Internet pioneer enjoys low-tech fun
By JEAN HAYES, Community News Coordinator
Published October 14, 2007
How long have you lived in Hernando County, and where do you live? Where did you live previously?
We live in Garmisch Hills off Emerson Road, southeast of Brooksville, where we've lived for the past 12 years. We moved here from the Tampa Bay area, where I had been living and working for about 15 years. My wife and I met at the Tampa Writers Alliance. I was born in the town of Hernando in Citrus County, and I grew up in Inverness.
Who are the members of your family?
My wife, Susi, and I have been married for 131/2 years. She has three daughters - Dawn, and her husband, Sean Fulmer, who live in New Mexico; Sarah, and her husband, Robert Murphy III, and their son, Robert IV, who live in Spring Hill; and Jena Thompson, and her fiance, Shawn Pearsall, who also live in Spring Hill. I have a daughter, Heather; she and her husband, Doug Wylie, live in Alabama with their son, Tyler. I have a lot of family in the area, including my mother and stepfather, who live in Ozello near Crystal River; sisters; a brother; and many cousins.
Tell us about your career.
After high school, I completed two years of college, dropped out, got married and started working for my mother and stepdad in their business, Carroll Contracting in Inverness. Then, four days before Christmas in 1965, I received a draft notice. I quickly joined the Air Force in early 1966 because I didn't want to be in the Army.
I was sent to Texas for training, where I heard about the AECP Airman Education and Commissioning Program. If accepted, the program would allow me to complete college. But before I could get all the paperwork in, the Air Force sent me to Okinawa in Japan's Ryukyu Islands. I worked as a clerk typist in the personnel office on the base, while still trying to push my AECP paperwork through. Finally, in 1967, I was selected, and the Air Force sent me to Florida State University.
I earned a bachelor's degree with honors in mathematics in 1969 and was commissioned a lieutenant. I was sent to Cheyenne Mountain in Colorado to work in the Space Defense Center as an orbital analyst, where I helped track artificial satellites in space. I was there for the remainder of my career in the Air Force.
When I got back to Inverness, I started working for my mother again, but soon took a job as a teacher. I taught eighth-grade math and science at Inverness Middle School, where I and another teacher started a chess club. I only taught for one year - eighth grade is a tough year to start teaching. At that point in my life, I knew I loved computers and chess, and that teaching wasn't for me.
I took a job in Alachua County doing data processing, but only stayed there four months because I found something better: a civil service job in the Cape Canaveral area working with the ARPA-NET (Advanced Research Projects Agency) under the Department of Defense at Patrick Air Force Base. The ARPA-NET, which turned into the Internet, was a nationwide network using leased telephone lines, so I knew this was a better opportunity.
After about a year, I got a call from my mother. She had bought a new computer for the business and needed me to come home and program it. I moved back and stayed five years. It was during that time, in 1978, that my stepbrother and I bought the business. It really wasn't what I wanted to be doing, so in 1980 I sold back my share and moved to the Tampa Bay area, where I started my own computer business.
The business I organized, Computer Decisions of Pinellas, is a value-added reseller of software that I developed. The other facet of the business is that I help businesses select computers, primarily LANs (local area networks). In 1995, I moved to Brooksville because I started working for a client in Inverness, and Brooksville was halfway between Tampa and Inverness. That job lasted over six years. Today, I have just one client by choice, and the free time allows me to once again enjoy the game of chess. Today, I consider myself a professional chess coach.
What kinds of activities are you involved in now?
In addition to my computer work, I play and teach chess, love to read and also play pool. I'm a voracious reader. I read all the time. Now that I'm semiretired, I spend many an afternoon at the library. My garage and home office are full of books. I'm a member of the American Pool Player Association. We play each week at Capone's Billiards and other pubs in the area. I'm an average player. On a scale of 1 to 7, I'm at a level 4 or 5.
I'm also involved with Championship Chess, a company that teaches chess to elementary-aged schoolchildren. I became an affiliate after taking the training this past summer, and I have since started a chess club at J.D. Floyd Elementary School. I'm working to get one going at the Jerome Brown Community Center as well. I'm also a member of Poor Rich's Hernando Chess Club.
Tell me more about that.
The Poor Rich's Hernando Chess Club has been meeting for 20 years. Our mentor, Richard Burry, was the club's founder. He died about eight or nine years ago. He was a great guy who loved playing and teaching chess. Our club meets twice a week, on Mondays and Wednesdays at 6:30 p.m. in the cafeteria of Oak Hill Hospital.
Any town I've ever lived in, I've always joined the local chess club. On Sept. 29, I organized a chess tournament at the Jerome Brown Community Center. My goal is to form scholastic teams that can compete and learn from each other. These chess players, hopefully, will join our chess club.
Do you have any special hobbies?
Chess, pool, reading, writing and spending time on the Internet are my hobbies.
What are your favorite things to do in Hernando County?
I'm a Christian and have always been a churchgoer. My wife and I love our church, Brooksville Church of the Nazarene. It truly enriches our lives. We also think recycling is very important and each week we recycle our newspapers and magazines. I also like to help people with their computer problems. My neighbors know if they have a problem, they can call me. I believe you should give back.
What do you think would make Hernando County a better place to live?
I believe we'd all be better off if we all recycled more. If folks were more concerned with recycling, they would realize that there is a connection between all living creatures. We're all connected. The Native Americans realized that. They had a wisdom that we forget here in the modern world. My pet peeve is smokers who throw their cigarette butts out their car window. They don't seem to care. I don't think we need to go around hugging trees, but we do need to be more aware of our environment.
Tell us something about yourself that most people don't know.
Years ago, I got interested in history. One of the early folks in Florida's history was David Levy Yulee. In 1845, when Florida became a state, he was one of our first senators. He was a builder: He built the first coast-to-coast railroad, and was a plantation owner. His life has always been so interesting to me. A state park, Yulee Sugar Mill in Homosassa, is named after him, and Levy County is also named after him. Someday, I'd like to write a book about his life. I've already done all the research.
Hernando Neighbors is an occasional feature of the Hernando Times. Do you know someone who would make a good profile? We'd like to hear from you. Contact Jean Hayes, community news coordinator, at jhayes@sptimes.com or 848-1438.