Al Santeler:  

Life Didn't do my senior year at GBN. In earlier '74 my folks bought a 20 acre farm with a full complement of buildings and a beat-up house in Harvard, IL, where we gutted and added on to the old house and then moved in. (It was my first full scale residential wiring project at 17!) Even so, for a while it felt as if my life had turned upside-down. It sure was a change from my suburban upbringing in Northbrook! Well, I did survive, finished HS there and eventually got into the trades in Chicago as an electrician. "FAST FWD>>>" In '04, fearing the worst from my untimely retirement, I sold my home in Chi-town (a 2-flat I was rehabbing in Logan Square) and relocated to my property, a 71 mile drive NW of there and just on the edge of ...(where?!!?) yeahh, U guessed it ...Harvard IL, once again!! That's where I live, breathe, knock down walls, etc.. at the moment (guess some things never change). I think I'm finally acclimated to retirement now (albeit too early as it was) and it's all good ..city life is still in my bones, so I have plenty of reasons/excuses to drop back in. Never know what's next but life for me is and always has been one big adventure, soooo ...stay tuned! Deep down, though, when I think of it ..guess I'll always be an electrician. Heyyy ..What can I sayyyy? I still love to work w/ the tools of the trade. Survived a cancer bout in '02 and then in '04 was forced into retirement on disab due to some back and leg issues unrelated to the earlier mess. After surgery, getting my walk back (yet a bit shaky) and PT, I was informed that I reached the end of that road and was done with the working world as I knew it. These days I do take advantage of the extra available free time to trave...Expand for more