He had an amazing mathematical ability to solve geometrical constructions, was so fast at solving that Rubics Cube when that was the fascination of the world of puzzles that we wondered if we should look for those contests. We used to go to all the exciting places in Toronto when he was growing up. He loved the planetarium, the natural history museum, the science center, the conservatory. We'd go there on my lunch break, before he'd be due for Montessori in the afternoon.
Although he abhorred the schools later, and spent his time outside of classes reading everything that caught his eye in the library, plus studying the production qualities and storylines for favored TV programs til he knew them in detail, he never seemed to worry about making scholastic targets his goals. Yet he was the captain of the academic team and made that extra-curricular activity make the newspapers in our town, where the boring suburban ethic was the dominant nowhere-land.
Quiet always and yet very well-liked by his school mates, so much so that he was elected President of his senior class, until the vice principal altered the balloting which the senior English teacher did report to the students. It's a shame that instructor didn't challenge the 'adults' to insist on honesty, but an unprincipled principal is maybe an indication of that town's McCarthy roots. My beautiful son was so careful to protect his classmates from the disrespect of the autocrats among the faculty, with his own brand of come-upmanship that the students had rallied around him at the election and the administration was livid. My beautiful Michael's sense of rightness never would allow him to sweep aside the injustices in the school and would speak out, much to the consternation of those tyrannical 'adults' and I was so proud of his stamina in resisting their evilness and the temptation to give up in the face of those awful odds that children face in the school.
He was a planetarium docent and did the productions including the post-show public speaking and question time, from the time he was 15, later taking more and more responsibility for their management. As a young adult he was in charge of programming each new show, would organize the setup of each new program's theatrical special effects, manage teamwork to keep the slide projectors, audio mixing and star-projector precisely synchronized, write customized script enhancements. He represented the Planetarium on cable tv shows and could present the public service information for events like comets and planetary excitements.
Surely we did consider the homeschooling idea when he was young but that was so long ago that such ambitions seemed beyond reach in our part of Ohio in the early 80s. We had reached out to some groups in Ohio only to find in those early days that those scarce groups melted away without a trace if you weren't among the founding members and knew where the remnants of the group were. Nothing was very organized at that time and my beautiful Michael figured he could outlast the schools so we persisted til college, then he launched his own educational goals using distance programs. I was so proud of him, with his theatrical flair and his incredible ability to perceive the flaws in political debated ideas so that he could demolish their phoniness with an improvised calculation of their unsustainability, financially, or logically pinpoint their unconstitutionality.
Meet my son as an adult, so fascinating and caring..
EDUCATION Ohio Center for Broadcasting
In studio and on location camera operation. Plus linear experience. University of California, Berkeley 1993-94 Computer Programming Iowa University, 1992-93 Chemistry Northern Kentucky University, 1989-91 English Major, Theatre & Political Science WORK EXPERIENCE Broadcasting/Video Production Videographer specializing in movie production, art/music video, martial arts exhibition, theater auditions, small business support and private/non-profit/political special events. Cameraman and floor director for Northern Kentucky Magazine. Website graphic & audio effects construction, On location music video production with Alpha Recording. Announcer at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. Public Relations Represented the Planetarium in public forums such as newscasts and Cable TV panel discussions. Aided in preparation and teaching of astronomy classes for adults and children. Occasionally assisted with archaeology and nature classes. Front Desk Management & Sales Worked in the Planetarium Book & Gift Shop, 1988-95, and was responsible for remaining current on astronomical publications for recommendations to public. Sales of telescopes, models and gifts. Front desk duties and ushering. Tended bar at the Sharonville Sheraton 1995-96. Sales and inventory at the Waycross and UnionCentre Blockbuster Video 1999-present. Technical Skills - Audio/Visual Responsible for operation of planetarium shows, including automation systems, sound systems, projection system and electrical systems. Implemented systems for new shows Organizational/Team Building Responsible for organization of team activities required to implement and operate planetarium shows. Organized collections for new Planetarium Library, 1990-92, as well as managing cataloging and lending. Professional Driver - Class B Vehicle, Instruction and Maintenance Over 2600 hours/20 months on the road experience, mostly on vehicles up to 38 feet Construction Sub-Contracting – Alternative Solutions Designed Radiant floor controls to optimize use of waste heat in water heater in winter and groundwater cooling in summer, Implemented same. Managed construction of experimental sanitation system, optimizing water reclamation, naturescaping opportunity plus managed development of sunshed for thermally-moderated workshop with backup electrical system. Responsible for mechanical fitness and operation of micro-trackloader and compressor for rammed earth construction. Advertising Agency – Lead Finding and Ad Design Developed conversion techniques to enable use of backroom data from MLS for Real Estate services to locate opportunities for the credit-damaged population to find special financing and value-bargain homes among foreclosures. Produced promising 30-40 genuine buyers per month. HOBBIES/SKILLS Martial Arts Pentjack Silat Costumes & Mask Creation and Collecting HISTORY
OBJECTIVE Involvement in technical productions, variety in assignments, opportunity for skill development and artistic expression, responsibility & independence. |
Once he had finished his own self-guided undergraduate college program, including an intensive internship in video and radio productions, from running the floor direction for a magazine TV show, to doing live broadcasting from the Rock'n'Roll Hall of Fame, we began to see the limiting socio-economic dynamics and the precious resources being wasted, all of that was mounting toward disastrous consequences.
Meanwhile he was working part time at a variety of self-selected jobs that helped support his exploring learning expenses while studying and living at home. With our closeness and shared interests in cyber-hobbit living, we became work partners -- my son, myself and my daughter -- and launched our own business adventures when I retired from the corporate world in 1995, with the idea that we would begin rebuilding the world on our doorstep to try to escape to the next century's ideas, where we hoped to find more sane lifestyles, because we could see how miserably this era would turn out if those who knew better didn't make the world on their own doorstep decent and affordable, and do it soon.
It didn't and doesn't look promising that we will be able to turn this ship of a planet around, yet we had made quite a lot of progress in our small little woodland habitat home project. Then came this disaster. Now we are reeling from our discovery that even the Emergency Rooms of this culture are hideously barbaric. We had already discarded the standard pharmaceutical medical treatments for chronic diseases but we had thought that the ER was still sacred as a haven in crises of acute medical need. My Michael even had built himself an Emergency Room on Second Life. Where are the alternatives? Michael will help us find them.
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