August is both a joyous and bittersweet anniversary month as the title implies (or maybe fails to). The header photo is the main public library which gave me great memories, especially when I was underemployed during the Reagan-Bush Recession.
Twenty-five years ago I left for Marquette University which lies in the heart of Milwaukee (pretty similar to where UT resides with Austin, I can’t vouch for other schools right now). Little did I know the place would be my interim home, not just with college but afterwards. It wasn’t by design. Trust me, there were a dozen better places I could’ve chosen when I was 17-18, Milwaukee was the best compromise I could get. The same goes for after college. Despite the resigned tone I’m giving, the Beer City did grow on me, especially after the Summer of 1988.
Twenty years ago was when my tenure there ended. I had spent the first half of 1991 hustling to land any full-time work to support myself because I didn’t want to move back in with my parents. They may have been living in San Diego but that place only sounds good on paper, especially when you know your rights will be demoted to teenager status; the painful lesson I learned after Philly.
When I did score the kinko’s gig, it proved to be short-lived thanks to meeting a guy who was an art director at GDW. Through him (and I will write more), I was offered a more interesting typesetting position. There was a catch though. I had to leave Milwaukee and relocate to Bloomington-Normal…somewhere else I was also trying to avoid at all costs! Oh the delicious schadenfreude!