THE SECRETS OF THE UNIVERSE simplified

3. by
Ralph Joseph Philippi

4. TITLE PAGE
PUBLISHER:
PROSPERITY INTERNATIONAL CORPORATION, LIMITED
ROOM 813, HOLLYWOOD PLAZA
610 NATHAN ROAD, KOWLOON, HONG KONG
PH.: +852 2132 9661 OR +86 898 6857 2551
FAX: +852 3007 1270 E-MAIL: ProsperityInternationalCorp@gmail.com
CONTACT: RALPH JOSEPH PHILIPPI, Director, and Author
TITLE: “THE SECRETS of the UNIVERSE simplified”
FIRST PUBLISHED: 26 July 2010
RELEASE DATE: 9 August 2010
ISBN 978-988-19313-2-0
All rights are reserved. No part of this Book can be reproduced, stored in a retrieval
system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical,
photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without prior written permission from RALPH
JOSEPH PHILIPPI, the Author, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical
articles and reviews.
Please refer all pertinent questions, or comments, to the Author. The Author is
responsible for the contents of this Book.
PRINTED IN HONG KONG by, PROSPERITY INTERNATIONAL CORPORATION, LIMITED.
THIS IS AN ENGLISH LANGUAGE PUBLICATION.
THIS Book consist of 152 pages including a Front Insert Page, as a HARD BOUND BOOK IN
ITS ORIGINAL FORM, BUT, IT ALSO BEING MADE AVAILABLE IN AN ELECTRONICALLY
TRANSMITTABLE VERSION.
This Book IS “NOT INTENDED TO BE FOR SALE”.
THIS BOOK IS INTENDED TO “HELP PEOPLE”, and it will be given “FREE-OF-CHARGE” to anyone
who desires to have an original of this Book in the electronically transmittable version
only. Hard Bound Books are available, at our costs of printing, binding, and shipping.
The picture on the front cover is titled “Golden Drop”, from STOCK.EXCHNG. Refer to the
“Appreciation & Acknowledgement” Section of this Book for further information.
ii

5. iii

6. OUR WISH OF
R H
PE
EACE AN PRO
ND OSPERIT
TY
TO ALL
L
iv

7. Dis
sclaim
mer
Reasonable care has be
een tak
ken to ensure
e that the
information present
ted in th Book is accurate. However, the
his k
read
der shou unde
uld erstand t
that the informa
e ation provided does
d
not constitu
ute lega medic
al, cal, or professio
p vice, in any
onal adv
form Profe
m. essionals in these fields should a
s e s always be consul
lted.
No Liability This Book is supp
y: plied “as is” a
and with
hout
war
rranties. All warranties, expres
ssed or implied, are her
reby
disc
claimed.
Use of this Book, c
constitut
tes acceptance o the “No Liabi
of ility”
policy. If you do not ag
gree with this p
policy, y
you are not
mitted to use, or distribu
perm o r ute, this product
t.
The Autho
or, Publisher, their employees,
e aff,
sta age
ents,
ociates, and affi
asso iliates, s
shall not be liable for an losse or
t ny es
dam
mages whatso
oever, includin
ng, without
w limitat
tion,
cons
sequential loss or dam
mage, directly or indirectly, ari
ising
from the use of this Book, s
m s should any occur
r.
This Book is being w
s s written, publishe and g
ed, given fre
ee-of-cha
arge,
for non-com
mmercial, educat
tional pu
urposes o
only.
No c
copyrigh infring
ht gement is intended.
v

8. ROAD LESS TRAVELED
Two roads diverged in a yellow wood
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth
Then took the other as just as fair
And having perhaps the better claim
Because it was grassy and wanted wear
Through as for that, the passing there
Had worn them really about the same
And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet, knowing how way leads onto way
I doubted if I should ever come back
I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence
Two roads diverged in a wood
And I took the one less traveled by
And that has made all the difference
-- Robert Lee Frost --
vi

9. D EDICAT
TION
This Bo is dedic
ook cated to my Children, whom hav always b the ins
ve been spiration in my life,
even th
hough it ma be diffic for the to realiz that bas fact. T basic fact has
ay cult em ze sic This f
always been true, no matte where I have bee / travellled to, and this ba fact
er en nd, asic
remains true, now and foreve Amen.
s er,
This Bo is espec dedica to my Grandchilldren, and m Great G
ook cially ated y my Grandson, and the
Grandcchildren, an Great G
nd Grandchildre to come most of w
en e, whom, I ha never met yet,
ave m
and ma never wiill be able t so, which has nothin to do wiith any of t
ay to h ng them, and, also, to
my niec and nep
ces phews, and their childr
ren.
I am v happy that they are a part of my life experienc even if I may nev have
very e's ce, ver
portunity to come to kn each o them on a personal basis, just knowing th they
the opp now of hat
are ther is sufficient, and e
re, extremely sa
atisfying, in my life.
n
This Bo is for al of you, a with a of the ot readers also. I h that alll of you
ook all along all ther s, hope
will find something in this Bo which will be usef in your llife. I truly do hope so.
d g ook, ful y s
Just one more thou which I would liike to conve to all of you,
e ught, h ey
It is no our place to judge a other, so please do not try to do so.
ot e; any d o
As my Grandfath Briggs use to say –
y her
"W you p your finger at an
When point f nyone else, look to see,
How m finge are point back a you?"
many ers ting at
No truer word have eve been spo
o ds er oken.
Therefore please tak these wo to hear for they have deep meaning,
e, ke ords rt,
Which I now un
h, nderstand, he knew, when he sta them t me.
w ated to
vii

10. STAND WITH YOUR HEAD HELD HIGH
DURING THE GOOD TIMES AND THE BAD
IT IS WITHIN YOU
TO BE WHATEVER YOU WANT TO BE
THAT DECISION RESTS WITH YOU ALONE
viii

11. APPRECIA & ACKNOW
ATION WLEDGEM
MENT
I WAN TO EXT
NT TEND MY SINCEREST APPRE
ECIATION TO THE FOLKS AT, AND
T
CONTR
RIBUTORS TO
S
STOCK.EXCHNG
K G – http://www.sxc.hu/
/
I WOU
ULD ALSO LIKE TO E
EXTEND M SINCER
MY REST APPR
RECIATION TO THE
N FOLKS
AT AND
A CON
NTRIBUTOR
RS TO, flickr @ http://www
w.flickr.c
com/,
ESPECIALLY THE
E CONTRIBUTORS T “CREAT
TO TIVE COM
MMONS”.
IT WO
OULD HAV BEEN E
VE EXTREMEL DIFFICU
LY ULT TO PUT THIS BOOK, AND MY
A
OTHER
R BOOKS,
S THER,
TOGET WITHOUT
W A NICE SELECT
TION OF YOUR
WOND HOTOS.
DERFUL PH YOU HAVE SO MANY WONDER
Y TOS TO CHOOSE
RFUL PHOT
FROM, IT IS INC
CREDIBLE.
NO ON CAN PO
NE VIEW ALL O THEM, IN A LIFE TIME.
OSSIBLE V OF E
THANK YOU ALL, VERY MUCH. ALL OF YOU ARE APPR
K L L RECIATED.
I WOU RTFELT APPRECIATIO , TO,
ULD ALSO LIKE TO EXPRESS MY HEAR ON ELAINE
MARIE CHARPE
E ENTIER PH
HILIPPI, M SON’S DEDICAT
MY TED WIFE, FOR DO
E OING A
GRAND JOB OF EDITING THE
D SECOND EDIT
TION OF T
THIS BOO ,
OK WHICH WILL
H
BE OUT SOMETIME IN JAN
T NUARY 20
011. THA YOU, VERY MUC .
ANK CH
ix

12. YOU HAVE NO LIMITS
AS THE SKIES HAVE
YOU HAVE THE POWER WITHIN YOU
TO BECOME, BE, AND DO
WHATEVER YOU TRULY DESIRE
x

13. F OREWORD
As you begin to read this Book, you may get the first impression that this
Book is some form of confession or something similar to that, which, it is
not, just keep on reading, and you will come to the underlying principles,
later on. The principles become very clearer, towards the end.
There are some deep understandings in this material, some of which, I
really do not understand myself, yet. The only logic to any of what is
being explained in the beginning is in The Conclusion, where you will be
shown how to use what has already been discussed, previously.
Inside of this Book is a practical application, which has worked for me,
many times over, and continues to work for me, to this present day.
Moreover, the principles in this Book have worked for others that I have
explained these principles to, no matter what their faith, creed, or beliefs,
were, which made absolutely no difference to me, at all, it worked for all
of them, when they applied these principles outlined herein. It just works,
which is all that I can say.
Furthermore, this in not to say that what the other Masters and Teachers
are saying is not true, because the vast majority of what I have read and
saw, is true and functional, in one way or another. I profess to be neither,
a Master nor a Teacher. So, please feel free to pursue what you feel and
believe to be true and correct for you. I strongly encourage you to do so,
because it is your life, and you deserve to find that right path that feels
just right for you, in all aspects of your life. It is your life, so I encourage
all of you to follow your own personal quests, no matter where they will
lead, it will be your own life’s experience, and no one should be cheated
out of doing things, their way, as long as what they want to do, does not
harm anyone else in the process. Additionally, this Book is in no way a
negative reflection towards The Secret©, those people did a truly
spectacular job.
As Joseph John Campbell put it, so well, many years ago,
“Follow Your Bliss”,
These words, pretty much sum it all up.
xi

14. THERE IS ALWAYS A BRIGHTER SIDE
LOOK FOR IT
IT WILL ALWAYS THERE
xii

15. I NTRODUCTION
I want to do some clarification at first, because as you start reading
through this Book, you may get the initial impression that this Book is
another Self-Help Book, and, in a way, it is.
But, this Book is really about Liberty and Freedom,
YOUR personal Liberty and Freedom to become, be,
and do, whatever you want to, with your life, that
is, within the Laws of the Nation in which you
chose to live.
This may appear to be somewhat strange to most people, because here I
am, sitting at my desk in China, writing about your personal Freedom and
Liberty. Therefore, at this point in time, I want to explain to all of my
readers, that most, if not all, of what you have heard and read about China
is not true. Never attempt to judge anyone, or any Nation, by what you see
and hear on television, or read in any newspaper or magazine articles.
Later, about the first part of next year, I will write a book about the “True
China”, and I am very sure that you will be impressed by what it will show
you, about the True China. Here, I want to point out that all of my friends
and acquaintances that have come to visit me, here in China, are always
impressed by the simplicity of life here, and the personal freedom, to do
and become whatever you may chose, in this Great Land of Opportunity. All
of them, without exception, have emphatically declared, what they have
heard, saw, and read, is not true. Shortly, you will be able to judge for
yourselves, when you read my upcoming book, which will also be free. I
will put in plenty of pictures; thereby you will be able to see, what is real.
But, as one small example of our personal freedoms, here in China, I can
walk across any busy street in any town, village, or city, in China, possibly
taking my life in to my own hands, but, you be assured, that I will never
end up with a Jaywalking Ticket. Try that one, in any Western Nation, and
you will see what you end up with, if you do it often enough, a big fat ticket,
which is going to be for a very hefty sum of money, to inhibit you from
every doing that again. This is always the first freedom that I show to my
visitors to China. However, I always do it in a safe manner, when there is
no traffic; to begin with; they learn to dodge the cars, later on. It is fun,
and saves time. None hit, yet, and, you are welcome to come and play.
(By the way, pedestrian and people on bicycles have the right-of-way, here.)
xiii

16. EVEN IF YOU A
E F ARE NO ABLE TO REA THE NOTES
OT E AD E S
THE MUSIC STILL PLAYS ON
E C L S
LIFE IS THE SAME
YOU DO NOT N
Y O NEED TO KNOW IT AL
O W LL
YOU ON
Y NLY HA
AVE TO G
GO, WITH YOU OWN FLOW
UR N W
WH
HAT FEE
ELS GOO TO Y
OD YOU
xiv

17. T ABLE OF CONTENTS
TITLE PAGE .......................................................................................................... II
DISCLAIMER .......................................................................................................... V
DEDICATION ........................................................................................................ VII
APPRECIATION & ACKNOWLEDGEMENT ....................................................................... IX
FOREWORD........................................................................................................... XI
INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................. XIII
TABLE OF CONTENTS .............................................................................................. XV
THE STORY BEGINS ................................................................................................. 1
WHAT I DIDN’T DO................................................................................................ 97
WHAT I DID DO .................................................................................................. 103
WHAT WALLACE DELOIS WATTLES SAID TO DO ......................................................... 107
THE CONCLUSION ............................................................................................... 117
A SPECIAL REQUEST ............................................................................................ 129
HOW TO PRINT THIS BOOK AND/OR READ THE ELECTRONICALLY TRANSMITTED VERSION... 133
~ LIGHT ~ A CHINESE PROVERB ........................................................................... 136
If you were looking to this page
To tell you what is inside,
You are only kidding yourself,
You will have to read this Book,
To see what it says, and,
How, what it says will benefit you.
xv

18. NEVER FEAR STANDING ALONE
THAT IS HOW MOST OF US CAME IN TO THIS WORLD
AND HOW MOST OF US WILL GO OUT
LIVE YOUR LIFE, YOUR OWN WAY
AND TO HECK WITH THE REST
SURE YOU ARE GOING TO MAKE MISTAKES
THESE ARE ONLY A PART OF YOUR EXPERIENCE
CALLED LIFE
xvi

19. T HE STORY BEGINS
This small story will only cover a short period in my life, less than 2 years.
I will reveal more on my life, in my upcoming book, “The Ebbs and Flows
of Life – How to Ride the Tides in Life, and Find Joy in All of It”. However,
you will not get it all there, either, because I have already started on my
autobiography, which I will title, “The Wisconsin Farm Boy”. This will be a
real adventure to read, because my life has been very interesting, to say
the least.
Therefore, this part of the story begins.
Back in the early part of 1978, I was disfellowshipped from my
congregation. I had not done anything illegal, and I did mount a very
strong appeal, which never came to heard, because it was blocked. So be
it, it was a very long time ago, and I hold no grudges, nor any animosity,
towards anyone involved, not any longer. I was destroyed emotionally,
as well as physically. I thought that this was the lowest point in my
entire life, but I had not even begun to hit the bottom yet.
I lost my business, had to file for bankruptcy, and was forced to take a
job as a Construction Superintendent to be able to provide for my family,
which was not so bad to begin with, but everything when downhill, even
further.
A few months later, I was facing a divorce, and, yes, it was my fault,
entirely. I had no one to blame, except myself, and I did a good job of
doing just that. Now, all was lost. I even quit my new job, because I
honestly could not work any longer. I could not concentrate on anything
other than my troubles. Now, I was really at the lowest point in my life,
or so I thought, because it even got worse later, if you can imagine that.
My wife and I went to counseling, which prove to be beneficial, because
she decided that she did really love this fool, even with all of his mistakes.
A few months later, we were back together, and heading for Oregon.

20. We ha lived there be
ad efore, for a shor period of time, and we both
rt , e
enjoye it very much. There wa no way that I w
ed y as y was going to stay in our
g
little t
town, or e
even in th area, so, we decided th we wo
hat d hat ould move back
up to Oregon a
again, and get a fre
d esh start.
We pa
acked up the kids, our thing what we could carry in a large va and
gs, w an
my pic
ckup, which I was towing, a
and headed out.
When we arrive tensio
ed, ons were high from the long trip, so we got a small
m o
hotel room to get some rest. T
e The next day, I w
went over to the Oregon
r O
ical
Electri Insp
pection Departme
ent in Salem, to get my Ele
ectrical
Journe
eyman’s L
License re
enewed. The pers
son at the counter must ha
e r ave felt
sorry for me, b
because I had not done an of the mandato
t ny ory, keep
ping up
with the codes for almos 5 years but he renewed my licen anywa
st s, nse ay.
After t
that, I pic
cked up e
everyone, and we headed u to Por
up rtland, so that I
o
could check in with the Electrica Union there, to get some work, which I
al t e w
was able to sec
cure.
Even w
with all o this, w
of when we w
woke up the next day, ten
nsions we still
ere
high, and we g in to a big argu
got ument, which resu
w ulted in m wife, lo
my oading
up wh we had unpack
hat ked, taking the kids, and he
eading back home again.
Theref
fore, ther I was no place to stay, ten buc
re e , cks in my pocket, and a
y
week to go bef
fore I wou get a paycheck
uld k.
This st was not the bottom of this pit, ye There was still more to go.
till et. e o
Lif really is not a bowl of cherries
fe y f s.
An
nd, the next thing out of your mo
n g outh is
go
oing to be “That’s not a bow of cherries.”
e, wl
Ir
rest my case.
Yo are entirely cor
ou rrect, and neither is life.
d,
2

21. That afternoon, after my wife and children were long gone, I headed over
to my new job, to see where it was located. Once I found it, I drove out
to the nearest public woods, and found a nice place to park, to spend my
nights in my little Mazda pick-up. Fortunately, it did not use much gas, so
I just put five bucks in the tank, to make sure that I could get back and
forth to work for the next week, at least. I then bought a few crackers,
and an inexpensive thermos. There was a little stream near buy, so I had
water to drink and bath in, even though it was very cold. It was late
summertime there, so, there were a few blackberries on some nearby
bushes that I could eat after work. (The crackers did not last long.)
At the end of that week, I was completely famished, when I got my first
paycheck. Blackberry diets are not the way to go, that one you can take
my word on, but it sure beats going hungry. (Even though, it did take me
a few years to be able to look one in the eye again.)
During that time, I only had to go down to the bank that the paycheck
had been issued from, and get it cashed, with my driver’s license as my
only required identification. So, as soon as I got it,
That night, I got a small, inexpensive, hotel room, took a nice hot shower,
had a nice warm shave, and had a good hot meal, which felt very good. I
slept like a log that night. Sleeping in a little, Mazda pick-up is not
cracked up to be what people may expect. It is very cramped quarters,
and extremely difficult to find a comfortable position in, to get any really
good sleep, and since it could rain at any time, trying to sleep outside of
the little pick-up, wasn’t a viable option for me. Have any of you people
out there, reading this Book, ever tried to shave in ice-cold water? I can
tell you from my own personal experience that is not very nice.
However, I managed, and things did appear to be going much better. At
least now, I had a good place to sleep, I could take a hot shower, and hot
water to shave with, a full tank of gas, and jingle in my pocket to be able
to eat on. Things were really beginning to look up for me, or, so I
thought, because there was still much more trouble ahead, which I did
not know at that time. Anyway, I was enjoying what I now had, and that
is all that really mattered at the time.
3

22. Well, there is a part that I left out in the beginning of this story, and that
was that this was my second marriage. I had custody of my three
children from my first marriage, which was unusual then. But, I did have
legal custody, which is an entirely different story, which has no real
bearing on what I am about to explain to you, so please forgive the
exclusion of most of the details of that part of my life, here.
Well, during this time of the year, my children were off visiting their
mother for the summer, which was the terms of my custody, their entire
summer vacation time, and, they were supposed to be returning home
soon.
Therefore, with my second week’s paycheck, I rented a small apartment
with two bedrooms in a different hotel. Now, I was ready for their return
from their summer vacation.
On Monday I went in to work and told my boss that I had to take a couple
of hours off from work, because I needed to go to the school to see what
was the procedure for me to register my three children here, who were
going to be with me shortly, and, he said, okay, come back as soon as
you can. It turned out that it would be a simple matter to register them
in their new school here. No problem at all. The school would even
request their old transcripts. Boy, I was home free, now, or, so I thought.
That evening, right after work, I called my ex-wife to ask when she would
be returning the children, but, she was not longer at her parents’ home,
she had moved to Texas with my kids, but, my ex-mother-in-law told me
that my daughter, Deborah (Debbie, as she prefers to be called), wanted
to return home to be with me. Well, thank God over that one, this is not
to say that I was a very religious person at that point in my life, because
it surely was not. Religion to me, at that time, was sort of like a cuss
word, I did not want any part of that, nor did I have any need for it.
Well, two week later, she was returned to my sister’s home, so I drove
down to pick her up, over that weekend. Moreover, being that it was the
weekend, my attorney there, was not available for any consultation.
4

23. Early Monday morning, I went over to my work, introduced my daughter
to my boss, and asked for a few hours off, to get her enrolled in school,
which he granted, and I did do. During my noon lunch break, I called my
attorney, who had gotten the divorce from my first wife, and asked him
what to do. He said that I would have to come back down and get a triple
certified of my divorce decree, then retain a competent attorney in Texas,
and go to court there, to see if I could get my two boys back. Which he
was unsure of, but he did tell me that he could recommend a competent
attorney there, which he did, and, all without charging me a cent. Texas
was two hours ahead of us, and I only had half an hour for my lunch
break, which meant that I did not have enough time to call the
recommended attorney at that time, and it would be too late when I got
home from work. So, I called him the next day, during my lunch break,
and the first thing out of his mouth, was that he could not guarantee
anything, and yes, he did need to see a triple certified true copy, from the
court, of my divorce decree, along with $5000 Dollars, as a non-
refundable deposit, and that it may cost more, if we had to go to court,
more than once. I asked him how long it would take us to get in to court,
once I got there will all of his requested documentation, and he said about
two weeks, if we are lucky. (Now, mind you, in those days, a retainer of
$5000 was a whole lot, and a non-refundable retainer for that amount,
just was not heard of. However, it was, what it was, and I did not want
to argue with him over the price.)
At that time, I was looking at another $2500 Dollars for hotel
accommodations, food, taxis, my round trip ticket there, and two more,
without any advance booking, which was impossible to do, because I had
no idea as to what the outcome would be, once I got there.
He also told me that I needed to hurry, because the longer that they
stayed there, the harder it would be to get them back.
Even at Union Journeyman’s Electricians pay, I was looking at a minimum
of 10 weeks, even if I did not pay anything else, and went back to
sleeping in my little Mazda pick-up again. Besides, I had just enrolled my
daughter in school, so, that was not realistic, either.
5

24. And, to make things worse, when I got home from work that evening, I
had a notice from the Finance Company, where I had my business trucks
financed, and they said that my little Mazda pick-up, which was all paid
for, was part of my collateral pledged on the loans of the other trucks, so
I would have to turn that one in also. Wow, I really did not need this.
I called the Finance Company the next day, during my lunch break, and
they confirmed that I would have to turn my little Mazda pick-up in to
their nearest associate in Portland. I asked them if I could buy the truck
from them, and I was told that this was against their company policy,
because I had a recent bankruptcy on my credit history, which was logical.
Therefore, I asked them if I could please have a couple of weeks to do
this, because I needed to get another vehicle. In addition, they said, yes,
but not more. Thank God for small favors. (I had asked for two weeks to
deliver my little Mazda pick-up to them, because that is how long that I
thought that it would take me to save up enough for a used vehicle.)
Yet, here I was, having to turn in my little Mazda pick-up, an ex-wife who
has refused to return two of my children, which meant that I had to go to
court in another State, or concede that she could have them, without any
fight, which was against my nature to do. After all, I had fought hard and
long to get them in the first place, because my, then wife, had found a
new boyfriend, whom she wanted to marry, and he did not want the kids,
so we went to court and I was granted custody of them, which my ex-in-
laws did not like very much, because it gave them a bad image in our
little community, where my ex-father-in-law was a Police Officer, so it
was a constant ongoing battle to keep them. Moreover, now, she had a
new boyfriend in Texas, whom she was living with, and she took my
children to live with them. What a real mess, when I least needed it.
I now had a new priority to contend with, transportation.
Here, I would like to emphatically emphasize that I do not hold grudges,
yes; I get angry, as most people do, but it does not take me long to cool
back down, and try to move on with my life. After all, trying to get even
for apparent wrong doings, just takes too much time, energy, and in most
cases, a whole lot of money, which I do not like wasting on frivolous
things, like getting even. It happened, so just accept it for what it is,
6

25. someone who thinks that they were wronged by you, in the first place, or
at least had the potential to be wronged by you, and move on with your
life. It will not really solve anything, even if you stand there and fight.
They will only think that they were right, even if you win; so why waste
the time, energy, and money, to fight; just move on with your life.
When my ex-wife told me that she had found a new boyfriend, which was
not the first time, a person whom she said that she loved very much and
wanted to marry, I just accepted it. That is not to say that it was not a
difficult situation, because it certainly was. However, what was I going to
be able to do about it, anyway? Nothing. Therefore, I just accepted it, as
she presented it. The good part was that her new boyfriend did not want
our kids, so I was granted custody of them, at a time when this was not
normal. Nevertheless, I accepted that responsibility also, and, happily.
Okay, so where am I now, soon to have no vehicle, a daughter to take
care of, who was a real joy in my life, an ex-wife who has taken my other
two children illegally and I didn’t have the money to go to court in Texas
to even try to get them back, a wife that hates me and is going to sue me
for a divorce at any time now, and very little money in the bank. So what
do I do now?
I decided that the first thing that I needed to do was to locate some
suitable transportation, because mine would be gone very soon. That
evening, I bought a local newspaper, and looked in the classified ads for a
suitable vehicle, which we, my daughter, and I could look at this coming
weekend.
We located a little Pinto station wagon on Saturday, which was not too
expensive and was in excellent shape, but there was no way that I could
pay for it within my two week limit, when I had to turn in my little Mazda
pick-up, so, I called to see if they would give me an extension, of up to
one month, their reply was, we settled on two weeks, and two weeks it
will be, or we will have to take further action. That settled that, and not
exactly how I would have liked it to be, either.
However, I knew that the first thing on the agenda was to get reliable
transportation and quickly, because walking back and forth to work, was
7

26. not a realistic option in the States, at that point in time, especially when it
was 12 miles each way.
(My daughter and I had decided on the Pinto station wagon, just in case I
did get the boys back. We could not be putting three kids and an adult in
the front seat of a small pick-up, if we wanted to go anywhere together,
and they surely could not ride in the back, because in Oregon, it can rain
at any time.)
On Monday, I told a fellow worker, whom had befriended me, about my
upcoming transportation problem. I told him that we had found a car, but
they wanted cash for it, which I did not have, but they said that they
could wait for me to come up with it. He told me that our Union had a
Credit Union and that I should join it, which only took a deposit of $100 to
open an account. Then I could apply for a loan, using an automatic
payment program, which would make an automatic deduction from my
pay from my employer. I told him that I had just filed for bankruptcy a
few months ago, so they probably would not give me a loan. He told me
that did not matter, because it was a Credit Union, and they would use
the car as the collateral, but I had to put down a good down payment,
and they would pay for the balance.
We finished work at 4:30 PM, and my daughter was already home from
school, and, the Credit Union was open until 6:00 PM, so, I picked my
daughter up and we headed straight for our Credit Union. We walked in
the door, and I showed them my paid up dues receipt for that month, and
request that I be allowed to open up an account with them, which they
did. I then asked to see a Loan Officer, and I was shown to one. I
explained everything to her, including my recent bankruptcy, and she said
that there was no problem at all, I only had to make a 25% down
payment on my own, and they would finance the rest, through automatic
payroll deduction. Now, we were getting somewhere, because I had most
of that in the bank already, and I could manage the rest on Friday’s
paycheck. Therefore, we drove to the couple who had the little Pinto
station wagon, and explained everything to them. I would be there next
Saturday to make a 25% down payment, then they would have to go to
my Credit Union with the title to the car, sign it over to them, and they
would pay them the balance, which they liked very much.
8

27. Therefore, the following Saturday, my daughter and I were at their door,
with cash in hand. (I did not want to use a check, because that would
have taken 2 working days to clear, so, we paid in cash.) They told me
that this car use to belong to their daughter, who had gone back east to
go to University, and decided to stay there, and didn’t need it, but she
needed money, so she asked her parents to sell the car for her, which
was simple, because it was registered in her parents’ names. Now, all of
us were going to be happy, because we, my daughter and I, would have
reliable transportation, the car was only two years old, with very little
mileage on it, and, their daughter would have the cash.
On Monday evening, my daughter and I met them at my Credit Union,
where they signed over the ownership document to my Credit Union, and
was paid the balance by check. My Credit Union told me that it would
take them a couple of days, or so, to get the ownership document
changed over in to the Credit Union’s name, so I would have to wait until
that was completed, before I could take possession of the car, which was
perfectly okay with me.
On Thursday evening, I received notification from my Credit Union that
the transfer had been completed, but I needed to get insurance, before
they would turn over the car to me. Therefore, the next morning, when I
reported to work, I asked my boss if I could take a longer lunch break
because I needed to get some car insurance, and he said, sure, which I
did. That night after work, I picked up my daughter again, and took my
insurance policy down to my Credit Union. They called the people, and
told them that they could give me the car, any time that was convenient
for them. They said any time, come on over and pick it up now, your
check has cleared, so it is no longer ours. I told them that I could not be
there until the next morning, Saturday, because I had something that I
needed to do first.
My daughter and I drove straight over to the Finance Company’s
Associate, but they were closed. I knew that they would be open on
Saturday at 9:00 AM, because that is what was posted on their front door.
We were there nice and early the next morning, before anyone arrived,
and, waited on them to come in, but the Manager was late, so we waited.
9

28. When he arrived, the f
first thing that he did, was start in on me, about
g e s n
being late. I told him that I w
was not late, I ha been t
ad there the night
e
before and the were c
e, ey closed, wh
hich was not my fa
ault, so, h accept
he ted my
little M
Mazda pi
ick-up, and gave me a re
eceipt for it.
r I t
then aske the
ed
Secret
tary, if sh could c
he call us a C
Cab, beca
ause we n
needed to go back home,
o k
which she did, and we thanked h for doing.
her
When the taxi arrived, we went straight to the co
ouple’s home to pick up
p
our, s
slightly used, new car.
w Then, we took a nice driv over to the
T e ve
Orego Coast t have a nice dinn
on to ner, to ce
elebrate o victory
our y.
One dow and a whole lot more to go.
wn t
The ne day, S
ext Sunday, I called m Sister to ask he if she w
my er would got down
t
to the courthouse and get me a triple certified t
e c true copy of my divorce
y d
decree which shows th I have custody of my t
e, hat y three children, fro my
om
first m
marriage. She asked me, “W
What is going on?” Therefo
g ” ore, I exp
plained
everyt
thing to h
her, including how we just got lucky with be
w y eing able to get
our ne car, an she said, “Sure I will get you a triple cer
ew nd, e, g rtified true copy
of you divorce decree, especia
ur ally the part wher you have custody of
p re
your c
children. I will let you know when I have it, so that y
you can tell me
t
where to send it.” I to her th I would pay whatever it cost, an she
e old hat nd
said, “
“That was okay, no to worry about that.”
s ot
I now changed my focu to the next thin that I needed t take ca of,
d us ng to are
which was my children, and the safety
eir y. I was greatly c
concerned over
my so
ons. This was not to say th their mother w
hat m was a bad mom, be
ecause
she w
was not. It was o
only that this was her four
rth boyfriend that I was
aware of, since we had parted, s how lo
e e so, ong this o
one last, a
and what would
happe to my c
en children, if they se
eparated. These w
were my m
main conc
cerns.
10

29. I now started on the first step of this quest, by getting a triple certified
true copy of my divorce decree.
Three days later, in the evening, after I had gotten home from work, my
Sister called, to let me know that she had the triple certified true copy of
my entire divorce decree, which did show that I did have permanent
custody of my children, and that my ex-wife only had visitation rights.
Then she went on to tell me that she also had gotten triple certified true
copies of the other three times that I had been in court with my ex-wife,
maintaining my custody of the children, which I had done successfully, all
three times. (This was not any of my ex-wife’s doings, as I explained
before; it was my ex-in-laws that were doing this, because they did not
want to lose respect in our small community. Nothing worse to contend
with, then a really ticked off Cop. Again, I do want you all to know, that I
hold no grudge against any one, as I have said before. It was just their
thing, and I had to defend myself, for my children’s sake. If it had been
only on me, they could have kept everything that they wanted, and I
would have moved on with my life. However, my children were involved,
so I was forced to fight, and I was successful, every time. As an old
friend once told me, “When you need an attorney, badly, you need him,
or her, very, very, good.” Good advice, which I have always taken to
heart.)
She then went to tell me that her and Gary, her husband, had discussed
my situation, and that they were willing to loan me the $5,000 for the
attorney, but I would have to come up with the rest, because that was all
that they could spare. She said that she could send me the money,
whenever I wanted it, and, I told her to hold on to it, until I get to Texas,
and got an account from the attorney there, where she could send it
directly in to his account. She told me that she would send the triple
certified true copies of everything to me by express mail the next day,
which she did. Hallelujah !!! Now, things were really starting to look up.
Well, it took me another month to save up for the trip and the expenses,
then, I was ready to go, and get my children back, if that was possible?
There was no way to telling that, according to the attorney, there in Texas,
until after I had gotten there, and he could review the triple certified true
copies of my divorce decree.
11

30. The next day, Saturday, I went over to my boss’s home, to explain to him
what I needed to do, and ask for a couple of weeks off from work, at least,
which he allowed me to do, once he understood the situation. He just
told me, “Go and Win, and don’t come back, until you do”.
The next step was the care of my daughter, while I was gone. I didn’t
want to bring her with me, because I didn’t know lay ahead, and I
certainly didn’t want to put her in a situation, whereby my ex-wife could
take her away from me also, if I lost. In addition, daughters are very
special creatures, in that you must be very careful with whom you leave
them with. I decided on leaving her with my friend, my co-worker, who
was the one that had told me about our Credit Union, because he had two
small sons, and his wife was one of those perfect mothers. I knew that
she would be safe there, so we drove on over to ask, if she could stay
with them, for about two weeks, minimum, and hopefully, not longer.
They agreed, and my new friend, even said that she would not have to
miss any school, because he would take her to school on his way to work,
and pick her up from school after work. (At that time, in the States,
anyone could pick up your child from school, but things change.) I
offered to pay them something for taking care of her, but they refused,
knowing why I wanted to leave her with them. I asked if I could bring her
by that evening, because then, I could catch the Sunday flight to Texas,
and, they agreed to that.
We headed back to our little hotel apartment, packed up some her clothes,
of course, she did the picking, and I did the packing, along with some of
her girly things, which she said that she need to pack herself, so she did.
I then called the airlines at the airport, to see what was available to San
Antonio, Texas, for the next day, and there was a flight in the afternoon,
which was just right.
We then headed back over to my friend’s home, and I dropped off my
little sweetheart, into the hands of, almost, strangers, because I had a
mission to accomplish. I kissed her on the cheek, good-bye, and she
started to cry, but said, “Go ahead, I know that you must do this”. She
then handed me a crumpled up piece of paper, which had the address of
12

31. where my boys were. Therefore, I gave her another kiss on the cheek,
and told her, Thank you very much, everything will be all right. She said,
I know Dad, do what you have to do, and get back here as quickly as you
can, which I promised her that I would do.
I then went out to the airport, to pay for, and pick up my ticket, for the
next day’s travel.
I arrived in San Antonio, late that evening, I got a taxi, and asked him, if
he knew of a reasonable hotel close by the courthouse, that he could take
me to, and, he recommended a very nice one, which was not one from a
chain. It was very nice, and the people there were very friendly. I
booked in for a couple of weeks, paid for the total stay in cash, got my
receipt, and settled in for the night.
Early the next morning, I cleaned up, and headed down for my breakfast,
which was very good, a nice, old fashioned, Ranch Style breakfast, with
plenty of everything imaginable, and plenty of coffee to wash it all down
with. It was just too much, but I managed to enjoy it anyway. I simply,
stuffed myself. Boy, was it good, and, the best part of it all was that it
was included in the price of the room.
I then headed over to the attorney’s office, and low and behold, his
secretary told me that he was in court for the day, and, that he wouldn’t
be returning to his office until late that evening, so, she made me a
tentative appointment for 10:00 AM the next morning, if he didn’t have to
return to court the next day. Therefore, I headed back over to my hotel,
and they had a very nice Mexican Buffet that evening. Hey, I was still
stuffed from the breakfast, but, somehow, I manage to put a nice dent in
the Mexican Buffet, too. It also was excellent. Moreover, people wonder
why they are overweight. Well, there is the answer, just too much good
food around. After the Mexican Buffet, I had to take nice long walk, then,
I returned to the hotel, to settle in for the evening, to be ready for the
next day.
The next morning, it was the same cycle all over again, that morning, the
nice, old fashioned, Ranch Style breakfast, with plenty of everything
imaginable, and plenty of coffee to wash it all down with. However, I was
13

32. still suffering with indigestion from the Mexican Buffet the night before, so
I could not eat much, this time. I, mainly, just sat there, and nursed my
coffee, until it was time to go to the attorney’s office, once again.
I arrived ahead of my appointment time, and I was surprised, because his
secretary led me in to his conference room immediately.
He came in almost immediately, and I explained everything to him and
handed him all of my triple certified true copies of the court documents,
including my divorce decree, which granted my complete custody of my
children, and the triple certified true copies of the other three times that
we had gone to court, and I had won. I then asked him for his wiring
instructions for one of his accounts, so that I could have my sister send in
his $5,000 non-refundable retainer. He said that he would return in just a
few minutes, which he did, with a big smile on his face, and an Invoice,
with his wiring instructions on it. I then asked him, how long it would
take us to get in to court. He simply said that he had to review the
documents, which should not be longer than it would take my sister’s
transfer to be deposited in to his account, then, he would get back to me.
I left him my number at the hotel, and he said that he would call me, in a
few days, as soon as his bank notified him that his retain was deposited in
to his account.
I headed back to the hotel, to send the wiring instructions to my sister,
we were two hours ahead of where she was living, so she still had enough
time to get the wire out that same day, which she did do, and she even
sent me a copy of the wire transfer, later that evening, which is
impossible to get from any bank, anywhere, these days. Things change.
The next Friday, I did receive a call from the attorney’s secretary, telling
me that the retainer had been received, and that the attorney would like
to see me that afternoon at 4:00 PM, which I gladly accepted, his kind
invitation to visit with him, once again.
Again, I arrived early, and I was led in the same conference room.
Moreover, again, he entered almost immediately. He told me that he had
gone over all of the documents that I had brought, and that everything
appeared to be in proper order. He then asked me if I knew where my
14

33. children were, so I pulled out the little crumpled piece of paper that my
daughter had given to me, and handed it to him. (I already had written
down the address in my note pad, which I was carrying with me.) He told
me that he would be preparing some documents for me to sign over the
weekend, and that he would like to see me to return to his office, the
following Monday, at 10:00 AM sharp. I told him that I would certainly be
there. He then told me, not go by the place where my sons were staying,
because that could complicate the problem, and I promised not to do so,
then, I left, and returned to my hotel.
That weekend, was probably the longest in my entire lifetime. It just
seemed to crawl along. On Sunday morning, I just couldn’t sleep longer,
so I got up, cleaned up, and went downstairs to have some more of that
nice, old fashioned, Ranch Style breakfast, with plenty of everything
imaginable, and plenty of coffee to wash it all down with. And, Boy, can I
tell you that I was just about fed up with that nice, old fashioned, Ranch
Style breakfast, with plenty of everything imaginable, and plenty of coffee
to wash it all down with. They changed absolutely nothing on their
Breakfast Buffet, while I was there. However, do not take that wrong,
either, it was a very nice hotel, and, I am very sorry, but I just cannot
remember the name of it at present.
Needless to say, but I just couldn’t wait to see my two sons again, so, I
headed over to the address that I had, which was a very long walk, but I
had nothing else to do, anyway. I stood behind some small trees, out of
sight, about a half block from where they were supposedly staying, once I
had located the address, which wasn’t really difficult, once I got a city
map, which was the hard part of that ordeal. I waited there, in amongst
the small trees, for what seemed like days, but was only hours, in reality.
Then, all of a sudden, my youngest son came out of the front door, and
appeared in the front yard, followed closely behind, by my eldest son.
Shortly after, one of those big crew cab trucks pulled up, they both
hopped in, and they all headed off in the opposite direction, from where I
was. Well, at least I knew that they were still here. So, I headed back to
my hotel, once again. In addition, yes, Mexican Buffet was the order of
the day, every day, for the Dinner Buffet. Nothing ever changed in that
nice hotel, maybe, even to this very day. I do not know, because I have
never gone back there, since I left.
15

34. On Monday morning, the same old routine again, then back to the
attorney’s office, and sure enough, the same old routine again, until the
attorney entered with a fist full of papers that I needed to sign, which I
did, as he showed me where to sign all of them in triplicate.
He then showed me a piece of paper, which said “Writ of Habeas Corpus”
on the top of the page, and he said this will be served on your ex-wife,
either today, or tomorrow, at the latest, and, then they will have to
appear in court on Friday, to show just cause, or you win. I asked him,
what time that we had to be in court? His answer was that he did not
want me to be there, in case that there was any trouble. He told me that
the Judge would take his word that I was in town, to take possession of
my children, if I won, and that is all that mattered. He told me that he
would call me as soon as the hearing was over, so stay close to my phone,
to hear what the outcome was. This all was a bit confusing at the time,
but I took his word on it, because he came highly recommended, by my
other attorney, who had won many times for me in the past. Later on, I
learned what he meant, the hard way. You will have that part, shortly.
Again, I headed back to that nice hotel, but, this time, on the way, I
spotted one of those World Famous Fast Food Places, and decided that I
would stop in there for something to take back to that nice hotel, to eat
later on. A cold Big Mac, or cold KFC, is not as bad as some believe it to
be.
Nevertheless, for the next three and a half days, it was the same old
routine at that nice hotel, which really was not as bad as I may have led
some to believe. Sorry about that. It really was not a bad place to say,
and the people were very nice.
Friday, about noon, the attorney’s secretary called me again, and told me
that the attorney wanted to see me in his office at 2:00 PM sharp, that
day. Therefore, I asked her what had happened, and she said that she
did not know, because the attorney had only told her that he wanted to
see me in his office at 2:00 PM sharp, so, she was only relaying his
message.
16

35. Needless to say, I was in his office at 1:20 PM, and, as before, I was
taken to his conference room, immediately. However, then, I was asked
if I would like to have a cup of coffee, which had never happened before,
so I accepted it. I knew that I was going to have some waiting to do.
About an hour later, he stepped in to the conference room, looking like he
had just had one of those 3+ martini lunches, reached over to me, and
said, “We won !!! Your ex-wife has to deliver your sons to you, at the
west entry of the airport by noon tomorrow.” Holy Cow, we won, again !!!
I thanked him very much, and asked if there was any refund on my
deposit, and he just shook his head, no. Well, at least I tried.
As I was leaving, he handed me one of the triple certified true copies of
my divorce decree, showing that I had permanent custody of my children,
and a copy of the “Writ of Habeas Corpus”, which had been stamped by
the court, there. He told me that I might need them, to be able to take
my sons out of Texas. In addition, he was certainly correct on that one.
He also told me that when they arrived, if I needed to call airport security,
do not hesitate to do so. Now, I can honestly say, that part did made me
a bit nervous.
He then told me that if my ex-wife did not deliver the boys to me, at the
west gate of the airport, the next day, just give him a call on Monday, and
he would take care of that too, because she would be in violation of a
Court Order. Now, that was very reassuring.
I then headed out to the airport to book our return flights back to
Portland, Oregon, for the next day, if there was any available.
Sure enough, there was a flight leaving in the early afternoon, but we had
to go through Phoenix, Arizona, which was okay with me. I had to
change my ticket, with a surcharge of course, to that flight, and pay for
my sons tickets at the same time, and sure enough, the Ticket Agent
asked me to see something that said that I was legally allowed to remove
my sons from Texas, so I showed her the documents that my attorney
given to me, she then walked in to the back room, and returned with a
17

36. copy of them, handing the orig
g ginals back to me then s
e, she booke the
ed
tickets not bef
s, fore. Our flight wa about 2:30 PM the next day, so we had
r as w
plenty of time to check in, after my ex-w
y k r wife delivered my sons to me, or
m
so I th
hought at the time
t e.
I then headed back to t
n that nice hotel, an yes, I did have some more of
nd, e m
their M
Mexican Buffet Di
inner. After all, I was not going t be the
to ere the
next n
night, or s I hoped, anywa
so ay.
That n
night I pa
acked all of my thi
ings up, so that I was read to chec out,
s dy ck
and le
eave the n
next day.
And, y
yes, the n
next morning, I go up, cle
ot eaned up, and I did have another
,
portion of the nice, old fashione Ranch Style b
d ed, h breakfast, with ple
, enty of
everyt
thing ima
aginable, and plent of coffee to was it all d
ty sh down with after
h,
all, it was inclu
uded in th price. Moreover, I was c
he checking out of tha nice
at
hotel, later on, and hopefully for eternity.
I was at the w
west entra
ance of th airport at about 11:00 A
he t AM, and waited
in the hot Texa sun, f my ex
as for x-wife to deliver m sons t me. No one
my to N
arrived at noon and no one by 1
n 12:30, eit
ther. The
erefore, I decided that I
would wait jus one mo
st ore hour, so that I would have tim to go in and
, me
change our res
servations if need be. Wel about a quarter after 1:0 PM,
s, ll, r 00
who s
should ap
ppear, bu my ex
ut x-father-in-law, w
with my t
two sons
s? He
walked up to m pulle out his back-up service revolver from his ankle
d me, ed s p s
holste pointed it at my head, a
er, d y and told me that h was go
m he oing to blow me
away (this is not a pictu of his actual se
ure ervice rev
volver, bu I hope that it
ut
makes the point).
s He was so close tha I
at
could actually s
see the b
bullet in th chamb
he ber,
and t
the hammer was fully d
s drawn ba
ack,
ready to fire. I told my sons to go get
s
someo
one, anyo
one, from airport s
m security, but
they j
just froze and did not mo
e, d ove. I co
ould
see fe
ear on th
heir faces
s. There
efore, I told
t
him, just go ah
head, and blow m away, right her in front of a tho
d me re t ousand
sses, and your grandsons, then live with th one, i you can. He
witnes d e hat if
ent, with h pistol still aime at my head, and then
stood there for a mome
r his ed
he slo
owly relea
ased the hammer and re
r, eturned it to his holster.
t I just
18

37. turned, grabbed my sons’ hands and their bags, and walked away, fully
expecting to be shot in the back, at any time. However, fortunately, that
did not happen. We just walked in to the check in counters, and checked
in, and, sure enough, I was asked again, to prove that I was legally
allowed to take my sons out of Texas, so I pulled out the documents that
my attorney had given to me, and once again, the check-in lady, walked
in the back room, returned with a copy of the documents, and returned
the originals to me.
After we had boarded the plane, and started heading back to Portland,
Oregon, via Phoenix, Arizona, the boys told me that they had saw me, the
Sunday before, when they were starting to get in to their mother’s
boyfriend’s truck, because I stepped out from behind the small trees, to
see if it was really them, they saw me then. However, they did not say a
word, because their mother’s boyfriend carried a fully loaded revolver in
his truck too. So, now, I knew, first hand, what my attorney there, had
meant. Some say, “Ignorance is Bliss”, and I will tell you for a fact that
this is not true; you can take my word on that one. When you have a gun
pointed at your head, with a complete lunatic behind it, Ignorance is not
Bliss. That is very scary situation to ever be in. However, I could not let
my sons know that, or they probably would have been traumatized over
that situation for the rest of their lives. Therefore, when they brought the
subject up later on, I just laughed and told them that I knew that their
grandpa was just kidding. However, I will tell you, right here and now
that was the scariest situation that I have ever been in, in my entire life,
so far.
Anyway, the boys were safe, and back home with me, and their sister.
I had parked in the long-term parking at the Portland airport, so when we
arrived, later that night, it was easy for us to get our things to the car,
and head over to our little apartment. Their first night back home with
me, was a real joy for all of us. We got up early the next morning, when
over to pick up my daughter, their sister, and then we went out for
breakfast. I did not miss the Ranch Style breakfast, either.
The couple that my daughter had stayed with was completely elated,
when they saw that the boys were with me.
19

38. I had stayed in consta
ant conta
act with my daug
ghter dur
ring this entire
ordeal I called her eve eveni
l. ery ing, to let her kno what w
t ow was happ
pening,
and to let her k
o know just how much I appr
t reciated h
her.
We then drove over to t
the Orego Coast, so that I could show the boys a
on ,
small part of O
Oregon. T
They enjo
oyed it ve much Then t
ery h. they aske me,
ed
where they wo
e ould be going to s
school? So, on th way ba
S he ack, I dro
ove by
their s
school, w
which was were m daught
s my ter was a
already g
going to school,
s
and th
hey like t
that very much, because all of them would b going to the
m be
The boys even like our new slightly use, Pint wagon.
same school. T e w, to
Later that day, we drov over to my bos
, ve o ss’s home to let h
e, him know that I
eturned h
had re home with my son and to introduce them to him and his
ns, o a
family
y. I then asked h
n him if I c
could take a few hours off the nex day,
f xt
Monda to get my sons registere in school, and, he said, sure, why not.
ay, t s ed y
Two more down, and safe a home,
T e at
However, there wa much m
H as more to go,
As
A I would come to discover later on
d o r, n.
The n
next morn
ning, I to
ook every which wa not far from
yone to school, w as
where we lived and got the boy enrolle in scho
e d, ys ed ool, also. I then headed
h
off to work.
afternoon, when w finished up our work for the day, my boss asked
That a we d
me if he could speak to me for a few minutes, a
o m alone. Pa
anic struc me,
ck
because I had just retu
urned to w
work, so the first thing tha popped in to
at d
my mind was that he w
was going to lay me off. I followed him in to the
g m d
office, where h asked me to pull up a ch
, he hair, and then offe
ered me a coke,
which I gladly accepted He the explai
d. en ined to m that he was go
me oing to
open up a new division of the co
w ompany, in anothe part of the stat and
er f te,
he said that he would li
e ike me to manage it for him, if I wo
o e ould acce the
ept
job. I would pay more money. Nevertheless, I told him that I st had
It e . till
not ta
aken my Oregon E
Electrical Supervis
sor’s Lice
ense Exam yet, so I did
m o
not qu
ualify for the position. He s
simply said, “Get c
cracking o it, bec
on cause I
20

39. want to open up the other office in just a few more weeks”. I thanked
him for this opportunity, and told him that I would start working on it,
right away.
The next day, I called the Oregon State Electrical Licensing Bureau in
Salem, to see if they had some study materials available that I could go
over to study for the Electrical Supervisor’s Exam, and I was told no, you
just have to come down and take it here, when you have 5 years
experience as a Journeyman. I told him that I had all of my paid up
receipts for more than 5 years, and he said that would qualify, so come
on down, and take the exam, any time that you are ready to do so.
However, he did slip me a hint, at the end of the conversation; he said
that the test was based upon the present Electrical Code Book, so study
the footnotes well. I crammed every night and on the weekends too, for
a couple of weeks, then I thought that I might well be ready to take the
exam. I had paid special attention to all of the footnotes in the entire
Code Book. Therefore, I scheduled an appointment to go down a take the
exam, the following week. In addition, sure enough, it was only on the
footnotes. I passed with excellence, and my new Oregon State Electrical
Supervisor’s License was sent to me by mail, a few days later.
When I received, the next day, I took it in to my boss to show it to him.
He patted me on the back, told me that I had my raise, up to Supervisor’s
pay, effective that same day, and then he told me that his son had taken
that exam more than a dozen times, and still had not passed it. I told
him that it was just a stroke of luck, because his son was an excellent
craftsman. He said that it really did not matter now, because he now had
a Supervisor for his other office, and that is all that really mattered to him.
Well, that was another $160 bucks per week, on my paycheck, which I
greatly appreciated.
The kids and I quickly set up a routine for home. Because they went to
school at the same time that I went to work, but got home earlier, as I
now had a further distance to travel, each way, I would leave money on
the kitchen counter at home in the morning, and they would go shopping,
when they got home from school, for what they wanted to eat that night.
Then, they would start in on their homework. I would make it, when I got
21

40. home from wo
ork, and they wer finishing their homewor for the day.
re rk
Then they wou clean and stack the dishes in the dishw
uld washer, while I
w
took m showe and th
my er, hen we wo
ould settle in for a good eve
ening tog
gether.
We al
lways we
ent somewhere ne
ew, toget
ther, eve
ery weekend, doin our
ng
own little, disc
cover Ore
egon bit. Someti
imes we would ev
ven go fishing,
f
which, even m daughter liked to do, because y
my b you could really catch a
d
few fis
sh, in Or
regon, without try
ying very hard to catch them, at le
east at
that ti
ime. I do not kno how it is now. We were having a grand time of
o ow e t
it, and enjoying every m
d g moment to
ogether.
I even went down and took my Oregon State Drivers Lic
n y cense tes and
st,
passed it. I wa now, o
d as officially, a Oregonian.
an
A few weeks la
ater, I hir
red an att
torney in Portland, to trans
, sfer my custody
docum
ments in t the Sta of Or
to ate regon, and file for a perma
anent inju
unction
agains my ex-
st -wife, for violating her term and conditions o her vis
ms of sitation
rights. I was a qualified resident of the State by that time. Three months
d t S m
later, that was all comp
s plete, all nice, and legal. I did not have to worry
d t
about going ba
ack to Texas any more, to fight for my child
r dren, and get a
d
gun sh
howed in my face, ever aga
ain.
Ano
other Two down,
o
Yet still mo to com
t, ore me.
Things were re
s eally start
ting to look pretty good for us, at t
y this point in my
life, but, still, t settled issue, of m presen wife, whom I
there was that uns
s my nt w
had no heard from in m
ot many months. Actually, no a word since sh had
ot d, he
driven away, on our sec
n cond day in Oregon
n.
22

41. One of m basic philosop
O my phies in life is to never
awaken s
a sleeping dogs, and definite never, ever,
d d ely ,
even atte
e empt to, kick one, just leave them alone,
,
and every
a ything will work o just fine. No chance
out c
of
o being b
bitten, that way. I was def
finitely go
oing to
stick with that one with this situatio
s h e, on.
A mon
nth, or so, later, my boss again summoned me to the office, and
s d
again on Mond
day, right after wo
t ork. (I th
hink, by this, that he must have
t
done his seriou thinkin over t
us ng the week
kends.) He
H asked me to have a
d h
seat, once aga
ain, and offered me another coke which I again, gladly
e,
accept
ted. This time he told me that he wanted to expand his oper
s e d rations
in to the City of Portla
and, but that he needed me to ta
ake the City of
C
Portland’s Electrical Sup
pervisors Exam. Not know
wing what that en
ntailed,
and being over confiden from m last quest, I said “Yes, of cours
r nt my q se. I’ll
get rig on it.” I asked him if he knew anything a
ght ” d about tha exam, and he
at a
told m no, he had only heard t
me e that it wa a very tough o
as y one, but he had
h
full co
onfidence in me, of being ab to pas it, whatever it w
f ble ss was.
The n
next day, after wo
ork, I dro
ove down to our Electrica Union Hall in
n al
Portland, to pick up my dues re
y eceipts, which I had not done for awhile.
w a
(Our d
dues wer automatically d
re deducted, and pai for, fro
, id om our wages,
w
once e
each mon
nth.)
While I was th
here, I a
asked if a
anyone knew anything abo
k out the City of
C
Portland’s Electrical Sup
pervisors test. An old jour
n rneyman walked over to
o
me th told m that h had be
hat me he een trying to pass that exa for ov 10
g s am ver
years, so he finally gav up. He said tha it was one heck of a tes and
, ve e at k st,
wished me a w
d whole lot o luck, if I was going to try to pass it.
of y
Our U
Union Sec
cretary to me th
old hat he di not kn
id now of an
nyone tha had
at
passed in the last fiv years, since the City of Portla
d e ve , t and’s Ele
ectrical
Inspec
ction Dep
partment’ Boss, s
’s stopped teaching i
it. He sa that I would
aid
have t find so
to omeone w
who took s
some of those clas
t sses, to check with them
h
to see if they h
e had any n
notes tha may be useful t me. H
at e to However, he did
not h
have any names of who attende
y o ed, beca
ause the classes were
23

42. conducted at the Oregon State University Campus. It was too late to go
there now.
The next day, right after work, I drove down to the Registrations Office of
Oregon State University and asked the woman at the counter, if they had
any records of who attended the last Electrical Supervisors Course, 5
years ago. She said no, and even if we had that information, it is not
public information, so, we cannot give that kind of information to you,
anyway. Well, nice try, but I drew a blank on that one.
The only thing left for me to do, was for me to sit the exam to see what
was on it, and pass it, if that was possible to do, the first time around,
which I had some very serious doubts about doing, just because of what I
had been told about it. However, what the heck, how bad could it be, I
already knew the footnotes in the Code Book. Therefore, the next
morning, I called down to the City of Portland’s Electrical Inspection
Department to schedule a crack at their exam. I was told that it was held
each first Tuesday of every month, so come on down, no appointment
was necessary, but do not be late, the exam starts at 8:00 AM, and I
would have until noon to complete it. Now, I knew that I was definitely in
trouble, when they were giving us 4 hours to complete an exam. By this
time in my life, I had passed a lot of exam, but none, were we ever given
4 hours to complete, not even our College Entrance SAT exam. It did not
last that long, as I remembered, but that was a long time ago, also.
I had two more weeks to wait, until I could sit the exam, so I decided that
maybe, just maybe, I should do a bit more cramming for this one,
because it appeared that it was going to be a real dilly to pass.
Those two weeks went by quickly, and before I knew it, it was time to
take a half day off from work, with pay, to sit the City of Portland’s
Electrical Supervisors Exam. I got to their office at 7:30, but the offices
did not open until 8:00, so the sign said. Therefore, I went down the
street to get a cup of coffee, and then I returned. Sure enough, they
opened at 8:00, the secretary asked my business, and I told her that I
was there to sit the Electrical Supervisors Exam. She asked for proof of 5
years experience as a journeyman electrician, so I just showed her my
State of Oregon’s Electrical Supervisors License, which also I had to prove
24

43. 5 years experience to be able to take. In addition, she accepted that, as
my proof, and took me in to their exam room. I was handed a one page
exam sheet, with only 10 questions on it, and 10 other, clean, sheets of
paper to do my calculations on, being told not to do them in my head,
because the written calculations were part of my test score, then, she
walked out, and closed the door behind her. I looked down at the test
paper, and these were electrical engineering questions, which no
journeyman would ever have to remember, because that was not part of
our work. However, there they were. Therefore, I started right in on
them. I then knew why we had 4 hours to complete the exam.
Fortunately, I did have some experience in this field, because I had
worked for Bechtel Corporation, a well known, privately held, Electrical
Engineering Company, many years before, twice, in fact. However, I was
having real difficulty with trying to remember the electrical calculations,
from that far back.
A few minutes later, the secretary entered again, with another man,
about my same age. She handed him the same things that she handed to
me, then she told him, you know the routine, and I hope that you pass it
this time, because this is your last chance for another year. I said, I beg
your pardon, but what is this about a last chance for another year? She
said that each applicant only was given three chances to pass the exam,
each year. Therefore, if you do not make it, during those three chances,
you get to wait for one more year, to be able to sit the exam again. Then
she told us that talking was not allowed in the exam room, turned and
walked out the door again, closing it behind her. We put our heads down,
and started working on the exam.
Before we knew it, the secretary walked in again, said “times up”, hand in
your work, and come back here at 2:00 PM to get your results. Therefore,
I had to call my boss, to tell him that I would not be in that day, because
we would not get the results of the exam until 2:00 PM. He asked me,
how was it, and I told him that it was an engineering exam, which is why
no has passed it, since it was no longer being taught. He then asked me,
how I thought that I did, and I told him that it was a tossup, because
there was a lot of the formulas that I just could not remember. He
wished me luck, said I will see you tomorrow, and hung up.
25

44. I went out to grab some lunch, had a walk in the riverside park, and then
headed back over to the City of Portland’s Electrical Inspection
Department to what my results were. The other fellow was already there,
when I arrived. The secretary took us in to the exam room, once again,
and asked us to have a seat; she said that the Chief Electrical Inspector
would be in shortly, with our results.
He walked in a few minutes later, an elderly man, and handed each of us
our test scores. I got a 66%, which he said was not bad for a first try.
The other fellow got a 57%, he patted him on the shoulder and said, see
you next year, young man. Well, it was all over, except for the crying,
because you had to get at least a 70% to pass.
As we were walking out the door, the other fellow asked me if he could
buy me a cup of coffee, because he wanted to know, how I tested so high,
on my first attempt. I said sure, I do not have to be back to work today,
anyway, so why not.
When we got to the coffee shop, we each ordered a large cup of coffee,
and picked out a roll, each, then we sat down. I explained to him that I
had studied Electrical Engineering in the past, and had worked for Bechtel
Corporation, many years ago, but that I just couldn’t remember all of the
formulas that we on the exam. He then told me that he had taken the
last class that the Chief Electrical Inspector had given, 5 years ago, and
that he had a copy of the 10 calculations that they were given, and had to
go over every one, for a complete semester, at Oregon State University.
He said that he would give me a copy of them, if I wanted them. I said
that I did want the copy of them, and we made an appointment to meet
the following Saturday, in the same spot, at 12:00 noon, for me to pick
up my copy of the formulas that he had been given in class.
Hot Dog, maybe I had a chance at passing this one, after all.
The next morning, I told my boss that I had gotten a 66%, and it took 70%
to pass, so I was not that far from getting it done. I told him that I
wanted to sit the exam, again next month, and he agreed. Nevertheless,
I did not tell him about the other fellow, who had the 10 formulas that he
was going to give me a copy of. That would remain my little secret.
26

45. The following Saturday, we met, and he handed me a letter sized page of
paper with 10 formulas written nicely on it. I looked at them, and sure
enough, they were the ones on the exam. I asked him if I could have a
copy of these, and he said that is your copy. I could have danced in the
streets with joy over that one. However, I invited him for lunch, my treat,
and while I we were having lunch; I asked him why he had just not
memorized these formulas, because these were the exam, except the
formulas were put in to question form. He told me that was the part that
was so difficult for him to do, because the formulas just got jumbled up in
his head. So, I told him that he needed to clear his head, concentrate on
just these for a few minutes each day, until they are embedded in your
brain, then, take the exam again next year, and you will surely pass it. I
told him not to concentrate on them for too long a time, each time that he
studied them, because that would only be counterproductive to being able
to retain them in long term memory. I told him that he needed to go
over each one, and say the equation out load, as he was trying to
remember it, and he had to do this at least 21 times, for each equation,
for them to click over in to long term memory. I told him that was
something that I had read, many years ago, also, but it worked for me.
So, try it. He said that he would, and thanked me for lunch. As we
parted, I almost kissed him, Thanks, because I now had the keys in my
hands to be able to pass that exam. (He never gave me a number to
contact him with, and I never saw, or heard from him, ever again. I often
wonder if he did pass the exam the next year. However, I guess, that is
one of life’s mysteries that I will never come to know.)
The next Monday, I called the City of Portland’s Electrical Inspection
Department and told them that I would be back in again, next month, to
take another shot at their exam, because I had come so close to passing
it, the last time. Moreover, the secretary said, “Sure, come on down, we
will be ready for you.” (There was more to that statement than met the
ear, as you will see, in just a bit.)
When I got home from work that evening, and we had our dinner, I told
the kids that I had a very important test to study for, and I had less than
a month to do it in, so, I can only spend a little bit of time with you
people on the weekend, until I have taken this exam. They just said, go
ahead, and study, we will have fun without you, until you are finished,
27