Novel by 
Richard J Greene

Richard Greene was born in Denver, Colorado, in 1939, and after the Second World War, his parents and three brothers moved to a small two-bedroom house in Englewood, a suburb of Denver. While growing up on Bannock Street, he attended Hawthorne Elementary School, and Flood Jr. High. In 1954, his parents divorced, and his father moved to Houston, Texas.

 

Soon after that, he dropped out of ninth grade, worked at various jobs, including sacking groceries at a local Miller Supermarket, and as an electricians apprentice for a neighbor. He spent his summers with his dad who owned ‘The Texan’ bar on the outskirts of Houston, Texas, where he got an education in life unlike his friends back in Englewood, Colorado.

 

In August 1956, at seventeen, Richard enlisted in the United States Navy. After boot camp, and Yeoman School in San Diego, he was assigned duty with COMPHIBRON SEVEN (Commander Amphibious Squadron Seven) stationed at the Naval Center in Long Beach, California. In March 1957, he was transferred to the USS Belle Grove LSD-2 (Landing Ship Dock) serving in the South Pacific, and taking part in the atomic testing at Johnston Island,  Eniwetok, and Bikini Atolls in 1958.

 

Honorably discharged in 1960, he worked at Samsonite Luggage for a short spell, and then went to work for Burlington Truck Lines as a billing clerk. The trucking industry fascinated Richard, so he attended a Denver Traffic School to learn the ins and outs of the trucking industry. He worked as a dock supervisor for United Buckingham in Denver, a sales representative for Californian Motor Express in Fresno, and Los Angeles, California. Moving back to Denver, he went to work as Claims Prevention Manager for Consolidated Freightways, which included investigating road accidents of CF trucks within 100 miles of Denver. After a year with Consolidated, he was transferred from Denver, to the General Claims Department in Portland, Oregon. In 1973, Richard left the Claims Department to become a supervisor in the Collection Department for Consolidated, where he remained until his retirement in December 1995 as Manager of Collections.

 

Still residing in Portland, Oregon, Richard and his wife Cathy, spend much of their time with their children, and grandchildren. Richard’s other interests are golf, long walks, reading, and oil painting.