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For the most part I stayed out of trouble as a kid but didn't seem to have any real direction. A good portion of my time was spent just hanging out at the Gold Cue Billiard parlor and the Harmony Bowl bowling alley both in Middletown. I have some good memories of those times but it wasn't a very productive period of my life as I'm sure you could imagine. My first real job as a kid was working at the Keansburg NJ Boardwalk in the dart throwing booth. This was where people tried to break balloons for some really cheesy prizes. You may not remember seeing me there since I was stuck in the back of the booth away from the public. For countless hours I blew up balloons and stuck them to the back of the rotating dart board ready to be spun into service for the next batch of dart throwers. One day I guess I got a little bored and decided to carve my name in the board with a dart. It was a proud moment for me when my boss spun the board around and revealed my name for all the public to see. Unfortunately I was fired long before I realized any of the benefits of my stardom. I found my next job at the Lincroft Hardware store as a stock boy. From what I recall, my departure came a little prematurely when my boss found me sleeping in the paint room. I must have still been tired from blowing up all those balloons. From there a friend talked me into joining him at Casola's farm in Holmdel picking corn. This job might have lasted more than only three days if it weren't for the fact that I had to be at work at 5am. Even the birds weren't up that early. My first real job didn't come until high school when a friend of mine in construction got me a job on a house framing crew. I started out as a laborer carrying lumber through the mud and taking on the not so glamorous jobs that nobody else wanted to do. Even under those conditions I took a liking to the idea of actually building something and stuck to it. Finding a decent boss to work for however, wouldn't be that easy. I worked for a few different employers but couldn't find one that actually had enough money in his account to cover his entire payroll. The running joke was that the last two guys to make it to the bank couldn't cash their checks so I made sure that my custom pick up truck was always ready to go in a hurry. It didn't take long for me to take the little experience that I had and start my own business framing houses. I called my company The Singing Hammer named after the pinging noise that my hammer made when banging nails. Luckily I didn't have much stationery printed which made a name change easy once I realized just how silly this one was. After framing custom homes for ten years I became more involved in building additions and renovations. Around this same time I decided to reunite with my love of photography. A friend of a friend asked if I would be interested in taking pictures at her daughters Bat Mitzvah which I enthusiastically agreed to do. Since I had no idea what I was doing I decided to consult a local wedding photographer for some advice. Somehow, by the time I left his office I had a new part time job as an assistant wedding photographer. Go figure. Three years later I had become one of his most requested photographers but I was starting to burn out. Working my own construction business during the week and shooting about five weddings every weekend was taking it's toll on me. I'll never forget the day that I told my boss it would be my last year. Seeing a grown man cry is not something I forget easily. Today, some 25 years later, I am still self employed as a building contractor and have expanded on what I do to include building custom homes from the ground up and am very involved with home remodeling and renovation. After all of these years I still enjoy what I do and really appreciate the independence that I have as my own boss. In 1987 I bought my first home in Matawan New Jersey which was a modest one story two bedroom brick home on a narrow lot. Before I even moved in I ripped off the roof, added a second story master suite, completely remodeled the rest of the house, and built a detached two story garage/office structure in the rear of the property. It turned into a pretty nice house complete with a wood burning brick fireplace and spiral stairs leading up to the loft, but the good times wouldn't last long. In 1988 I went out on a limb and purchased three acres of land down the street from my newly renovated home where I planned to build ten Victorian styled homes. I lost some very valuable time waiting for the final approvals and by the time I was able to start the project the real estate market changed for the worse. I was able to pre-sell five of the homes which I started building right away but the home selling market and overall economy were quickly caving in around me. One of the five sales fell through and I was then paying in excess of $7,000.00 per month in interest alone. My financial future looked very promising up until that time but had quickly become a daily struggle to keep my head above water. I refinanced my house to help pay some of my business debt but the benefit was short lived. The heavy debt I was now in combined with the rising interest rates and little hope of additional sales ultimately led me to one of the most difficult personal decisions I would ever have to make. In 1991 I officially declared personal bankruptcy and ended up losing almost everything I owned. I was able to retain the home I lived in since there was no longer any equity left in it for my creditors. The problem with that however was that I could no longer afford to make the now higher mortgage payments. In short time after my bankruptcy I was forced to give up my home to foreclosure and found shelter in a garden apartment for the next two years. It was a dramatic change for me and it would be an understatement to tell you that those were some pretty tough times. Since then things have gotten much better and I'm happy to report that I am standing on solid ground once again. The lessons that I came away with are far more valuable than anything anyone could have taught me about business and in the long run I think I'm better off having gone through it. Also in 1988 I earned my associates degree in business management from Brookdale Community College in Lincroft N.J. I like to tell people that I graduated from U.C.L.A. which really stands for the University Closest to Lincroft Area. That achievement really didn't change anything for me but the diploma looks good hanging on the wall. Aside from the prerequisite business courses that I took, I really enjoyed my elective classes which included television production, photography, and creative audio programs. While I was trying to find myself I also successfully completed a bartending course after college. I think I would have made an excellent bartender if it weren't for the fact that drunk people really annoy me. Chalk this one up to the 'What was I thinking' category. In 1990 I received my real estate license from the Monmouth County Board of Realtors. I did this part time and then as a referral agent which never materialized into much of anything but hey it's another plaque on the wall. In 1994 I met Clara at a barbeque and we have been together ever since. I find a lot of comfort in knowing that she has been there for me in good times and bad and that she doesn't put too much emphasis on material things. In February of 2006 Clara and I returned to Jamaica which has become one of our favorite vacation spots. Aside from The beautiful resort and weather, the highlight of this trip was certainly when I asked Clara if she would be my wife. On April 14, 2007 Clara and I returned to Jamaica where we had our marriage ceremony on the beach. One month to the day after that we had a wedding reception for family and friends back home. Also in 1994 I bought a piece of property and began to build the home in which we live today. This labor of love would take me three long years of nights and weekends to build while I simultaneously tried to make a living. I literally built the entire house myself with the exception of the drywall, painting, flooring, and block work for the foundation. I officially moved into my new home in June of 1997 although some of the things couldn't be finished due to a lack of funds. Today everything is complete, Clara is here with me, and we are able to enjoy our home as we had hoped to. On June 17, 1995 I joined The Jersey Coast Sport Fliers which is a model aircraft flying club in Colts Neck New Jersey. My father was instrumental in getting my brother Rick and I involved in radio controlled airplanes when we were much younger and did so again in 1995. For various reasons we all departed from the hobby the first time around and somehow found ourselves buried in model airplanes again some thirty years later. Although they flew from a different flying field back then, this is ironically the same club we joined when I was a teenager. I recognized some of the members I remembered as a kid and was happy to see that the same club was alive and well. Without the distractions of being a teenager it didn't take me long to dive back into the hobby and in short time I became more involved with the club's functions and activities. I was soon asked by some of the members if I would be interested in running for club president but quickly declined. A couple of years later our president was relocated out of state and we found ourselves in need of a new leader. Our club was going through turbulent times back then and I understood that the only way to protect our future would be with good solid leadership. Despite the enormous responsibilities I would have to our 170 members I agreed to run for president. My bid for the position was successful and I have been the new club leader since 2001. So far with a few exceptions things have been going well with the job but what's most important is that our club is now stronger than ever. There is no doubt that my interest in model airplanes had a profound effect on me and on August 31, 1999 I decided that it was time to pursue my long time dream of learning to fly 'real' airplanes. It was on this day that I joined the Monmouth Area Flying Club and took my first lesson. My instructor took me up for my first flight which surprisingly was at night time and I was instantly hooked. I find that flying in an airplane allows me to temporarily leave the noise and congestion of life behind and brings me to a place of overwhelming calm and beauty which surprisingly has been only a couple of thousand feet away from me my entire life. I knew immediately that this was for me and I went to work right away towards obtaining my license. Less than a year later on August 25, 2000, I would pass the FAA administered flight exam and become a private pilot. That day has changed my life forever. After logging in some serious hours on the club's airplanes I decided it was time to purchase my own and on May 9, 2001 I took possession of my very first airplane. What I didn't realize at the time is that I would quickly build an emotional connection to my airplane unlike any other tangible thing I've owned. I suppose it may have something to do with the trust and confidence that has developed in getting me home safely each time I fly. I'm sure you can imagine then how difficult it was to sell my dear airplane after I decided to purchase a newer model. On February 9, 2007 I took possession of a 2001 Cessna 172SP which was a bittersweet moment. Although I was excited about the latest acquisition I was having trouble letting go of my first one. For the next three months I was a two aircraft owner which sounds nice but didn't make much sense from a financial point of view. This made it a little easier when I handed over the keys to the new owner. Most of my flying has been local with occasional day trips to Delaware, Pennsylvania, New York, Connecticut, Block Island, and Martha's Vineyard. Lucky for me that Clara doesn't mind flying and flies with me often. Flying has quickly become a way of life for me and my only regret is that I didn't take it up sooner. During the summer of 2000, Clara had to find a new place to live for her and her children when her landlord notified her that he would be selling the condo that she rented for the previous nine years. This was pretty upsetting for her and her family especially with the short notice that she was given. It had also stirred up some bad memories for Clara as she had gone through the same thing several other times during her life. I didn't want Clara and her kids to ever have to go through this again so this time we hit the streets looking for a place to buy. There was nothing out there that was decent or affordable so we ended up buying a small run down one story house for her that was in deplorable condition. I brought my crew in and we tore the house down to the foundation and built them a brand new two story house. Less than a year later in June of 2002 Clara and her children moved into their new house which for the first time in their lives they could really call home. Rarely a day would pass since then when Clara didn't remind me just how much she loved her new home. I'm sure you could imagine then how difficult it was when a decision had to be made for her to sell it. Within a couple of years after they moved into their new home Clara's son and daughter moved to Pennsylvania to be closer to college and work. Shortly after that Clara and I became engaged to be married and suddenly owning her own home was no longer necessary. Clara and I now live happily together in OUR house but I will never forget that sad day when we had to say goodbye to her home which meant so much to her. The transition of living together was a lot easier then I thought it might be and I'm thrilled to have my wife here with me for good. She tells me that she still misses her house but happily traded it for a lifetime of happiness with the man she loves. And at the beginning of March 2007 we had an addition to the household. Our little kitty "Cessna" joined the family and has since taken over the place. We have really grown to love her and she keeps us entertained. I want to personally thank you for taking the time to read my life story up to this point and can only hope that it has inspired you in some way. I would also like to take this opportunity to thank every single man and woman in the United States Military who has ever served a single day in defending our great country. We will forever be in your debt and would not be able to enjoy life as we know it without your dedication and courage. May God bless you and May God Bless America.
Sincerely yours, Stan
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