My Quest for Success, The Hard Way
Searching for My Niche in Life
by
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The Catholic school that I attended taught me many things about life, directly and indirectly. One of the indirect things was for parents to pay close attention to the things that the child was learning. All of the teachers were northern white nuns, which might explain the teachings of classical music and the piano recitals.
In junior high school, I made the decision to go to the public school. There was a principal that we used to call "Eagle Eyes." He had an acute eyesight that could see you doing wrong from 1/4 mile down the road and recognize you.
When I reached 15 years of age, I made my decision to try to enlist in the military again. I thought that I might be able to avenge my brother's death.
After basic training, my next duty station was on an aircraft carrier. The decision to go into the military at that age was not an entirely stupid one. I enrolled in the United States Arm Forces Institute (USAFI) program and received my military GED.
Back in civilian life as a man, I had to work to preserve my existence. Pulling hand trucks through the traffic-filled streets of manhattan garment district, ducking big trucks and cab drivers was not the safest employment in the world, but it kept me from starving.
I used an automobile to take the road test for chauffeur license to drive a tractor-trailer truck. There was a town in the south where I traveled that allowed "cruising." It drove me and a lot of drivers up the "proverbial wall."
Taking the Port Authority police exam and passing it was a very smart move at the time. I was under the impression at that time, that I would accept the job and eventually retire, but...
Thinking about going to college as a 62 year old was not very appealing. I knew next to nothing about college, but when I walked into the admission office, I said, "here I am."
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About the Book
This book is about a zealous black underage southern teenager in the early 1950's, who can't wait to become a man to join the military and begin a career. After his tour of military duty had ended, he elected to join the civilian life and workforce. What he faced for the next 45 years was a series of failures, heartaches, and total disapointments, while working many hours a day and night. As a 62 years old man, he made the decision to attend college. The moral of this book is to keep smiling and never give in, no matter how hard things may seem. Nothing is forever, not even 50 years.
About the Author
The memoirs of Bill Moore reflects the desire to relate his testament to others who might be having a hard time adjusting to their endeavors. His career has established him as a credible writer. This book entered its infancy because of one of his college professors. This professor had the insight to recognize this writer's ability. The author taught briefly in a correctional institution before illness forced him to resign. His brief stint of teaching in the correction facility was a learning experience as well. It reiterated his belief that age is only a number and that you can and should learn from anyone. You also learn to be an amateur Psychologist in order to relate to your students. The different personalities: some positive and some negative, has enabled him to appreciate the gift of knowledge that he received from them. Couple that with the knowledge and experience that he received from 50 years of traveling in the military and as an over-the-road truck driver has given him plenty of insight and qualification to write this book.
The author has played a lot of roles in life pertaining to social responsibility. Some of those roles consist of singing at a retirement home and visiting a nursing home to entertain the elderly.Many of the things that are written in this book derives from his upbring, which was: to treat everyone the way that you would want to be treated, particularly, in an adverse situation.
He also like sports of all kind. Football, Basketball and Baseball are his favorite sports. His favorite teams are any New York pro teams, except when they play each other, then he has the difficult task of choosing one over the other. His favorite college basketball team is Wake Forest University.
Bill Moore currently lives in Virginia.