Jay Rudko:  

Life After graduation, I worked for my father until entering the Air Force. I had a chance to see some real garden spots (check out my military list).I considered myself fortunate to see some countries, such as Iceland, that I never would have gotten to see otherwise. I got out in 1971, attended MDCC until July of '74, and returned to the Air Force due to a poor job market at home. After 12 more years of AF BS, I got out and am now happily retired after 27 years in retail sales. Still living in South Florida; being away from it makes you realize how great it really is here. I'm on Facebook, and welcome old friends to look me up there. School Started my education while living in Glenside, PA. Glenside-Weldon Elementary was Kindergarten thru second grade. Heard that the school is closing and will probably be torn down. Sad. We moved to Florida in 1957 and went 3rd and 4th grades at Biscayne Elementary. Move to North Miami Beach and 5th grade at Oak Grove Elementary. Another move (our last while I was in school) sent me to 6th grade at Scott Lake Elementary. Seventh thru ninth grades at Parkway Junior High, and then Miami Norland. Norland was, at that time, one of the best high schools in the state. Our standards were high, and we were all the better for it. Times sure change, though. The neighborhood around the school has changed considerably, and the school now resides in a shiny, new building. Fellow grads, check out the Facebook group for Norland Class of 1967. College Majored in TV and Radio Broadcasting; did do some radio work while in the military and loved it. Wish I could be still doing it. Unfortunately, the radio industry was deregulated back in 1996, and now one company can own several stations in a given market. That takes the competitive edge out, and now everywhere you go, all the stations sound alike. Jobs are scarce, and many stations use voice-tracking, where one announcer does programs for stations in many different markets. Radio is no longer what it was, and never will be again. Workplace Working for my dad was the first job experience for me, and he prepared me for what would come later. While I was in the Air Force, I did some part-time radio work at WDMJ in Marquette, Michigan, and WDLP and WJST in Panama City. Loved doing it, but thanks to FCC deregulation of radio, it's no longer lucrative. (Don't get me started on that one!) After leaving the AF, I worked in car audio and home audio sales, and spent 16 years at Brandsmart USA, Sawgrass, in the home audio department. I'm now retired, and enjoying it. Flash forward to April, 2008. I have come to the conclusion that it's too easy to take one's health for granted, and a recent event made that painfully (!) clear to me. I had to go to the emergency room at Memorial West Hospital in Pembroke Pines after having pinched a sciatic nerve. The pain was beyond excruciating. I usually have a very high pain threshhold, but this made me into a whimpering blob of jelly. While I was there, I discovered I had a severe problem with my blood pressure. It was so high it was nearly off the scale. When the doctor said I was a walking time bomb, I knew I couldn't take my health for grante...Expand for more