Old Catskill Days (Part 1: The Early Years) is the first installment in a three-part series of memoirs. OCD is based on a true story, mine, and rather than serving some self centered narcissistic need, I am hoping that someone will be able to read this and realize that they can do anything they want. I want you, the reader, to realize that the obstacles in your path don't stop you unless you let them. This is a story from my perspective on the life that I've have lead and the childhood I grew up in. Taking into account the fact that life deals us all a hand however, the way in which we play those cards is ultimately up to us, I reflect on the the things I've done and the choices I've made. What happens when it doesn't like seem you can win with the cards you have? Well, sometimes I had to change the rules to work in my favor. I never said this was a tale filled with innocence.

I was raised by single mother, surrounded by adversity. As a boy I was always struggling to fit in. My brother and I learned to discover the greatness in life from our mom by measuring the peaks from the valleys. Her perseverance and fortitude helped instill values in us that would allow us to surpass anyone's expectations, beyond even our own imaginations. Everything in life is a tradeoff, so with the good comes the bad. My mother suffered from alcoholism, stemming from a hard lived life. Humble beginnings can lead to greatness though if you use them as motivation. Maybe, if you're lucky they can enable you to develop a resilience to failure like we did; because failure was no longer an option. Those same beginnings can cripple you beyond repair and drag you deeper than you've ever been to, if you let them.

Using my mother's lessons to see a larger world outside of our housing development I begin a journey towards an unknown future. Along the way learning to live by the adage "you can't let your circumstances dictate your situation". Refusing to become a product of my own environment I attempt to use my past experiences to cheat fate and build a life worth remembering. Witness my transformation into a law abiding and intelligent young man who struggles to be a productive member of society. I battle pain, poverty and addiction while ultimately deciding who I will truly become. This is not a rosy story about some great person overcoming the odds; no it's about learning what a good person is and how to truly become one.

It's also filled with death defying stories told from an 8 year olds vantage point.

Discovering technology helped me to learn of a larger world than I could have ever dreamed of, and my perspective begins to change; unlocking the hope for more. Unwittingly, my escaped into cyberspace pointed me towards a future filled with adventure, self discovery and personal evolution. This love of all things baud based eventually allows me to grow into decent man and begin working as an ethical hacker for large financial institutions and governmental entities. Doing this finally allows me to find a place where I feel at home.

First though before any of that can occur, I've got to truly learn and understand that the sweet is never as sweet without the bitter. That nothing worth having is easy to obtain meaning that the harder the path you walk, the more righteous it is. Choosing the road less traveled I'm able to learn about happiness and betrayal, self doubt and confidence, loneliness and love with all the things in between. Redemption should be more than a shiny word used to describe an individual amends. It's better served to depict the journey that they have to take, and how they grow into the best version of who they are. The devil is in the details, as they say. So, where did you grow up, where did you come from? Everyone has an origin story. Read about mine in Old Catskill Days, filled with all the pitfalls and failures, successes and wins as I ultimately define the person I want