18..

People get lost... I did... Turning 18 woke me up...

Earlier in life I went into one of those big stone art galleries when I was 12ish...... Weather..cutting school....some gang related duckin and dodgin... ya know?

I would look....... the bronzes mostly and stone sculpture..

I'd stare like a hypnotized goat.. Thinking...how..where..huh and how again..then I started to think.... what if  I had a chance to do something.. as cool as that would I, could I.... then came back to my 12ish here and now..which is actually my then at this point... which was just about keepin my blood inside my skin, passing time to avoid police..or not get soaked .......

No work in the winter.... no fruit to pick, nothing.... So I had time on my hands... no one in a real business hires 12 year olds...... even then it was hard to get something going....

Yeas passed.... stuff got done... things got seen... drifting got drifted.... Jobs here and there.. looking for what I wanted to do....Im now 20 going on 40... new friends.. new thinking..Im a student again..

Smart.. I challenged to get admitted to the school and succeeded .... had a perfect job for working in a 4 table resturant, worked nights as a janitor at the school..... had an apartment.. Good stuff..

A piece of office equipment came up missing...... I was blamed.. lost my job with the christian janitorial service....  Lost my seat in the class...was sooooo embarrased.... the equipment was found.. tagged for repair in a store room I didnt have access to.....

But the damage was done....

So Im out looking for a gig..... and passed a stained glass studio.....it was the coolest thing I'd ever seen..

I went in.... I see their working..selling supplies.... Im saying teach me... offering bribes whatever.. I came out with glass and some books... they were full up....

I got it...... learned the basic licks... and sold the first thing I made which as a leaded glass terrarium.... and kept selling...

I saw a notice Help wanted....apprentice... I answered and was hired....