Silicon Valley: Joe Six-Pack's Quest for the American Dream

By C.W. W Horsham

We all travel similar but different paths along the road of life!

Some say our paths are predetermined and others say Time and Circumstances decides what our experiences would be!

I say...Whatever determines our situation is of no consequence because once we enter the Human Race survival becomes our main goal; but I question whether it should be!

I invite you to take a ride with Joe Sixpack on his journey for the American Dream and find out whether it's the Theory of Predetermination or the Real

• Language: English
• Publisher: Page Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: Sep 8, 2015
• ISBN: 9781682132364

Book preview

Acknowledgement

I would like to use this opportunity to pay homage to:

My deceased parents—my mother, Ms. Minerva Jestina Horsham, and father, Walter Cyril Horsham. They did the best parenting job of which they were capable. I love them both dearly and hope in this little way to immortalize their relationship.

My brothers—Rene, Carl, Hayden, and especially David, who is the most courageous person I know. David has been stricken with epilepsy for most of his adult life, but through it all he has always managed to have a smile and he got jokes too.

My sisters—Jackie, Joanne, and also Janice, who has since passed. They are very beautiful people. We, as family, have always managed through the love that binds us together—to stay very close.

My deceased aunt, Ena Collymore (together with her children—Carline, Michelle, and Letrell), who always looked out for me. I will never forget her.

All other family members—too many to mention by their names. I know they will all forgive me and understand that my love is to all and for all.

I thank my friends who have shared my space at different points in my life and those who continue to share my space. When we travel the road of life, we stop along the way for different reasons; sometimes it’s just to rest weary legs or get some sustenance and encouragement to continue. These friends have become valuable treasures who remind me of where I was at particular times in my life.

In every encounter, there is always an opportunity to administer, or be administered to, to gain or impart knowledge. The essence of life is to recognize and accept the differences; thus we don’t capture the postman instead of simply accepting his letters or packages.

On the road of life, no one truly knows where his or her destination lies. Sometimes one lingers at certain locations for indefinite periods of time. Sometimes, an indefinite period becomes a definite point and final destination. Or one continues on…to what eventually becomes their final destination. I have traveled long ways along the road of life and continue to travel toward my proposed destination.

As I continue on my journey, I learn every day about life and have looked back many times to the experiences I have had in my life. I have had good and not-so-good experiences. I have been hurt and have hurt people! When I look back, I realize I could have made any one of my indefinite stops my final destination. I could have done the twenty-plus years of service in the Trinidad and Tobago regiment, collected a pension, raised my children, and continued the life I lived in Trinidad. Thus, accepting that as what life was meant to be for me.

But for some unknown reason, I continued to move forward. Somewhere in my mind, there was the feeling that there was more in store for me, and this was not my final hour; this was not the total sum. There was something more I had to experience in this life. I believed I had to keep going, although I could not see exactly where I was headed.

I have had a driving force within me all my life. I have reached points where most people would have been satisfied to remain—get the rocking chair and sit on the porch. But for some unknown reason, I had to keep going and am still going—I can’t say exactly to where. When I get there I will know I am there.

In the meantime, I celebrate all the people I have met in my lifetime—the good, the bad, and the less gifted. I have enjoyed all of the experiences I have had in my life. I treasure the memories of all the beautiful relationships I had and also the persons with whom I had the pleasure of sharing such relationships. My hope is that they have similar feelings for me, and I send peace and love to them all.

Author’s Note

Who is Joe Six-Pack? Joe Six-Pack could be one of your friends or acquaintances. He or she could be your coworker or the person you may sit next to on the bus or train. Could be friend or foe! He or she could be your neighbor or someone you see on the street on a daily basis. Joe Six-Pack is anyone who is trying to survive in this society in any way possible. Someone who may be gainfully employed or may not be employed and is trying to find themselves some work in order to make an honest and decent living. If you have available work, there are always some Six-Packs around—ready, willing, and able to respond. There are many different people out there with stories to tell about their own lives.

This is my story. I am this particular Joe Six-Pack. This story deals with the journeys I have traveled in my quest to achieve my personal version of the American Dream. I decided to publish this story, which tells of the trials and tribulations encountered during my search for the elusive American Dream.

This is how the story goes…

I am a simple person—just as you are—and believe that as simple people, we share the same desires and needs as the majority of our human family. These desires are to share in the good things of this life which the god of the heavens and earth have created for us—to find different ways of providing for our families and ourselves and to help those who are less fortunate than we are. Thus our lives will not be lived in vain. In our quest to achieve these simple things, individually we have and will travel different paths through the journey of life. I am going to share with you the experiences of my life’s journey so you can realize and understand that there are people who are having the same problems you may have. This way, you can feel their pain as I often feel the pains of people I know who are having similar experiences to mine. Together, we can all continue going forward, knowing we are not alone in the struggles of life.

This story portrays my experiences in America as vividly as I can remember them. Throughout my life, I have never kept diaries and did not plan to write about my experiences. But I needed to exhale. I needed to find ways to release these constant thoughts and emotions of my present and past experiences which have constantly plagued my mind. Writing has provided this venue and thus, I compiled my experiences and decided to share them with you. I have stated the facts just as I have remembered them.

This is the story of my journey and quest to achieve this elusive American Dream. This story is mostly centered on the different people I met and the wonderful friends I made along the way. I have tried to celebrate these people who shared in my experiences, and I am hoping that my friends will not be too surprised if they see their names mentioned in the pages of this memoir. This is my little way of saying to them that I recognize and accept their contributions regarding my life experiences and I am thankful to them for sharing my space.

I must also state that it is not my intention to embarrass or hurt anyone. If something is said here about someone which may embarrass him or her, I ask only that they don’t take this as an intentional attack. I repeat—it is not my intention to offend and I would not hesitate to apologize, if needed, to anyone who can provide proof that any statement I made is wrong. I look at this as an open opportunity for persons mentioned to do their own introspections. I want them to pretend they are observing their actions from applicable distances. If they don’t like what they have seen, then they can change their demeanor. If they like what they see, they can keep going on as they are. It is said that whatever is done in the dark will sometime come into the light. It is also said that whatever you do or have said at one time can come back to haunt you at another time. I would not lie about anyone! My word is my bond! If anyone involved could stand and say to me that particular statements are incorrect or untrue, I am always prepared and willing to sit and discuss—whatever it may be—with the person or persons involved, in rational ways, to arrive at truth in the matter.

If I am wrong, I will humbly apologize and admit I am indeed wrong. I have no hard feelings against my old friends, and most of the time, I smile whenever I think of any of them. I have not seen or had connections with most of the people mentioned in this book in months and some even in years. As I write, my hope is that they and their families are well and enjoying the best that life has to offer. I hold no grudges against them! To hold grudges or to hate dissipates energy. When you bear animosity against anyone, you hurt only yourself; and thus I send only love to my present and past acquaintances and hope their lives are going great.

I have had a great deal of time to think as I journeyed to and from Silicon Valley. I thought a great deal about life in general and the simplicity of this everyday life which we all experience on a day-to-day basis. This life which slips by, as days become weeks, and weeks become months and then years. Through self-examination, I am trying to tell you what I saw and how I felt about it. My hope is that the people involved will get chances to see themselves as they behaved in the past. Thus they could also see the effects of their behavior on me and my own family. I want to show the connections between the actions of an individual against another and how these seemingly simple actions can affect other individuals and ultimately the society on the whole.

I am hoping if my words are understood, it would lead people to take a few seconds to think before acting against their fellow human beings. We need to realize that we are our greatest enemies and for us to have peace in our homes, countries, and eventually throughout our world, we must first have peace among ourselves.

Before you venture any further, I must warn potential readers that this book was not written for simple-minded people. I made statements and allegations about individuals, and even my own family members, which could be considered irrational. I have been told that I could be sued for things mentioned in this book. But I believe a spade can only be called by its rightful name. I can only tell it like it is! I am not going to cushion the facts more than I have already reasonably done. If someone thinks I should be sued for things written in the pages of this book, the choice is theirs. I ask only that they consider my words as they are. I am not crazy, although I realize my ideals of life are not the norm. If you dare to thoroughly read through the contents of this book, I would appreciate your keeping an open mind and not being too judgmental while you do read.

World Wrestling Entertainment’s five-time champion, Booker T, said, Don’t hate the player, hate the game! I would not ask anyone to totally accept my opinion of something or someone in particular. Everyone is entitled to their own personal opinion of anything and should always be respected because of it.

I know that no one would fully understand my ideals of life unless they had traveled in my exact path. But there are always possibilities that you yourself could have had similar experiences as I have had. So welcome to my world!

Introduction

I began flirting with the idea of going to Silicon Valley during the month of June in the year 2000 due to being unemployed for some time. It was approximately four months since my last working contract ended. I had worked as a contract engineer for the Instinet Corporation, which was located at 875 Third Avenue in Manhattan, New York City. My job, being a computer service professional, had been to assist in the company’s compliance with the Year Two Thousand (Y2K) computers’ conversions. I was hired during the fall of the year 1999 and worked to around the end of the month of February 2000. As Y2K approached, we (the computer technicians) were scheduled to work in different shifts throughout the turn of the old year and into the start of the new century. We were to be at the Instinet Corporation’s locations, thus handling any computer related problems expected to emerge from the Y2K phenomenon. There were lots of expectations concerning what would or could happen to the company’s computer systems when the turn of the new millennium came into effect. There were positive and negative predictions of what may or may not happen, but precautions had to be taken regardless; and we were there to react to whatever occurred.

Y2K came and passed without whimpers. The clocks ticked past midnight and into the new millennium without any unusual or complicated computer problems at our location. The technical staff soon realized that there would not be any major computer problems coming from the Y2K phenomenon. On that very first day of the year, the Instinet Corporation Officers started procedures toward reducing the company’s technical staff. The technicians who were required to work on January 1, 2000, were called and told not to come in to work as they had been scheduled.

The Instinet Corporation started their layoff proceedings just hours into the new millennium. I managed to survive the initial layoffs and, for periods, believed my position with the Instinet Corporation was secure and I would be employed there for some time. I also believed there would still be need for technicians, regardless of the Y2K results. I was, however, laid off during the first quarter of the year and decided not to start looking for jobs right away. I wanted to chill for a while and to take some quality time to upgrade my skills and acquire some different and updated qualifications, mostly in areas of the Windows New Technology certifications. I wanted to be more qualified when venturing back into the workplace.

Windows NT certification, at that time and even now, gave you an edge when applying for jobs in the computer field. I put my time and effort into study, and in the second month of being unemployed, I had passed the Windows NT certification tests. The passing of these tests enabled me to qualify and to subsequently receive the title of Microsoft Certified System Engineer.

With the Y2K situation now being over, there was little activity in New York City as far as general hiring in the computer field was concerned.

Having acquired MCSE status, I circulated my resume and attended different job fairs in search of work. I did not get good responses in my search for jobs and saw very little chances of being hired in the coming summer months. I had always been told that the summer period was the most difficult time for landing jobs in New York City. With schools being on summer vacation, there were more available people looking for jobs—and this made it very difficult for anyone to get employed. I had experienced being unemployed the previous summer and could only think I was again heading for the same situation this summer.

I continued surfing the Web daily. I was searching job sites like Dice.com and Monster.com for computer positions in New York City. I also looked for jobs in New Jersey, Philadelphia, and even extended my search as far out as Washington DC. I got lots of feedback when applying for positions in these areas and had even gotten an interview here and there, but most of the interviews I got were not encouraging. During some interviews, I had the feeling that the emphasis was placed more on finding reasons to deny employment rather than provide jobs. I had interviews that would end with statements like if you only had more experience in this area or were more qualified in another area, you would be a perfect candidate.

Regardless of my qualifications, the results seemed to be always the same—no jobs. I continued, in spite of the present situation, to job-hunt and at the same time find ways to improve my present skills in the computer field. Meanwhile, I continued surfing the Web but decided to start looking at different states other than NYC and surrounding areas. I wanted to see if there were any cities throughout America that I, as a qualified computer support specialist, could find employment in this USA.

I looked at California and was very surprised to see the number of open and available job positions for computer professionals there. I had heard the term Silicon Valley used in computer circles before, but normally it would always be in reference to the Wall Street areas of lower New York City. But now I was looking at California’s Silicon Valley and the existing jobs situation in the computer field looked a whole lot better out there. I kept looking for jobs in New York City, but I also kept checking out the job situation existing in California. This went on for the following three months. In September 2000, I decided I could sit and wait no more for employment in NYC. I had been looking for work in New York City for the past six months with no success. I had knocked on every available door and answered job advertisements for which I was fully qualified, but I had no success. I felt like someone crying out in the wilderness, and my cries were not being heard. I felt I would not get work in New York City for whatever reason. I had tried every source available and felt like an invisible man in the job market. I also felt there was no other choice for me but to make a move out of NYC. I figured the best bet would be to go to California and see what Silicon Valley had to offer. I was not generating any kind of income in New York City and felt like I was dying a slow financial death. I have heard that life is constant motion, and you are either going forward or backward. I was definitely not going forward, period! I was in fact standing still and this, as far as I am concerned, is the same as going backward. I decided to take my chances and seek employment in California.

I had been indirectly preparing myself to make the move because I had recently bought myself a 1987 Cadillac. It did not look like too much of a car, but it was what I could afford at the time. I needed a car which could stand the rigors of state-to-state driving. I chose to get the Cadillac because of its size and powerful engine. I knew the ride to California would not be easy. I had asked some of my friends, and I got the idea that driving to California would be very tough. They spoke mostly of the mountainous terrain in the West, and I knew I needed a car that could take the pressure. So I figured the Caddy was the best choice.

I planned to go first to Los Angeles, California, but was unable to secure any places where I could stay in LA. So I remained cool where this decision was concerned. Then I ran into an old friend from Trinidad who told me that a mutual friend of ours had recently come into Brooklyn from Los Angeles. I got in touch with our friend and told him of my present desires, and he offered the links I needed to go to Los Angeles. I now had some place to stay, and I was ready to ride.

I would like to share the experiences of my eventual journey with you, but first let me give some background to my life and thus, you can know who I am and why I decided to follow this path that led me across the American country from New York City—through the mountains, valleys, and deserts of middle America—to California’s Los Angeles and Silicon Valley.

PART 1

Coming to America

My name is Cyril Walter Horsham, and I came to America in January of 1991.

My parents came to America from the island of Trinidad in the West Indies in December of 1969. After being here for just a few years, my mother tried very hard to encourage me to come and join her and the rest of my immediate family in America. I resisted her request, mainly because I was living comfortably in Trinidad at that time.

In June of 1976, I met some people while I was attending courses in chef training at culinary arts schools on the army bases in Trinidad. These people were teachers who had recently returned to Trinidad from Canada to teach in the ongoing culinary arts programs at the chefs’ training school. They had returned to Trinidad