Paul Van Blarcom:
CLASS OF 1962
Niskayuna High SchoolClass of 1962
Schenectady, NY
Arizona State University - Liberal ArtsClass of 1972
Tempe, AZ
Phoenix CollegeClass of 1971
Phoenix, AZ
University of Arizona - Arts & ScienceClass of 1966
Tucson, AZ
Van Antwerp Middle SchoolClass of 1959
Schenectady, NY
Paul's Story
Life
After high school, I enrolled at the U. of Arizona in Tucson and majored in Spanish and Latin-American Studies. After a couple of years of my new-found freedom far from home with far too many coffee dates and far too little page-turning in my texts, I was asked to leave and joined the army, rather than waiting to be drafted, so that I wouldn't go to Vietnam. Nine months later I was headed to Saigon. I actually had an enjoyable time there, absorbing the culture, food, and language (and not getting shot at too much). When I returned, I married my college sweetie and we finished up my army career in D.C. Then back to Arizona to get my A.A. from Phoenix College and, finally, my B.A. from Arizona State. I had worked in the car rental business with National Car Rental while going to school and when I got my degree I took a job as Regional Manager with Thrifty Car Rental, working out of Phoenix. In the early 70s, Thrifty went into downsize mode and I was out on the street, so called my old boss with National and go...Expand for more
t into the insurance business, specializing in car rental companies. I moved to the Left Coast and lived in San Clemente, CA, covering about a dozen states, one of which was Hawaii. I fell in love with Maui and ended up buying out one of my clients there, so we packed our bags and made the big move. I ran the car rental company for about fifteen years, fulfilling my fantasy of working in shorts and t-shirts, until I finally figured out that Hertz and Avis had far deeper pockets than mine, and sold the company in the mid-90s. In 1997 my mom was having health problems in Tucson, so I came over to help her out and ended up staying after my wife and I agreed to disagree. My ex, daughter, and grandson are still there, so I have a place to rest my head whenever I go back over. Since 1997 I've been working for H&R Block during tax season and try to make enough to travel the rest of the year. I've been spending a lot of time in Central America and just got back from a trip to Amsterdam...maybe Argentina or Peru are next!!
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