November, 1958. A sunny day and I was feeling pretty good about things. I’d been writing ads and commercials in Chicago for over eight years, and found it both rewarding and satisfying. Heck, I’d only been fired once.

Even that wasn’t all that horrible; my boss offered to cancel the firing, but I told him to forget it. Who wants to work for a guy who’s just fired you?

So that day I was on my way to my new job at Grant Advertising. Good job, good agency. Things looked terrific. But how was I to know that in a year I’d be transferred to the Detroit office to work on the big Dodge account?

And how was I to know we’d lose the account within days and transfer me to the New York office?

And how was I to know that New York would be fun for a while and then a pain in the neck?

And how was I to know—?

Well, you get the idea. And I hope you enjoy coming along.