Lou Gherig the American baseball legend said "I'm the luckiest man alive". I cannot make that same statement, but as a boy during World War II in England, as I lay sleeping in my bed on September 8, 1944. The first V-2 rocket bomb fired by Nazi Germany in this conflict, landed less than 100 yards from our home; so I would say "I'm lucky to be alive". After leaving school I started an apprenticeship which found me in the early stages as a gopher and a lad to tease by the older experienced work associates. This was done in good spirits and became part of my learning process.
Good working habits were bred into me and I respected my peers and coworkers. Going to work at times when I was sick, when sometimes staying at home would have been best for all concerned. The early years of my career were spent as a civilian and serviceman for the British War Office. This time was spent in England and 13 months in Egypt preparing military maps, charts and compiling aerial photo mosaics, as a topographic draftsman.
Following this, I continued working as a cartographer, helping with the board preparation of published road maps, teaching aides and maps for the Phillips New Modern School Atlas. Having been employed as a draftsman for the past 40 years I have gained a great deal of know how as it relates to preparing presentations for customers.  The last 35 plus years, I have worked for 2 major oil companies British Petroleum and Union 76 in 3 different countries. In the United Kingdom until late 1956, then onto Canada, with a 4 month stint living in a tent as a member of a geologic field survey party in South Eastern and the North Slope (Prudhoe Bay) Regions of Alaska. I was one of the original four employees of BP Alaska when formed in 1959. Ultimately as part of the BP team that did the mapping of the giant Prudhoe Bay Oil Field and other Arctic prospects. Transferred by BP to California in 1962.  At the closing of the BP Alaska offices in December 1965.  I joined Union Oil of California the following month at their Science & Technology Center in Brea California where I worked for 19 years on Exploration Research Projects and became the Chief Draftsman until I was transferred to the Head Office in Los Angeles to head the Graphic Services department for Unocal 76.
During the aforementioned time frame, I gained a great deal of expertise in the preparation of base maps, geological-geophysical & land maps, cross sections, daily plotting of geologic & engineering log data for active exploratory wells, plus a multitude of other functions relating to oil research and exploration, both in publication for technical & research articles, travel displays for the contiguous United States as well as foreign countries, which included the U.S.S.R., Thailand, Myanmar, and Indonesia. This was followed by embossed leather bound presentation books to foreign dignitaries consisting of royalty, cabinet ministers, and high ranking officials in Burma (Myanmar), Pakistan, Gabon, Ghana, Syria and Senegal, in addition to the countries mention earlier.
In more recent times, with the trend toward the downsizing of corporations, I was involved in the preparation of asset sale books for publication to lure potential buyers, plus four color printed books for presentations to European and domestic financial analysts.
I was called upon to go to Houston in July and August 1992 to assist with the new office set-up and preparation of a set of slide data to be presented to the upper management of the worldwide exploration department. Subject: To determine which of three options to adopt for the proposed consolidated, restructured, drafting effort for its future worldwide operations. This unfortunately turned out to be my swan song.  
During the previously mentioned tenure, I worked many years out of my home on weekends and evenings running a small freelance drafting operation, this brought a new dimension to my background and qualifications. I now became involved with the printing industry by working exclusively for a local printer. In this capacity I designed company logos, letterheads and business cards, flyers, advertising layouts, 4 color annual reports, newsletters, and publication figures, in addition to preparing athletic programs for our local sports organizations. This was followed later by computer graphics, web page design and working for the past seven years as a computer lab supervisor assisting the instructor with the Computer Summer School for Kids at Mount San Antonio College, Walnut, California. These classes taught Word, Excel, PowerPoint and internet skills to 3^rd through 8^th Grade students.

My wife and I moved to Roseburg, Oregon from Diamond Bar, California in April 2004 after spending 42 years of living in Los Angeles and Orange Counties. Our son and two grandchildren are presently living in San Clemente, California with our daughter residing with her husband in Perth, Australia.

Update on Union Oil of California (Unocal). As of August 31, 2005, Chevron purchased the assets of this company and another oil company bit the dust.  Their show place Research Center in Brea California has been razed to the ground to make room for a housing or commercial development. It also means that there is now one less oil company to offer competitive pricing, and of course this adds to the lack of competition and higher prices.