Author's Note: If you at any point think you've discovered the identity of the narrator, please don't blurt it out in the thread. Private message me instead.
"This autobiography is dedicated to my wife Suzanne and daughter Reagan. Without them I wouldn't be where I am today.
My early interest in politics stemmed from an early interest in journalism. At the age of 16 I had began watching the news daily, preparing myself for a career in the field. The news coverage of the 1976 presidential election is what sparked an interest in politics. The Democratic nominee was Frank Church, who fought a tough primary with Mo Udall and Jerry Brown, among others. The primary had my slight interest; I remember some details of it but it was not until the party conventions that I was fully absorbed in the race. Church made an interesting choice for his Vice President. John Glenn: a freshly elected senator and a national hero. Many say that Church picked Glenn to appeal to younger Americans. For me it certainly worked. Although at 17 I could not vote, My age did not keep me from following the campaign the best I could. Television and newspapers were in front of me everyday for quite some time. On September 18th, 1976, Church and Glenn made a campaign stop to speak in Detroit. This seems odd to me now as an adult, Michigan was fairly conservative at the time and it was Gerald Ford's home state. At the age of 17 these thoughts were far from my mind. My father drove me to Detroit, where we watched the speech. I knew it at that point. I wanted to go into politics. I wanted to be President. I wanted to be the man in the chair.
The West and Midwest were major wins for the Church campaign; he picked up some of the East Coast as well. Michigan was one of the few states past the East Coast to vote for Ford, much to my disappointment. But my disappointment did not last long. Church and Glenn propelled themselves to victory over Ford and Dole. It was all down hill from that moment for my time as a Democrat.
I decided to pursue a career in politics and enrolled in Michigan State University.
College was where I met my life long best friend. Sam Raimi. Determined to become a director, Raimi was a great roommate and a constant source of fun. Sam introduced me to his friend, another name you may recognize, Bruce Campbell. Bruce was a sophomore at MSU. He met Sam in high school at they both agreed to go to MSU to become director/actor duo. It was 1977 when Sam bought 3 tickets to a concert. The band was Rush. We all listened to rock music constantly on the radio and where aware of the band. Sam, Bruce, and I drove to Detroit. The date was October 19th, 1977. I only know that because it's written on the back of my t-shirt.
The concert was the turning point for me. I didn't know it at the time, but it was. They played many songs that night and played them very well. "Working Man" became my favorite song the instant it was played as the encore, but it wasn't the only song to stick with me. "Xanadu" became another favorite of mine, but the seed of change was the song "Anthem". Not a week later, I would check out the book that inspired it, written by Ayn Rand, from the campus library. This was my beginning as a 'crazy' libertarian. "