Sound the Alarms (Hero Sketch)

Sitting at his desk, typing names into his computer to pull up a long list of billing information that he needs to send to other people. He’s been doing that for the past few hours. I approach him, laptop cradled in my arm, ready to type up everything he says. I needed to make it quick so I didn’t distract him. He was sitting in his old, but very nice black chair that he made himself out of a car seat from his old van. He wore a regular T-Shirt and some black jeans. As he answered his first question, the story of his past and how he became the successful businessman he is today.

“I can do better then this,” my dad thought to himself, decades ago, when he first decided he was going to start his own alarm business. He was subcontracting marketing services to another alarm company when he came up with the idea. He looked at the business model of the alarm company he was doing business for along with other companies that do a lot of sales volume, and soon started his business that so successful today, he can write his own paycheck.

He thought back to a chat with his counselor in high school.

“So, what college are you planning to go to?” the counselor asked.

“The University of Colorado,” John Rosenberg, my dad, proudly declared.

“Um, boy, even with your grades, I don’t think you’re going to get into the University of Colorado.”

“Well, we’ll see about that that” John got out of his chair like you would see a bad guy do in the movies.

That’s exactly what me dad did. He tried his hardest and got accepted into the University of Colorado. His counselor probably never doubted any of his student’s dreams after that. He went straight from a college graduate to grad school and got out of that in 1985,

This is where John had troubles. He had no prior work experience. This is the time when Reagan put the economy into a recession. So without any work experience during a recession, pretty much the only jobs available were mowing lawns and walking dogs for pocket change. Somehow, my dad was an exception. He found a job doing subcontracting work for all sorts of businesses, and then his new story began.

Now, in 2009, he still runs his business, that has never once been short on money to keep his family of a wife and two kids. Without his decision decades ago, I wouldn’t be where I was today. Despite his work, he still has plenty of time for his family like going to the movies, the mall, and more. He inspires me to work for what I want. Right now, I have my heart set on going to UCSB, and I will never give up on that because of him.