The move to St. Louis was a good one for me. Most of the first few months was spent in Madison, WI, with 5 other people in the same situation - away from home. It gave me a captive social group and helped to bring me a bit further out of my shell.

Unfortunately, St. Louis as a base of operations proved to be difficult for this Southern boy. I had never experienced much inclement weather - at least not ice/snow. The first Winter included at least two record snowfalls and convinced me that the first Southern job opportunity would be for me.

That opening came in the form of a new position created for Nashville, TN. BIG MISTAKE!!! The management in that territory wanted the position for political reasons and had no interest in an interloper coming into their area and "messing up" all the good work they had done. The battles began and ended within 5 months with a negotiated transfer to Birmingham, Alabama - back to the management team that originally hired me.

The best thing to come out of Nashville, TN, was the newly OUT me. Situations became so bleak after a month or two in Nashville, that I sought the help of the company's Employee Assistance Plan which introduced me to Dr. Michael McElroy. The initial introduction was to take care of the crisis of threatening managers, the eventual result was helping me come to terms with my homosexuality. Dr. McElroy was the first person to hear the words come from my mouth (I'm Gay). His reaction was one of total disinterest - THE EXACT PERFECT RESPONSE - "Is that an issue for you?"

Within 6 months of discussing the topic with Dr. McElroy, I had lost 70 lbs and had gone from a size 40" waist to a size 32". When asked how I lost the weight, I usually reply, "I came out."

The process was not that easy and is really a never-ending one, but the beginning of it can very clearly be traced to that amazing Psychologist in the backwoods outside of Nashville, TN, who didn't think it could possibly be an issue.

The work in Birmingham was much the same as it had been in St. Louis, except that I was much better at it and had much less of it to do. Most of the work was in Louisiana. A typical week included a Monday drive (8 hours) to Shreveport and a Friday drive home... with many stops for work in Arkansas or Central Louisiana in-between.

The driving was taking its toll. Sleeping behind the wheel was not an uncommon occurrence and the speeds used to reach Shreveport or home were inching up weekly. On one of the final trips the engine light came on in my 18-month-old Dodge Dynasty at the beginning of the trip. A tired mechanic who was ready to go home at 5pm on a Monday evening gave it an "all ok" and I was on my way. The 80 mph trip to Shreveport went faster than usual and the car was dropped off at the Shreveport Dodge dealership the next morning. The dealership called mid-day to request authorization to replace the Brake SYSTEM. The caliper had worn all the way through the discs. Why the car stopped, nobody knew. That car was left behind for the next employee with 78,000 miles on it and a new brake system.

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