I'm a builder.
The first thing I built was a new interior space inside myself. A young guy in a war-torn region I was covering put a Magnum kissing-distance from my face. It took him a few minutes to work out whether or not he'd pull the trigger. In those moments, divine intervention swaddled us in Holy Light and Silence. I got to keep my life, but every belief I treasured about the world - and who I was - were blown to bits. I drew up plans for a more flexible interior...with movable walls and larger windows for a broader view of the world.
But that renovation got razed before it was done. I suffered the equivalent of Traumatic Brain Injury when a doctor badly bungled a drug prescription. My body and life got pushed off a cliff and there was no architect, contractor, or toolmaker who knew how to put Humpty-Dumpty back together again. I had to become my own DIY architect, toolmaker, and site manager for a complete rebuild.
You'd think by the time I'd moved back into my new body and life I'd have been ready to relax and settle down. But I discovered I liked renovating and remodeling. With time on my hands, I started looking for a new construction project.
Graduate school. On the sunny-side of sixty, I gave up my career as TV producer, sold all my possessions, and became the oldest student in a British drama school. I spent a year tearing down and rebuilding myself to be a voice and accent coach. Fancy graduate degree in hand, I returned to America, that was doing its own rebuild after a near-economic collapse.
Every day now, I use my passion for construction to help smart folks become better speakers and build brilliant careers. (300 words)
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