:00 AM on October 25,
1983. By the afternoon of the next day, Army Rangers had
planned an assault on my campus. I had one of the rooms
closest to the beach, so me and 60 students jammed into my
room. We held on for dear life as they assault force strafed
the beach, campus, and environs for what seemed like an
eternity, though it lasted but 30 minutes. They secured the
beach and whisked us into waiting helicopters to be flown to
the airstrip. From there it was to Fort Bragg, North
Carolina. We arrived at about 4:00 AM. I was picked at
random to address the media on behalf of the students. I
stood at the podium for an hour answering questions for TV,
radio, and print reporters while flash bulbs popped. When I
was done, a man asked me if I wanted to appear on "Good
Morning America" that morning with David Hartman. He took me
to the ABC studio in Charlotte. I was fitted with a
microphone and earpiece and was interviewed, along with two
other students, by David for 15 minutes. Andy Warhol was
right!  It is disappointing to note that David didn't ask or
respond to any question that wasn't prompted by the
producer, who I could hear in my earpiece. Who said they
were all actors? I flew home after that and got the first
sleep I had in 72 hours.
 
My career with Yellow Freight has gone well since I began
formally in 1988. I was hired as a dock supervisor and have
had several jobs in the company since. I am currently the
Branch Manager of our facility in New York City. I like
working in the city and I like the people who work for me.
Some of the finest people I know in this industry work in
that building. I am very fortunate. Yellow Freight is the
nation's largest freight carrier and it's based in Overland
Park, Kansas. I am determined to run the company someday. I
wonder if anyone at the company knows yet? Perhaps I should
let my office-decorating preferences be known now, just in
case the current president plans to make any changes to my
future office over the next 10 years or so.
 
As far as personal items, I love music. In fact I like
virtually all music. I like pop/top 40 the most, but I also
like classical, alternative, hard rock, big bands, etc. I
especially like Kenny G, Frank Sinatra, John Cougar,
Nirvana, anything by Mozart, Sting, Bryan Adams, They Might
Be Giants, and Glenn Miller.
 
I love the movies. As many of you already know, I have many
favorites. I like movies that are filmed well, have quality
acting, and a solid script. My favorite is Citizen Kane, but
I also have a warm spot in my heart for Ordinary People,
Airplane, The Godfather, Frank Capra films, Woody Allen
films, Casablanca, Oliver!, and many others I cannot
remember at the moment. I have only walked out on one film
in a theater ever, "Moment To Moment" which starred Lily
Tomlin and John Travolta. It was as bad as films get. I
probably should have walked out on "Ishtar" but didn't. I
guess I thought it would get better. It didn't.
 
I like to read a lot. I especially like spy novels. Amongst
the best I have ever read are Shibumi by Trevanian, The Spy
Who Came In From The Cold by John LeCarre, Eye of the Needle
by Ken Follett, The Hunt for Red October by Tom Clancy, and
The Bourne Identity by Robert Ludlum. I think my favorite
book of all, though, is The World According to Garp by John
Irving. I love that book as much now as I did when I first
read it in 1978.  I think it's because I can identify with
Garp a lot: No matter where my life seems to take me, things
always seem to work out.
 
As far as TV goes, my favorite shows are M*A*S*H, Hill St.
Blues, I Love Lucy, St. Elswhere, and L.A. Law. I watched a
lot of TV when I was a kid. I got up early to watch before I
went to school. I used to rush home from school and do my
homework so I could watch TV at night. I watched everything
I could. I was fascinated by the medium. I still am, but I
don't watch it nearly as much.
 
I love the NJ Devils, and am especially disappointed by the
strike as the Devils had a genuine chance to win this year.
I love the Giants in football, and the Mets in baseball. I
was able to be at Shea Stadium that cold October night in
1986 when the Mets won the seventh game against the Boston
Red Sox to win the World Series. It is a memory I will never
forget. I had turned down $1000 that day for my ticket. I am
glad I did.
 
I love trivia. I stumbled into one of Stew's games on AOL in
1992 and have been playing ever since. I have made some
wonderful friends through trivia, and that's the best part
of the deal. I never cared for the winning part. I am much
more interested in the laughs and the fun. I also love the
bashes, especially the ones in Ocean City. I am still hoping
that Stark comes to his senses and decides to have more OC
bashes till the numbers reach triple-digits. I have had a
lot of fun through trivia and I am grateful to everyone for
that.
 
I just got my first real computer this summer, a Dell
Pentium 90 with all the extras. Before this machine, I used
to take my work laptop home with me every night and use
that. I have only had the Pentium a short three months and I
am at the point I thought was unthinkable: I am almost out
of room on my 1 gigabyte drive. Darn, those sound files take
up lots of room!
 
I harbor the secret desire to be a writer. I don't
necessarily want to write the Great American Novel. I would
be satisfied writing the Pretty-Darn-OK American Novel.
Perhaps I will write a book about procrastination. I'll have
to get to work on that one of these days.
 
I have one older brother, Michael. He is five years older
than me. Both of my parents are now dead. My father died
suddenly of a stroke in 1982. My mother died in 1992 after a
protracted illness. My brother and I were never very close
before my mother died, but have become so afterwards. He is
married to a wonderful person, and they have three excellent
kids. I have relatives throughout New England and Canada. I
love Thanksgiving and Christmas. I believe strongly in
tradition and family.
 
I am single, never having been married but I am ever the
optimist. Funny thing, as I get older, my age preference
in women seems to stay the same...I hope I don't admire
Woody Allen that much! I have lived in Parsippany since
1988. I currently live in an apartment but am hoping to get
a condo or house in a year or so. General location has yet
to be determined. I haven't made up my mind yet. I would
like to be able to retire early and travel, ultimately
residing on a tropical isle. I figure by then, most of the
Caribbean will have a Sprintnet or Tymnet line cheap. Then I
could do the things I like best of all: enjoy a tropical
breeze while sipping a rum punch and playing trivia online.
Life doesn't get any better than that.