My Bio or "How the hell did I get here!" Revised 12-02-08     I was born in Arlington, Virginia on August 20, 1964 you do the math. I spent the first few years of my life living in a place called Seven Corners, Virginia. Now, the reason they called it this is rather simple. There is a crossroads, or there was, that actually had seven corners. Hell there were roads going in all kinds of directions. Basically it was just a big mess. So we moved.....     My parents moved the entire family to Chantilly, Virginia. This was in June of 1968 and Chantilly was considered the boondocks of Fairfax County. Hell we were so far out, the road we lived on was still dirt! Of course, I think the only reason we made the move was because they found another place with the word "corner" in it. We moved to Lee's Corner Road - go figure.     We lived in Chantilly for a few years and all of a sudden in 1970, my parents decided they wanted to really go for the gusto and become super dysfunctional - so they divorced. My mother packed up the house and we moved. My sister, brother, and myself all ended up with my mother in Winchester, Virginia.     Now, Winchester, Virginia was were my father was born and where my mother grew up. So, we moved back to our family's hometown.     Anyway, this is were we grew up, at least for a few years. During these early years of my life I grew up with my loving brother, Larry. I say he was loving because he loved to beat the hell out of me. He was "Mr. Sports Guy" and I was "Mr. Reading Guy", so I got pounded. My sister, Christine was too young to get her beatings from my brother so she just sat in cake and stripped her baby dolls of all their clothes at every chance she got. We still think she needed therapy but as long as she wasn't stripping them and then burning them, they sorta let it go. I should also add at this point, my mother started an old rather odd family tradition. We were now dog owners. Over the next 14 or 15 years, we had four or five dogs. All named Snoopy. None of them were Beagles and all of them were named Snoopy.     Well, after going all the way through the sixth grade with a teacher that was more sadist then teacher, I decided I had to get the hell away from this town - or risk going insane like my sister. So, I moved to Chantilly, Virginia where my father still lived. I was all of 11 years old.     So I moved to Chantilly, Virginia and went to Chantilly High School from 7th grade all the way through 12th grade. What an experience that was! I was leaving an elementary school and stepping right into a High School. Man that was awesome. Of course, there was a problem. Go figure! The Chantilly High School Years. Otherwise known as "No really, I am Mike March. Really!"     On my first day of school at Chantilly, I was also being registered for classes. It was strange how they already had my schedule prepared for me. But, hell, I thought "Wow, this is first class!" So they assigned me a student that was moving to be my guide to all of my classes. So here I am getting guided to my classes by a kid that was moving away. Well I get to my first class and wouldn't you know it, they called the roll and actually called my name. Well, sort of called my name. For as long as I could remember, no one seems to be able to pronounce my last name - which is March. They always pronounce it Marsh, as in a swamp. So, here these teachers were calling "Mike Marsh" - and I was answering "Here". Of course, everyone in the class was staring at me like they wanted to kill me - which is what they decided to do around 5th period of my first day.     During 5th period, English, the teacher called roll, I answered when she mispronounced my name and after class I was cornered by this really big guy that asked "Who the hell do you think you are?". I said "I'm Mike March" - he said I wasn't and at this point, he wanted to pretend he was my brother and start beating me. Well to make a long story short, that kid that was moving away and who was my guide was named Mike Marsh, and when I registered, they keyed in Mike Marsh and I got his schedule. Of course, all of HIS friends knew him and I was not him. So, once I figured that out, life was okay. And that big guy that wanted to beat me - became a good friend. The Years In The Wilderness     Well I made it through life in Chantilly High School and went to work for the DC Superior Courts right after school. I was following my father's footsteps. He worked there for 18 years and retired as the Deputy Chief of the Serious Misdemeanor Branch. I worked there for 19 months and called it quits. Never knew how he could do that for so long.     Well I went to work for a company called DynCorp for a few years and traveled the world working in American Embassies and various other Government buildings. I was working on "Security Stuff" which if I elaborate upon, I will be forced to kill you or at least give you a threatening wink. Anyway this job allowed me to travel all over the world. From the great spots to places I would soon forget. Some of the places I traveled to can be seen on my travel page.     During those traveling years, I found myself buying a townhouse and getting married. It was everything I wanted until I realized the only thing missing in our marriage was a divorce. So, I left that job, got divorced and wondered the earth for a few years trying to figure out what I wanted to do with my life.     This is when I was introduced to the world of Computers!     Enter The Doctor's Office BBS. I logged onto this site for the first time the same night my grandmother passed away. The phone was busy for a while, but around 11pm that night, I got the call. Well, I found the Doc's Office because for one, I had just bought a computer with a modem in it and a friend from the old neighborhood told me to check out the online sites. So I did. I found Doc's Office, liked the friendly people and joined. Cost about $65 for the year. By the end of the first year, I was made a ValOp. Stands for Validation Operator. I made calls to the newbies to make sure they were of age and upgraded their accounts. With a few short months, I was the Head ValOp, then shortly the Co-SysOp of the entire thing. Doc, Herb, Airwolf, Candy, Progrmmr and a few others were the hardcore folks that made it all happen. I just happened to have been invited to help. And help I did. Me and Doc became great friends, I was able to "hire" folks to help out and spread the good word. Anyway, we got the place up to about 132 phone lines 800 users and the next thing you know, here comes the Internet to the Masses. That was the opening shot in the death of all BBSes around the world.     So anyway, we had a great time. We held parties, scavenger hunts that almost became famous, volleyball tourneys and god only knows what else. I met tons of great people, learned a lot about computers and well, more computers.     This was back in the good ole DOS 2.0 days. Back when windows were something you cleaned every six months. Anyway, to make a long story short - I moved back to Winchester, Virginia and worked in the electronic security industry until I realized I really hated doing it. So I became a Web Page designer. The Winchester Years Part Two     After building web sites starting a few companies, starving and making ends meet - barely, I thought I should actually do something for me. So somehow I got involved with the Mortgage Business.     Now I know I have been lucky in my life with the opportunities I have been given but damn, this was another break I was dearly looking for. I loved my job and I got to meet a bunch of folks I tried help. Or at least do everything I could.     So now it's my turn to buy a house. Which is what I recently did. It's not a castle but it's brand new, and all mine. Well, I think I own a door knob so far, but at least I am not paying rent. It might sound weird but I bought this house more for the dogs than for myself. They are getting up there in years and I wanted to give them as much yard as I could afford to run around and bark at things only dogs care to bark at. So I have given them the biggest yard they have ever had, although it's only half an acre, it's like paradise to them. Sadly my German Shepherd Serrecko passed away January 7, 2005 and only had about 6 months worth of running around, barking, chasing cars and things he loved to do. I miss him so much it brings tears to my eyes when I think about him. Enter Navy Federal Credit Union     Currently I find myself working for Navy Federal Credit Union. Right here in Winchester. NFCU has a call center, your basic cube farm with a bunch of hard working people taking calls from highly confused members. But that is why we have the call center. To help the members with their problems. I worked the phones for about 7 months, and got myself promoted into the Voice and Data Operations department. So, once again I find myself working with wires, computers, sticky mouse balls and some really talented, incredibly fun people. Basically, I found my last job. The Story Continues......     So that's where things stand. I live in Winchester, have one great dog and still so single I buy cheese by the slice. I have been learning more about myself with each passing day and I swear upon something you swear upon, each day of my life is great. Certainly there are days when I am happy, some when I am sad and some I would rather not wake up too, but overall, it certainly beats taking a dirt nap. I have learned, the hard way, sometimes you have to put behind you things you thought you needed to become the person you wanted to be all along. It's hard doing what you must, but the pain of seeing the brightness of yourself on a new day certainly makes putting yourself through hell well worth the end result. A new day can happen in the middle of the night.     Over the past 25 years or so it has been asked of me time after time after time - "Why did you move to Chantilly?". The answer has never been something I can point to and say "That's the reason!". I will forever wonder what made a kid of 11 years old take a step into the unknown. All I know is I just did. It might have been because of my father's health. He was given 4 years to live in 72 and I moved there in 76 to make sure I would never wonder about the man I loved so much. Thankfully he lived until just a month after I moved to Winchester. He passed on June 1, 1998. He is laid to rest no more than 300 yards from where I type this. We are both home now and the years I missed here are being made up for on a daily basis.     Life is harsh, life is short but it's the game we all play for as long as we are allowed. Losing family, friends and eventually ourselves is the way the game ends. Simply put, love the time you are given with those you have been given. Life is but a blink in the never ending thing we call time. Time is what we humans waste more than anything else..........     Of course as you can tell if you have gotten this far is that I am still single. So one could say I have been lucky in life but unlucky in love. Maybe one day "She" will enter my life. I have tossed away what I want because whatever I thought I wanted in the past ended up being a big mess. Now I will let life happen without putting too much pressure on making it happen. Latest Information:     After more than 15 years of being single I have remarried. I met a beautiful woman, full of life, understanding, a sense of humor and above all else, a woman with her feet firmly planted on the ground. I always knew she was out there. I never knew it would take 44 years to actually find her, or better yet, find each other. Some things just happen for reasons beyond our own understanding, and we are given the opportunity to take what is offered, or look the other way. With Tammy, it's as natural as a relationship can be, should be and one I have always thought was out there. We found each other when neither of us were looking. Now we are married. Without a shadow of a doubt this will last forever. And then a day more...... Cancer and the day I nearly died:     After getting married on 10-09-08, it was less than a week later, 10-14-08 I was diagnosed with Kidney Cancer. I had surgery to have it taken care of on 11-05-08, was released from the hospital on 11-11-08 and rushed back to the hospital on 11-13-08 with internal bleeding. This is the day I almost died. At least according to my doctors I am very lucky to still be alive because on that day, I was on my way out of this life. I should make a full recovery, it will take a few months to totally be back to normal but in the long run, this will prove to be yet another turning point in my life. The most important things in life are the people you can put your arms around and hold. Everything else is fluff and distractions. I cherish every moment I have with my wife and family and no longer let even the silliest of silly things get in my way. And many thanks to my best buddy Paul for coming by the hospital as often as he did and for being the best friend a guy could ever want. After knowing you for so long, it always does me good to see we both are still in the ball game. And to my boss John, thank you for everything you have done for me, and for your friendship and for the time you have spent helping me recover from the most horrible experience of my life. Friendships like these transcend so many things. To Friends Of Long Ago     To my friends from my Chantilly High School years I would like to thank you all for letting a hayseed like myself enter into a world so foreign. None of you were ever aware how scared I was for the first 9 weeks of seventh grade. Few if any knew I was on a journey that could have ended 9 weeks into that first year at Chantilly High. With the help of many great new friends I was able to do what I never thought was possible. I may never see most of you again but just know you all meant the world to me and still do. Even the folks that were incredibly unforgiving to someone just trying to fit in. In the end I hope I made an impression that someone will look back and smile over. I still smile thinking about my experiences and the friends I made and the friends we have all lost.     There is a universal thread that guides us all. We can't see it, feel it or know where it will lead us. All we can do is accept the opportunities it allows us to take, make a call and see what happens. Where tomorrow leads me, only tomorrow knows and when the day comes when there are no more tomorrows, I will at least go where I must, knowing each minute was treated as my last knowing the good outweighs the bad, and it was a life worth living.