Bill Coleman:
CLASS OF 1970
Garfield High SchoolClass of 1970
Hamilton, OH
Bill's Story
Well, to tell, in any detail, the story of my life thus far would probably take up most of the storage space on your computer. So I will try to be "brief."
After graduation from Garfield, I went first to Ohio Northern University for a short time, then transferred back to Miami U., from which I then dropped out in order to devote a couple of years to living the hippie lifestyle full time. I eventually went back to school at UC and graduated in 76 with degrees in English literature and secondary education, but never could find a teaching position.
So I worked at a number of jobs--bartender, writer/editor, musician, et.al.--and lived in a few different places over the years: New York City, Florida, Maine, Chicago, and Detroit, where I attended law school for a year (85-86), but did not like it and quit to go to London in 87. There I had a band and played around in pubs and recorded a little bit of music. This is when I started using the stage name "Billy Hamilton," in honor of the old home town. I finally ran out of money and came back--not to the old hometown, but to Detroit, where I had a girlfriend I had lived with off and on for about 10 years. From late 87-89, I did my fastest living ever, tending bar in the topless clubs on 8-Mile Rd., making lots of money and spending it all on having a good time 24/7. This is when I learned that there is such a thing as "too much fun." I was lucky to survive this period without serious repercussions and have since pretty much given up partying and the nightlife. I still play music in bars, but when I'm not, then I usually don't go out so much anymore. Not that I've given up all my vices or found religion or anything like that. I've just learned most fun can be had more safely and successfully at home if one has the right person to share it with. If not, I'd rather just read a book or watch a movie.
In 89, I moved back to Ohio, taught bartending school, worked as a newspaper copy editor, and played music around Cinti-Dayton until 92, when I moved back to Detroit once again, working as mostly as a teacher or bartender.
In 96, I went to South Korea and started my "career" in teaching ESL/EFL overseas. I got a Master's Degree in TESL and taught at a university. I was married there to a youn Korean woman. (I had had several long-term relationships with women over the years, but had never been married until that point, when I was about 45.)This period in Korea was the only time I was ever prosperous--largely because my wife was good with money, unlike me. We had a new car, traveled to Hong Kong, Thailand, and Japan on vacation. I finally had time to write there and produced my first novel, "Trailer Park Hippies," which was published very quietly and has had
a readership in the double digits at best.
In 2000, we came back to the US--New York City again--and were divorced (no kids) that same year. In 2001, I taught in Venezuela for awhile and was back in Hamilton on vacation when 9/11 happened. I was hesitant to get on a plane and fly back to South America. So, nearing 50, I took it as a sign that I should stay home and stop adventuring around the world. I bought a house on land-contract and started trying to live a more "normal" life, get a job, spend time with my old friends, etc., before it was too late.
But it was already too late. I really didn't see much of any old friends who were still around, and I couldn't really find any decent work. I usually had two or three different part-time teaching jobs at community colleges or proprietary schools. These, along with my music income (I had the Lowriders band there from late 2001 to early 2006)enabled me to just barely scrape by and pay the bills for about four years. Then in late 05, I lost two jobs at the same time, and that was it. I went under. I wanted to file bankruptcy, but couldn't afford to pay an attorney. So I got online and started looking for a teaching job overseas, knowing that I would probably never live or work in the US again. (During this time, I ghost-wrote/co-wrote a book for a good friend of mine from Michigan. It's called "Give Me Strength:Battling Addiction," the story of my friend's lifelong struggle with alcohol and drugs. We created our own little publishing company, and both books can be found online.)
When I decided to leave the US again, I chose come to Europe this time because I knew I would have to stay long term, and the Euro lifestyle is really not so different from the American, whereas someplace like Asia is culturally much different and harder to stay in for more than a few years. The only job I could find was teaching at a high school in Hungary, so I took it. I gave the house back to the owners for less than my original down payment, then got on a plane to Budapest. I ended up in a little historical Hungarian town on the border of Austria. It was a lovely town, but teaching teenagers in Europe is about the...Expand for more
same as teaching teenagers in America: glorified baby-sitting. So I stayed there only one semester. Then I moved up the road to Bratislava, Slovakia, where I taught first in a private language school (mostly "Business English" for companies), then two years at a private university affiliated with a US school in Seattle. During this time, I hooked up with a bass player and agent in Poland and was able to do a dozen or more short tours of central Europe, playing small concerts mostly in Poland and Lithuania. I also had five original songs accepted for an independent movie being made in NYC. To my knowledge, the film, "Purgatory Comics," has yet to be released. It's a small-time project, anyway, not a Hollywood blocbuster or anything like it.
About a year ago, July 08, I finally worked my way into Western Europe (where it is generally hard for Americans to work; EU citizens are more in demand for English teaching)when I came here to Hamburg, Germany, where I once again teach mostly business and legal English. Hamburg is a lovely city, and things are not bad here. Services and life in general are nicer than in the East-Central post-Soviet countries. But one of the reasons I chose Hamburg was its musical history. I expected to find a thriving music scene here where I could write, record, and play my own music at a higher level than I could in the US. (Songwriting has really become my focus in recent years.)
Unfortunately, the scene is not what is was in the days when the Beatles were playing on the Reeperbahn. Few venues even have the money to pay a band, and most of the work I do here is solo/duo stuff in little cafes or bars--not terribly rewarding.
But I'm always trying to promote myself. I have a website and a myspace site (where there are original songs, videos, and excerpts from my musical autobiography, "From the Beatles to the Blues.") I have recorded a few CDs on my own and have much more original material to record should the opportunity arise. But the music biz is not what it used to be. Technology, changing tastes, and corporate control of the media have changed things a lot. There's not much room for new or creative artists/material. Like everything else, it's gotten harder than ever and will probably continue to get harder still. I'm just trying to do all I can creatively while I can still do it. I'm lucky to be in decent health and pretty good physical condition, so far.
So, for me it's turned out to be "Live By The Sword, Die By The Sword." I never wanted a normal life. I was always a free spirit who wanted adventure, creativity, excitement, travel, etc. Now I'm an exemplar of that old adage: "Be careful about what you wish for because you just might get it." From youth through mid-adulthood, I shunned any kind of "normal life" until it was no longer an option for me. I probably wouldn't have been any good at doing the same thing every day for 30-40 years, anyway. I do wish I could go back and undo/redo many things I have done wrong, but I still believe that art is the only thing that really matters, the only thing that really lasts. Everything else--even love, unfortunately--seems to be temporary. I believe that the creation of art is the highest calling, and the only things I want to do are write--both literature and music--record and perform as long as I can. But of course I have to make a living, so teaching overseas is about the only way for me to do that. I'm fortunate that English has become the international language of business and politics, so that I can work. In America, what little education I have is worthless. There I must beg for a job. Overseas, they beg me to work, which is much better.
I do miss football, David Letterman, and American-style pizza (like we used to get at Chester's!), but not too much else about the U.S., except just a general feeling of familiarity, which won't pay the bills. I was an only child, my parents are gone, I am divorced with no children, so I am free to go wherever and do whatever. As to the elusive dream of real and lasting love--yes, even at this advanced age, I would like to find it, but I have learned that most people do not. I have had a couple of chances for it in my adventurous life, but did not know then what I needed to know in order to do my part to make it last. I think that I know more now than ever what is required to have a successful and lasting relationship/marriage, but, realistically, the chances of finding the right person and then doing things right are probably less than ever before. Still, we never know, and it can't hurt to be optimistic. So, glamour girls a little past their prime but still holding on for dear life to their feminine charms are welcome to write! Old friends and acquaintances who just want to get in touch are more than welcome, too--and much more likely, I realize--to write, as well.
Hope to hear from anyone and everyone.
All the best--Bill
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