Jay Econom:  

Just an update: my sister, Elleni, died the morning of August 10, 2016. Re-written (with a bit more detail? At least with a bit of a different attitude.) Taken from a letter that I wrote to one of my best friends from junior-high school whom I hadn't heard from since soon after we both joined the Corps and went our separate ways... The past twenty years had their ups and downs, I spent a year in jail and five years on probation, and a year in prison (actually ten months thanks to 'good time') and four years on parole, before it finally got through to me that I need to take my mental illnesses seriously.  My main problem is Manic-Depression (bi-polar) with anxiety and anti-social disorder and just a touch of schizophrenia thrown in for seasoning.  Most of the time I managed to function alright, and even when I was going through mega-manic episodes things were cool (imagine being able to take 20+ credits at college, work two full-time jobs and two part-time jobs at the same time. I got an hour or two of sleep every three or four days.  Thankfully one of my jobs was at the college also [in the Theatre Department] so I was able to shower there, at my apartment, or at my dad's place if I was on that side of town).  Unfortunately, for every up, there is a down, and the higher the high, the lower the low.      I'm telling you, if you don't already know, depression sucks.  I gave up drinking about a year after I got out of the Corps and I never used illegal drugs (disbelieve if you want but that's the truth) but I have tried to destroy myself just the same.  Thankfully the good Lord has been there and kept me from doing anything past 'that point', I hope you understand what I mean.  Maybe another time I'll go into detail but not now.      SO...I went to college for several years.  I was pretty much just spinning my wheels, taking classes that looked interesting as well as classes that counted towards my degree, which I never got (have  more than enough credits, just need one more lab class and never was able to fit one in between work and other classes, then work, jail, probation and other classes).  If anything you could say that I majored in Theatre Arts.  Performed in a few plays but decided to focus on production more than acting (regret that sometimes, miss being on stage or in front of the camera sometimes).  My illness made it hard for me to stay at any one job for long and as a result I wound up changing jobs on average every three months.  I actually did manage to work for two companies (UPS and J.B. Hunt Trucking) for a year each, and I worked for the college Theatre Department during the school year for a few years.  Of course life was a lot harder when I was on probation because I never knew when I would get violated (it seemed like it was done on a totally random basis), which meant that I couldn't plan for anything.  Most of that time I lived in an RV (a total piece of crap, couldn't even run a heater at night for fear of an electrical fire) or a dive in Camas where I paid by the week (there were a head and a shower on each floor and the rooms were only slightly bigger than a prison cell).        As soon as I got off probation I headed down to Los Angeles and stayed with my mom for a while.  One of the guys I met in college grew up in Simi Valley and his dad worked as a teamster (truck driver) in the studios and he somehow got hooked up with a couple of guys when he moved back a few months before I did.  That gave me the hook-up and for the next five years I was pretty much back in a manic state working my ass off as a free-lance technician.  The last three years I was under contract with one company but still did free-lance work whenever I felt like it.  I mostly did lighting, but when I got the steady hook-up I started doing sound, dj and party lighting (the dude started as a dj) and laser effects lighting.  It was a pretty cool life.  I pretty-much worked when I wanted to, and as much as I wanted to (I averaged over 100 hours a week, not including drive time).  I did a lot of Country-Western concerts, corporate gigs, special events, plays, clubs, parties, some television, and a few movies ( the only mainstream one being "The Hot Chick" starring Rob Schneider).      Once again, I had a life-altering event because, even though I had 'found religion' soon after leaving the Corps, I still was living my life and not the life our Lord would have me live.  So when a guy ran a red light and t-boned the pick-up I was driving, knocking my back out of whack and forcing me out of work indefinitely. That's when I got depressed, got stupid, and wound up in prison.  The worst part of being in prison was how hard it was on my dad and the rest of my family.  Boot camp was a lot harder.  That's where I started to learn to live my religion.     From the time that I prayed about whether or not to join the LDS church I knew, for a fact, beyond any doubt, that the Church is, and it's tenets and teachings are, of Christ and true.        So I had lots of time to think, read when I could get ahold of a book, write when I could get paper and pencil or pen (once I transferred to medium security in prison the reading and writing were readily available).  While there are no active programs in jail and few in prison for the betterment of the inmates, how one spends ones time while incarcerated makes a big difference.  Unfortunately most people waste their time spinning their wheels.  I like to think that I used my time a little more constructively than most, though I know that there were some few who were putting forth an extreme and honest effort to better themselves and change their life's direction.   Oy.  That's when I started to get serious about myself.  My problems.  My life.      My mom and her boyfriend had moved to New Mexico about a year before I was arrested and I was able to get paroled into their care and I've been here since.  Nothing in my line of work that would allow me to make a living so I wound up working at a Big-O tire store humping my butt busting tires until one day... I got hit by a drunk driver and really messed up my back.  Seven discs damaged.  The difference this time around is my outlook on life.  And years of active therapy.  And taking my meds like I'm supposed to.  And, what I think is the most stabilizing factor, is the desire that I have to dedicate myself to "living my 'religion'".  That is the single biggest change that I have made and it feels good.        I'm not a 'Bible-Thumper' or a 'Holy-Roller', I'm just a simple man trying to change his life, and life-style, to be in line and in tune with the will of our saviour Jesus Christ, and of our Heavenly Father.     I've come close to marriage a couple of times and there's no risk of children, which has been for the best so far since I've not exactly been in the best frame of mind to support either.       That's been it.  I got off parole in October 2008, was able to get a bike late summer last year and go for a short (time-wise) ride.  Otherwise I've been taking care of business slowly but surely.  Kind of a long for being the short version. Original version below: Wish that I could remember enough of my life to tell my story in full, but since I can't I'll go with the shorter version. The best that I could figure it out was seven schools before we moved to Washington, covering first to sixth grades (no kindergarten) in two states. Two more schools before sixth grade was finished and one school each for junior and senior high, which was just totally weird for me and still seems somehow wrong. Especially when I stopped getting into fights, because I don't know what caused the stoppage and that really bothers me. (Was it my size?, Did I have a reputation?, Was it the fact that I carried either a knife or gun practically everywhere I went since I was 14? I would really like to know...) In my Senior Year my friend John Miller and I were in the delayed enlistment program for the Marine Corps together. The only problem was that the recruiter kept jerking me around so when the day finally came for me to go to boot-camp I slept in. Normally NOT a smart thing to do. I had my first Article 15 hearing a few days later, explained things to the Colonel and was released without punishment. In other words, I skated. For those of you not in the know. When you get sworn in for Delayed Enlistment you kiss your civilian life goodbye. As soon as you sign that form, raise your hand and give your word you are Uncle Sam's and are subject to MILITARY law and discipline. About a year later that recruiter was gone, but the man who used to be his subordinate was still there. He saw me in the Mall, remembered who I was and what job I wanted, and about a week or so later I was on a late-night flight to MCRD San Diego. I got about two hours sleep in the next three days and the following thirteen weeks just got better from there. OORAH! I ran into my first problem in Memphis, waiting for my 'A' School. It was either supposed to be Air-Traffic Navigation Systems Repair or Radar Systems Repair, (which are considered two of the three hardest schools in the military). When I got to the base th...Expand for more