My Story.

Dad pass when I was 8, but mom did great raising 4 kids by working harder then anyone should.

One of my early recollections was having my dad take me to a Chicago Cub game. We lived really close to Wrigley Field, close enough to walk, and I can still remember walking up the tunnel to the field and seeing the "friendly confines." Hundreds of games later, I proud to be Cub fan, although I'm 62 and have never seen them win a championship and maybe never will. 

During High School, I discovered my real passion, music. I played in a few bands, playing the music that was popular at the time, Beatles, Stones, Motown etc. It kind of went to the wayside for a while, but I always kept a guitar handy. Playing music on any level is a great distraction.

After High School, I tried college, but it just wasn't for me, which made me eligible for the draft. I don't think I'm much of a warrior so the Army or Marines didn't appeal to me, so I join the Air Force. It was of a good deal. No fighting and I got to learn an interesting trade. I spent my whole time in Central California where I discover a great place to hang out, Lake Tahoe. This were I also learned my favorite sport, downhill skiing. 

After the Air Force I got into the Federal Aviation Administration as an Air Traffic Controller in Chicago. I was doing pretty good but one day, as some people who are a little older might remember, my union called for a strike. After 3 days, President Reagan fired 11,000 of us. There was no where to be rehired and I thought at the time it was my only marketable skill. 

Being kind of depressed, I thought I'd go to Tahoe for the winter. I loved skiing there and I new I could find a job in a casino or a ski area. Well I stayed for the winter, and of course I knew how great the summers were there and I didn't really have anything to look forward to in Chicago except maybe some low paying factory gig, I stayed. Twenty-five years later I was still there. 

When I got to Tahoe I ran into some musician types and I decided to start playing professionally. The Tahoe area was great for this because, there were a lot of cool places to play. Tahoe, North Shore, South Shore, Reno, Carson City, and Virginia City. I also found my big passion writing songs. 

I'm gonna stop now and add a second part soon, as I have some work in the real world to do. The post will be called, "My Story ll. If it is not there, well I haven't written it yet. 

Alex muddy Smith