I’ve told this story to a few friends and family from time to time, but I’ve never written it down before. So, here goes.
In about September 1982, give or take a month, I was living in Inglewood, California, and working for a commercial printer in the nearby town of Hawthorne in Los Angeles County. I had recently graduated from University of Redlands and was working as a typesetter and graphic designer. Somewhat underemployed, I was a frustrated writer and single guy with few friends and no career vision.