Derwood Twigg:
CLASS OF 1970
Estherville High SchoolClass of 1970
Estherville, IA
Derwood's Story
Life
This seems to be placed in the wrong sequence for me. I attacked the bio's from a chronological perspective. So, I did my school/college bio's, then the work bio, which then led to this one. Oh well, I guess I'm not one to really follow all the rules all the time. In high school, I was always "shy" and never danced. Besides, I was usually playing a "gig" with the rock band "The Shymen" or with the area band directors doing some jazz stuff for all those old fogies. Well guess what? Somehow, don't ask me how, I have become an old fogie. Grey beard, bald, wrinkles, knee surgery, hernia repairs, well I quess that is more than you really wanted to hear about. Back to Music. I have discovered ballroom dancing. I started out with some basic lessons, and going out social dancing. Then, an instructor talked me into doing a Bolero exhibition. I really enjoyed the focused effort, and it was easy to talk me into a competition. So, now I have started competing in the ballroom dances: Foxtrot, Waltz, Tango, Rhumba, Mambo, Bolero, ChaCha, etc. And, it is a blast. I have finally come back to music, just from the opposite perspective.
I have a daughter that is a senior in Minnetonka H.S. this year. She plays awesome third base in her love, fastpitch softball. Over the years, she dropped competitive swimming (up to zones), gymnastics (up to regionals), ballet, violin, saxophone, and girlscouts as they started to conflict with softball. She has earned many awards in all, but really thrives on softball. She has graduated from high school, but not yet continuing to college. She is currently living in Pennsylvania with her boyfriend, who has his degree in criminal justice and starting his career in law enforcement.
I have a 28 year old son who has been a Navy Corpsman (medic) for the "Marine side", doing time with Recon (and Seals) during two West Pacific floats. During his second float, I flew out to Hawaii, boarded the USS Essex in Pearl Harbor, and floated back in to San Diego with him. THAT was some show they put on. He is now "freelancing" it as a "consultant" in the Middle East. Believe me, you do not want to be on the receiving end of his kind of consulting.
After 30+ years in IT, mostly in the wholesale food industry, I am now a jewelry salesman for Penneys here in Minnetonka MN. I enjoy helping people find some "bling" and put smiles on their faces. However, I have had to adjust to a much lower income. I doubt that I will ever return to IT because of the incredible stress that has entered that profession along with the "outsourcing" of so many jobs to places like India. I am getting by, although at times it is difficult. I still struggle with the death of my middle child, David, and the bitter divorce that ensued. I am not planning to become a gold member here, so you can contact me at my name (derwood twigg) separated by an underscore - not a space, at that "high temperature" commercial mail site. I know, that ...Expand for more
is a bit hokey. But, my actual email address would be filtered out --- Hope all is going well for everyone.
School
This site's "college" info doesn't apply so easily to me, so I'm just throwing it all in here. In high shool, I planned on a music major as a percussionist (drummer). After a year at ILCC, I went to the U of Iowa in Iowa City. I entered the USAF ROTC program, and had a scholorship after they convinced me to switch to a major that the AF could better use. I switched to computer science and then switched to Mgt Info Sys in the College of Business. I went to college for, oh a long long time, accrued far more semester hours than needed for graduation, just never got around to some of those "core" requirements. So, I never graduated. I had just finished some Data Communications course at the U of I when I got a job programming for a local food wholesaler. And with that, I started my career in computers. Was the switch from music wise? I suppose it probably was. But, I really really miss music.
Workplace
As I progressed through several major curriculums including a number of upper level courses, I was able to secure a job in my field prior to graduation. So, I have never found the time, or really the need, to actually graduate. The first job was at a food wholesaler in Iowa City, my college town. I was programming, and had helped them through two migrations to larger computers. I had just finished a computer data communications class, when my employer had a need to interface hand held devices directly to their mainframe computer. I designed, developed, and implemented a custom datacom interface. That was my first of a few acomplishments in my field that I really enjoyed and was really proud of. After 9 1/2 years, and I was married then and with our third child just born, I moved to Minneapolis for better opportunities for the family. I went to work for another food wholesaler there. Again, I found an opportunity to excel when the company decided to use a new language, called a 4th generation language, that forced a lot a abstract thinking far beyond the normal level associated with application programming. After about ten years there, I started contracting for the vendor of that 4GL language. Mostly, I was in the Mpls area and "telecommunicating", but I traveled as far as Chicago and Atlanta too. Then I hooked up with another food wholesaler, and was there for 3 years. It was during that employ that I experienced a family tragedy, resulting ultimately in an extremely painful and costly divorce. The list of hardships that have accompanied this period is long. But, I then began to work for a software company, tending their "help desk" on Sat/Sun/Mon nights from 6pm to 7am the next morning. Then, the rest of the week is free. And, that gave me time for what I really love - music, but with a slightly different perspective, as it was through dance. I am now working for Penneys as a jewelry salesman.
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