This is a number of years ago – shortly after getting out of college. A good friend found herself pregnant and underemployed. She had no funds and the father of the child turned out to be a deadbeat that never paid a dime for the kiddo. My wife and I agreed to let our friend live with us (rent free) starting a few months before the birth continuing until the child was 1. That friend got back on her feet, became a successful teacher, and the little one has grown up as a well loved and well cared for child. Unfortunately, we moved from that city and lost track of them a number of years ago.

Thanks for the chance! Your generosity is impressive!

My success story seems fairly trivial in retrospect, but it led to life-changing events that have been very rewarding.

For background:

Back in the MS-DOS days, I was hired by a small (5 person) company that had somehow won half of the IT support contract for DARPA. One half was support for the HP3000 minicomputer that handled the finance/budgeting for the Agency, the other was support for desktop computers that were beginning to appear on staffer's desks. These were mostly PCs running MS-DOS used for the usual office tasks, but also connected as terminals to the HP, and the Milnet/Arpanet. This was long before TCP/IP was available for MS-DOS, and the PCs had an actual physical switch that one would flip to access whichever of the "real" computers you wished to.

I am not exaggerating when I say that technical skills in the PC environment were not nearly as widespread as they have become. For my part I was learning as fast as I could manage with the slight advantage of a couple of programming classes and a very brief exposure to mainframe operations (IBM 360) at U. of Mich. But I did read each and every piece of documentation and literature I could lay my hands on.

The details:

So when a DARPA Program Manager asked for help with a somewhat unusual request, I volunteered to take on a task that everybody else said was impossible (except the PM himself). He had exited WordStar without saving his work, a paper that he had spent many hours composing, and wanted to know if we could somehow retrieve it. I was able to use the MS-DOS program "debug" to access RAM and write the relevant data to a file on a 5 1/2" floppy disk (PCs did not have hard drives back then). Well, this impressed the PM, my colleagues, my boss, and his boss (the COTR for the contract) to the point where I was known as the "tech guy" on the contract.

I pretty much got most of the interesting/challenging assignments after that, and it eventually led to a management position with the company. Years later, it was one of many factors that led to my forming my own consultancy, and opened the door to many opportunities. I still remember this as one of my most profound successes, most likely because it was so unexpected.

Please don't enter me in the running.

I haven't owed anybody since October 12th of 2003

My biggest success is raising two Daughters who are successful independent people who are employed, raising families and doing well.

Many other successes in life, but that is what Im most proud of.

Thank you for your most generous Karmas.

I’ve played guitar for a long time and I always wanted to share that (not so great) ability with my sons. Well, my oldest has turned into a pretty good player in just a few years. I’m really proud of him. Unfortunately, my youngest doesn’t play but I’m just as proud of him for other things. They’ve turned out to be really good Christian young men.
Please add me to the list, and thanks again for these opportunities.

2018 I had a seizure, my right arm suddenly flexed as though I was doing a bicep curl. I couldn’t straighten my arm and, as it turned out my right leg was straightened out (I was sitting on my sofa). It was a surreal experience staring at my arm not being able to do anything with it. I knew that I needed help but, when I tried to stand up my legs refused to do anything. About twenty minutes later I was finally able to stand and I went next door and rang my neighbor’s doorbell, when he answered I said “I’m in trouble “ and he called EMS. I was transported to the hospital, where I spent the next five days going through tests to make sure I hadn’t suffered a stroke. I hadn’t, but the doctor said I had had a high glucose seizure, my A1C was 13.3. So, I put on insulin and metformin, they quickly took me off the insulin and started reducing the metformin gradually. My success in this is that through diet, exercise and cutting out a lot of sugar I was taken off the metformin completely and for the last year and a half my A1C has remained at 5.5.

Another somewhat minor success is that I found my pocketknife that I had misplaced about a month ago. I was really bummed about it, I like that knife and it has been discontinued, so I couldn’t have replaced it if I wanted to. I realize it doesn’t compare to my health issue, but a success is a success, right?

I appreciate your kindness, Q, you’re one of those members that makes SF the best internet forum to participate in.

Please don't enter me in the Karma.

I raised two sons as a single parent. All by myself.
They were two & five when the custody battle unfolded and I was awarded physical placement for both of them in Family Court. I even collected a few pittance child support checks.
It's funny, men get raked over the coals for child support, and the court doesn't even care if the Dad even has enough money leftover to rent a studio apartment and buy hot dogs & Ramen noodles.
I assure you, women get treated with "kid gloves" when they have to PAY child support. I successfully collected $20 per MONTH for quite a number of years. What a JOKE!
Twenty or so years went by in the blink of an eye. The oldest son is now 43, almost 44.
One son turned out great, the other son did not.

The one that turned out great, I am enjoying watching him do the things with my grandson now that I insisted we do together as a family group with my sons.
Academics.
Family vacations.
Boy Scouts.
Shooting and hunting.
Sports.

Still, if it was MLB, batting .500 is phenomenal. With children, I'm not proud that the younger son didn't turn out good at all, and sometimes wonder if I could have done more.

I'll turn 81 in three weeks. That's exhausting enough.


Thanks for the offer but don't include me, I haven't worn out that 226 yet, but I'm workin' on it.

Sounds like a good deal! My son has been in Trail Life 3 years. The first two, he had very little interest in the Lego derby so I helped him build his car but didn't do everything we could. This year he was interested and we went all out. He ended up winning handedly and it was great to show him that his hard work paid off.

Thank you for the opportunity. My success is a marriage to a pretty remarkable woman that will hit the 49 year mark in May. We have two sons and both are successful in their marriages and careers. The boys and I share a common interest in the shooting sports, baseball and ridiculously fast cars. I could not be more proud of them and treasure every chance I have to spend time with them.

Very generous karma Q, yours always are.
I don’t need another pistol but I have enjoyed reading the stories told here.
Proud parents raising good kids will always put a smile on my face.

Not interested in the Karma. Very generous though.

Raising myself since I was 6. There was rarely anyone around. Working since 10. Hustling as a kid, all the way through 2 degrees. Never living in a house until I bought my own. Sounds amazing but it’s all been uphill, all of life. Very much looking forward to just flat, even ground. That would be a nice change. Perhaps the year I get to move out of TX!

One of my success stories is my oldest son just retired after 32 years of being a deputy for the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department.
He got through without a scratch.
I no longer need to worry about him getting hurt or worse now.

PC

quote:

Originally posted by PCWyoming:
One of my success stories is my oldest son just retired after 32 years of being a deputy for the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department.
He got through without a scratch.
I no longer need to worry about him getting hurt or worse now.

PC

32 years with the LA Sheriff's Dept ! God Bless your son and congrats to him on his retirement.

Great Karma!

My great accomplishments are my 3 sons.

They are Eagle Scouts. All three have earned 138 Merit badges. There were about 500 in the history of scouting that have done so when they accomplished it. They are all Order of the Arrow Vigil.

Two of them are Rifle, Pistol and Shotgun Instructors as well as RSO's.

They are the reason I wake up every morning.

I was born with pneumonia and spent the first 3 month's of my life in the hospital. The doctor let my mom take me home since there was not much more they could do for me there. They told her if I passed away, if would be better for the family to have me at home.

At age 9, I became a a type 1 diabetic which has been a little of a struggle at times. Here I am 62 yrs later still living my best life. I retired from my job last May after 37 yrs of work.

We just play the cards we are dealt and hope to remain in the game as long as possible.

There is a U-boat in the Potomac River and I had a friend who had a family member with a boat near that area. We had discussed diving it. When we went there the family member with the boat had an old friend who had wanted to dive it for years. This isn't a simple dive but after talking to the gentleman and seeing what it would mean to him we decided to take him on the dive. We planned and briefed the dive. We would have this gentleman go down the line between us so we could keep an eye on him. Visibility is always poor. As you descend the line all you see is the line going into an abyss of darkness.

When I saw the U-Boat I looked back and everyone signaled they were OK. I dropped down, attached a strobe and ran a line to the front of the U-Boat. Visibility was about 7 feet but I wanted the line in case someone stirred up the silt and visibility went to nothing. We did the dive and got back on the boat. This guy was so happy and smiling making it was so worth it. When the idea of taking someone I didn't know and had never dived with on a 90' dive in changeling conditions I was not in favor of it. But after talking to the guy and the people we had there, we planned and executed it. It helped that my dive partner was experienced and I had full confidence in her and the team on the boat. We planned and executed a well developed dive plan with a very experienced team that made this possible. This dive has a small window during slack tide during which it can be dived on without dealing with ripping currents.

When we got back on the boat, the gentleman said he didn't realize there was a line and a strobe down there. He laughed when I told him I had put them there. He turned out to be fine on the dive. Then we got stopped by the Coast Guard for a safety inspection on the way back to the dock.

The only real success story I can think of is an overall one that I have been gifted with a knack for never giving up at finding the truth in investigations; whether that be through interviews and interrogations, or going through mounds of evidence many others would have given up on. I take pride in each successful major case where I have gone well above and beyond to prove the case and hold the wrongdoer accountable when I could have given up and moved to the next case. There are so many sexual cases I have worked where a jail officer has sex with a juvenile inmate or commits a sexual offense and only through thinking outside the box of ways to get evidence, I can prove the case. One case for example was there was lots of suspicious evidence but nothing solid and the suspect stuck to their guns and denied everything. The inmate was then transferred to a state prison and just before closing the case, I thought I would check to see if she ever called him in prison. Sure enough she had. After listening to over 160 hours of jail phone recordings, they finally got comfortable enough and talked about everything in detail. Case solved. I could go down a laundry list of sexual and death cases like this that were only solved do to this drive. I take a lot of heat for getting behind on other cases, but to me it is worth it for the families and victims. I attribute this success to how I was raised by my parents.

Thanks for a chance Q - This would become a CCP for me.

It is 2008 - Mom and Dad - I want to go to Nursing School. I know I am about to start my third year of college and decided I want to eventually become a Orthopaedic Nurse Practitioner. School will take another three to four years to complete. Can we afford it?

Yes we can son - You focus on your school work and training and let us know what you need.

2009 - I sell my All Wheel Drive Tractor and all of the implements I use to do weekend tractor work to fund his schooling, with ZERO regrets.

2011 - After becoming a RN he immediately started working at night and going to school part time during the day while also taking care of his family.

2013 - He becomes an Orthopedic Nurse Practitioner and today he is now six years into running his own clinic, under the guidance and ownership of a SUPER Orthopedic Doctor. He and his staff see 130-150 patients a week (he has a second NP at his clinic and a team of seven).

I could not be more proud of what he has accomplished and do not regret selling my tractor and accessories to fund his journey.

A lifetime ago i made a shooting course after researching everything i knew. Took me a couple of years. Then picked a random group of shooters from completely ignorant to advanced and taught them theorie over months during weekends at a borrowed classroom. Eventually we all gathered at a range where they practice cutting down a 4x4 y shooting it. Random groups of 4 ahooters.

My group won, we cut the 4x4 in half the time and half the rounds used by the second group.

Proud moment.

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