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I have found if I talk to someone long enough we will find more in common with each other than imagined. One of my hobbies is learning about, while learning from folks I meet. Every person is a valuable gift but the treasure may take time to discover. I like to think of strangers as family who I have yet to come to know. I am having a wonderful life and would like to let you know how I got here. Maybe you and I will find something in common.
PRE-BELCARO PAINT
Born 1946 New Orleans, LA in Baptist Hospital. Family moved to Denver when I was 6 months old (thus, I have no cool New Orleans accent). In Denver, attended Elmwood, Fairmont, McKinley and University Park elementary schools, 7th & 8th grade at Merrill Junior High, then to Thomas Jefferson High School (class of 1964). Between 8 and 13 years old, I learned to play trombone, memorize poetry and shoot a rifle in the Highlander Boys. At 13 joined the Blue Knights Drum & Bugle Corps-played baritone bugle, we were good. Played trombone in every band and marched in every parade in Denver until I was 16. Sang in every school choir. Attended 4 years of American Youth Foundation summer camp at Camp Miniwanka Michigan through high school. First job was bag-boy at Miller Super Market, then janitor at Pitts Elementary School, then worked in Central Labs. at Univ. Colo. Hospital. A few summers I worked 24/7 for the hospital, Reed Ambulance and Howard’s Mortuary (wanted to be a medical doctor).
After high school graduation, attended Ottawa University, at Ottawa KS, degree in chemistry. A few months after graduation, passed up an opportunity to join Peace Corp and go to Turkey (darn, I would have liked that) attended Naval Officer Candidate School in Newport RI. After many more navy schools I met my ship, USS Grand Canyon AD-28 in Malta as DCA (Damage Control Assistant). Other duties on ship were Electrical Officer, Boiler Officer, Internal Communications Officer, Material Data Collection Systems Officer, Tours Officer, Lay Leader. Ship went to Naples, Italy for several months and then back to Charleston. Rather than help decommission my ship (boring), I asked for Viet Nam (don't ask) and was sent to the Naval Support Activity, aka Camp Tein Sha, DaNang RVN from Oct 1970-71 as Operations Officer. I was released from active duty upon returning from Viet Nam, but continued to drill with the Navy Reserves for several years. Once back in the States, my family decided to move to Phoenix AZ where I worked in all facets of the paint industry, including manufacturing, packaging, tinting, selling, even the bookwork at a small paint manufacturer named United Paint Works in Tempe, AZ. Decided to return to Denver and worked in a local paint store while working on my master’s degree in chemistry at DU. I was fortunate enought to get a job with Benjamin Moore as chemist before receiving the master’s degree. Over the next 14 years with Benjamin Moore Paints, I progressed from Denver Plant Chemist, to Western Division Chemist, to Denver Plant Superintendent, and finally to Western Division Production Manager. I was asked to move to Los Angeles and just couldn't leave Denver. In 1986, I went home and asked my wonderful wife, Cindy, if she would be my partner in our own paint store business. We have never regretted this decision.
- Paint Chemist with Benjamin Moore
Many of my responsibilities as chemist, in addition to approving each batch and color of paint made in the Denver factory in the Benjamin Moore Paints (BM) factory, were to go out in the field and look at coatings failures. I have seen many more coating failures while working with BM than any one painter has ever seen or will ever see. My job was to try to determine the cause of the coatings failure and give recommendations on what to do next. My favorite field trips were when the paint products used were not BM products. This is because, if the products were BM products, the person I was talking to felt I was merely defending the company I was working for. I was distrusted, not believed as being objective. If the products I was evaluating were not products that I sold, I was more believable. Very few of the problems I encountered were a result in a defect in the product used. The problems were almost always a result in improper surface preparation, using the wrong product, or lack of maintenance.
PRESENT
At age 50 I learned to play the incredibly difficult Great Highland Bagpipes (GHP) and played with the El Jebel Pipe and Drum Band for a few years. I later enjoyed playing with another bagpipe band Michael Collins Bagpipe Band. After a few more years I discovered a wonderful musical instrument called uilleann bagpipes, the Irish bagpipes. Although the Irish bagpipes are very different from the GHP, having started with the GHP was a big advantage as I progressed to the uilleann pipes. As a hobby, I am totally smitten with this beautiful instrument and play from time to time with live traditional Irish music around Denver. If you like to listen to live traditional Irish music, you are welcome to join us almost every Thursday night from 7 to 10pm at The Celtic Tavern at Riverside Downs. It is tricky to find so here are the directions. I'm the guy in the baseball cap playing the penny-whistle and uilleann pipes so come over and say "hi".
What is important to me
I am husband to Cindy, father to Troy, grandfather to Jessica, and greatgrandfather to Joseph. I am brother to Ron. These five people are my most valuable treasures of my life. My parents are gone but left me with great memories growing up. I am grateful to have family to love and to have share my life.
I am a very social person. Our business allows me to use my technical knowledge of paint and gives me a way of meeting many new and intersting people every day. I have made many good life long friends because of our business. It has enabeled us to make a living, to provide a livelyhood to some wonderful employees and to help our customers receive the products and knowledge that will help preserve and beautify their homes and businesses.
It is very stong and too important to me to try to summarize in a few short sentences, however I would be happy to share my spiritual beliefs with you personnally if you are interested.
I became aware of a man five years ago, who has been dead for many years, who I especially appreciate. You are rare if you have heard of him...Walter Russell. If you want to get to know him, too, it would be worth your time: Walter Russell's Biography titled The Man Who Tapped The Secrets of the Universe.
My favorite website is Ted.com. My favorite music is opera if it is Puccini and Celtic music, as long as I can play along. My Blog is just a bunch of things I have done or thought about lately, in case you are interested.
I welcome your input on our website. Let me know if I have made a mistake in grammar, spelling, accuracy of content, or format. Also, please let me know if there is anything that would make this website more helpful to you or others. I am having fun telling our Belcaro Paint Story and want it to be of value. Thanks for having the interest in exploring us.
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