This morning I was surprised and excited about receiving an email from Mark White. Within the past two weeks Jack Park shared with me that he had re-established connections with Mark White and Dale Wachowiak. Jack shared their email addresses with me and last evening I generated an email to both Mark and Dale. This morning I was thrilled by an immediate reply from Mark. Mark conveyed his delight to have heard from me. He added that he enjoyed his 5 years at the Josephinum and that he has kept in contact with a few of our classmates.
Mark shared with me an email that he had sent to Bernie Rabik and he noted that it would be fine if I shared it with other classmates. I found it very interesting. I am now attaching his email to Bernie in its entirety:
"Rab … great hearing from you. Sounds like life is good there; it is here too.
I’m not much fun on the phone since I’m a little hard of hearing, but email a date and time when you are free and I’ll give you a call or … for now … we can use email to catch up. Counselor, I realize your time is money. You still earn it … I only spend it.
Highlights after leaving the Joss:
• College – Graduated from the University of Detroit; at the time the only university in America completely surrounded by used car lots; Radio-TV major; theatre minor. Worked as a disk-jockey; lots of summer stock, radio dramas, live television dramas (no video-taping in those days). Won a MFA fellowship (theatre) at University of Michigan.
• New York Theatre – Dropped graduate work; appeared with the APA, a professional repertory acting company on Broadway for a season before being drafted into the Army; acted with several notables to include Rosemary Harris (Spiderman’s Aunt), Nancy Marchand (Tony Soprano’s mother), Donald Moffat, Keene Curtis, Helen Hayes and others.
• US Army – Entered a Private; left a Captain (OCS graduate); served 13 months in Korea as an Infantry Company Commander; dodged “Nam” since I was a sole surviving son (my father was killed in WWII); I spent 4+ years “walking the wall” keeping everyone safe. Married Betty, my colonel’s secretary, during the last tour of duty at Ft. Benning, Ga. I appeared in several local theatre productions; got out of the Army and never again treaded the boards. It was time to settle down, get a real job and raise a family.
• Married life – Betty and I were blessed with a daughter and two sons; each graduated college; one from Notre Dame. Betty and I were married 42 years before she passed away in 2011 from cancer. She was my life partner; a beautiful gal, person, mother and wife. I miss her dearly. I have three grandchildren.
• Professional life – Worked at Xerox (Atlanta) for 12 years in sales and sales management; later was President of two office supply companies and a medical supply company (Georgia, Carolinas, Bermuda). Betty and I lived in Bermuda for five years where I worked and she partied. Bermuda has best been described as 60,000 drunks hanging on to a rock in the middle of the ocean. We hung on and had a ball. I spent 33 years in the industry; afterwards I wrote a book on sales management which has done well considering very few can get past the first two chapters without falling asleep.
• Retirement - I retired in 2003 to take care of Betty. I live in Columbus, Ga. where Betty and I began our life together. My son, Mark Jr. is currently living with me while finishing his PHD dissertation. I enjoy cooking, am bald, fat, missing a few teeth, can’t hear or see very well, and lazy … but … content.
That’s a snap-shot at 10,000 feet. I’m most interested in reviewing your life’s high-lights. Hope to hear from you soon, Rab."
Mark's email address is mwwhite@knology.net.
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