I married the love of my life and best friend Joyce, on August 15, 1980. We were really young at the time, I was only 19, and she was 21, but we were in love, and that is all that mattered.

We didn't have a fancy wedding, or a big expensive reception, and we didn't get married in a church. But to me everything was perfect, and looking back now, I wouldn't have changed a thing.

I can tell you it was the right decision to marry Joyce, when I did. We were happily married for 43 years, and if we wouldn’t have done it when we did, who knows how different, our lives would have been.

Joyce was very special to me, I loved her dearly, and never wanted to be without her. But sadly she passed away on September 25, 2023, after almost a year of battling stage 4 breast cancer. She fought really hard, but in the end, the cancer won.

I am truly going to miss her, and the day that she died, a part of me died too.

I made a tribute page for Joyce on the website, I felt it was something I needed to do. If you'd like to see it, you can use the link below.

As a teenager I had several different jobs. Like a grocery store stock boy, a fast food place in Kent, called the Spaghetti Tree, and I even made bowling balls for a few years, at a place called Star Trak. But for most of my life, nearly 27 years, I worked in the rubber industry.

In the early 1980's, things were tough, and the unemployment rate was extremely high. You just couldn't find a job anywhere, and the bowling ball company I was working for, burned down.

The owners of Star Trak were really corrupt, and did all kinds of things that were wrong, or against the law. Sometimes we wouldn't get paid for weeks at a time and even when we did, the check would usually bounce. The building we worked in caught on fire, and I honestly believe the owners did it. And to this day they owe me money, but I know I'll never see it.

So here I was, I no longer had a job, I had just gotten married. I knew I had to do something, but what. Like I said, finding a job in the early 80's, was virtually impossible.

In 1981, my friend Brian and I, enrolled in a welding course, at Akron Testing Lab & Welding School, Ltd., in Barberton. The course was offered through a government assistance program called CETA, and they paid for the school and training, all of our books and supplies. They even paid us an hourly rate, and it was like having a temporary job. But after completing the course, neither one of us could find a welding job. Like I said earlier, there just weren't any jobs back then.

By 1983 things were starting to get better, and life began to change for us. I got a job at Crest Rubber Company in Ravenna, and I worked there for 7 years. Then in 1990 I was offered a much better job at TRC Industries/Silmix Inc., in Stow, and I decided to take the offer. After only a few years of working for SilMix, I was given a management position, at the parent company, TRC, and I was making good money. Things were looking up for Joyce and I, and we were finally enjoying a decent life.

But in February of 2009, everything started to fall apart. The stock market crashed in the fall of 2008, and the automotive industry was in turmoil. The economy was in really bad shape, and companies were closing down everywhere.

Since most of our production was for the auto industry, the company laid me off. I was the first to go because I was on salary, and one of the highest paid employees, and they said they couldn't afford to pay me anymore. They didn't show any sympathy, or even seem to care, how much it would affect my life. And just like that it was over, after working for the company, for almost 20 years.

That day, I not only lost my source of income, I also lost our health insurance, and 4 weeks a year, of payed vacation. But worst of all, I also lost my pride. It wasn't more than a couple of months later, the company went out of business. They sold everything, and closed the doors for good.

They say that your life can change in a instant, well I can tell you that is true.

I am a true Mac man. I only use Apple computers, and that's where the name "1Macman" comes from. I'm self taught, and over the years I have learned a lot about them, or anything Apple for that matter. In fact I have been using Apple computers for so long, that I consider myself quite the expert.

My first computer was a used Apple IIGS. I didn't know anything about computers at the time, and it didn't come with any manuals. That was a long time ago, and there was no internal hard drive, because computers didn't have them back then. So you had to do everything using floppy disks.

The computer came with a few programs, but no system disks. I was able to get them from a friend of a friend though, and that's how my journey began. It took me a while to figure it out, but I did, and I've been using Apple computers ever since.

I've had several different Apple computers since then, and learned a lot, along the way. I've even converted a lot of people over to using them. Helping someone purchase a Mac, and showing them how to use it, is something I really enjoy. But nothing compares to seeing how excited they get, with their first Apple computer.

I am really into all types of technology, but especially something made by Apple. I've purchased iPods going back as far as the the second generation, and downloaded tons of music, from the iTunes Store. I also own iPad’s, iPhone’s and several Apple TV’s, and I can't tell you how many Apps I've downloaded.

Apple devices work almost flawlessly, and best of all, they sync with each other, automatically through iCloud. That in itself, makes for a wonderful user experience, that is unmatched by any other.

It truly is amazing, how much things have changed over the years, and just how far we've come, since those early days.

Shortly after I lost my job in 2009, I decided to start my own video transfer company company.

It all started with an idea I had, many years before. I had been doing video work as a hobby for some time, and people would often ask me to transfer their photos or videos, over to DVD. They liked the work I did, and would say things like, "You should start your own business, and do this professionally."

I had tossed the idea around, but found it impossible to do, while working a full time job. But I got a really big push to do it, when the place I worked for, shut its doors. I knew there would be quite a bit involved, in getting the company started, and I also knew it would be expensive.

The first step would be to find an office where I could work, because I didn't want to do it at home. After that I had to come up with a name for the company, and get a venders license. Then finally, I needed to buy the equipment, so I could do the job right.

Joyce's cousin had an office, in a building close to our house. He asked if I wanted to share it with him, and I thought it would be a good place to start, so I took him up on the offer.

So with my beloved wife by my side, we started to get tthe ball rolling. I made a list of everything we needed, and we started to put it all together. We also had to come up with the name, so we could get a venders license, and after a lot of thought, we decided to go with 1Macman Productions.

The name came from the first part of my email address. Because I am such an Apple fanatic, several years ago, I got a vanity license plate, that said 1MACMAN. So we thought that would be a good start, but it still needed something more. Then one day while Joyce and I were discussing it, and I thought of the word productions, as in movie production. And that's how we came up with the name.

To get the company going, we spent nearly everything we had, including my IRA. We started purchasing the equipment we needed, and took it to the office, and set it up. I was getting so excited because it was all starting to come together, and quickly become a reality. But I was also really scared, because I didn't want to fail. I didn't want to not try either, and later say I should have, but now I'll never know. If you don’t try something in life, when given the opportunity, you may never know, what actually could have been.

It wasn't long, before we were growing and things were looking good. We'd been talking with the occupants, in an office connected to ours, and a short time later they let us have it, and moved to another office, in the building. Now we had three adjoining offices, and all kinds of space to work.

Shortly after getting started, our local newspaper heard about me, and they wanted to do a story about my company. I accepted the offer, and they came in and took pictures and did an interview. The following week they ran the article in the paper, and my phone started ringing like crazy. I could hardly put it down for a minute, before it would ring again. And on the first day the article was in the paper, I almost got more business than I could handle.

Things went pretty good for a while, with the normal ups and downs of business. And after a short time, we decided to relocate to another office, on the first floor of the same building, and started to branch out into different areas. We had several new ideas, and even started doing website design, and offering hosting services. I was really excited about it, and for the first time in my life, I was doing something that I enjoyed working at.

Unfortunately I had to shut the company down in July of 2012, due to health issues. For the past 6 years, I had been battling severe Rheumatoid Arthritis, and it just kept getting worse. Sometimes I couldn't even walk, or drive a car for days, so I just wasn't able to do it anymore.

I was sad to have to shut it down, but I really had no choice. I knew I'd miss doing it, and I made sure to thank all of my customers for their support. I also told them that I hope they would always cherish, the projects we worked on together.

Life for me has completly changed, and it will never be the same. Since Joyce passed away, I have a hard time making it through the day. I am lonely and I miss her dearly, and after being together for 45 years, you can’t image how hard it is without her.

Right after she passed away I was really busy, changing and canceling accounts, dealing with Social Security, and making sure all her bills were taken care of. You don't know how much you have to do until you actually loose a spouse, and it's really overwhelming.

Joyce and I were together since 1978, and now I am by myself. Holidays, family gatherings, and the things I do every day, just aren't the same without her there. Everything I see around the house reminds me of her too, and it makes me really sad. And when I go out to dinner without her, it just doesn't feel right.

We enjoyed working on our flower gardens together every spring, pulling weeds, cutting down spring flowers, adding new plants, and putting down the mulch. But now not only is it twice as much work for me, it's no longer enjoyable either.

It made us feel good when we finished every year, and could stand back and look at how beautiful it was. Now though it feels just like another job for me, and I don't feel good about it like I used too.

When I went to my first flea market without her in 2024, it was really hard. I pictured her sitting beside me in the car, and walking with me as I looked around. Joyce loved flea markets so much, and just days before she died, she kept saying she wanted to go.

Don't get me wrong, I still enjoy going, and it probably helps me get by. But it was something we always did together, so it's not the same without her there. We also loved going on bike rides together, but that's not the same anymore either.

People say it gets better over time, but I don't think it will. And unless you've lost a spouse, you have no idea what it's like.

There is no one to talk to when I'm at home, I am always there alone. No one to say good morning to, or to spend my day with.

I have no one to go out and do things with, or have dinner with at home. There is nobody there when I need a hand, and no one to help with the chores.

No one to kiss, or hug, or hold, or comfort me when I feel down. But the worst thing of all, I have no one to say I love you to, and no one to love me back.

So life without Joyce has been really hard for me, and I'm not sure it will ever get better. I miss her so much, she was the love of my life and best friend, but I will never see her again.

There is one thing I am certain of though, and that is I will never forget her.