Chapter 16

Friday was my last day at GBW Railcar Services. Without airing too much “dirty laundry”, our company split up and each location returned to whichever parent company owned them before GBW formed. Those of us on the transition team were responsible for supporting all IT applications and processes until each parent company was ready to assume control. It’s a difficult process to undo that which we spent over three years building and refining.

Our conversion schedule was so aggressive that management believed my responsibilities would conclude at the end of September. That was before they realized how many responsibilities I handled. In the 11th hour, they scrambled to get me cleared to stay on another four weeks and there were rumors I might be needed until the end of November. Obviously, you know how rumors go and now I’m starting a new chapter. This made me consider what a book about my life might look like and I think the following fits.

Chapter 1
The Cute Years Pt.1: 0 – 5 in 60mpp (Months Per Period Because, Contrary to Popular Belief, I Do Age Like a Normal Human Being)

Chapter 2
Pre High School: Mischief, Mayhem, Hormones, and Awkwardness

Chapter 3
High School: How Not to Make Friends Nor Influence People, A Cautionary Tale

Chapter 4
College or A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Ford Dealership

Chapter 5
From Illinois to Kansas to Illinois to Kansas to Illinois to Tennessee to Illinois to Iowa to Illinois to Missouri

Chapter 6
Working for the Family (Not THAT Kind of Family)

Chapter 7
Do Robotic DJs Really Dream?

Chapter 8
A Step-by-step Guide to Rock Superstardom: Step 1, Join a Jazz Trio

Chapter 9
The 1%-ers: Straight Men in Musical Theater

Chapter 10
A Bartender’s Guide to Mixology, Service, and GOD DAMMIT WHO PLAYED STEELY DAN AGAIN?!

Chapter 11
Adventures in Babysitting: Casino Life (AKA Working for the Family, Quite Possibly THAT Kind of Family)

Chapter 12
All Auto-correct Programs Can Go to Hell: Performing Improv, Not Improve

Chapter 13
1/3 vs 2/3: Good or Bad Hair Choices

Chapter 14
Fourteen Years An IT Slave: The Henry Wurst Years

Chapter 15
Railroad Parent Companies Having a Railroad Baby to Save the Railroad Marriage: Divorce and Orphanages

Chapter 16
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