My Story
I am Bob Caine.
78 years old. Two-time cancer survivor. Retired computer programmer. Still trying to crack this internet marketing thing. Here is how I got here.
The Early Years
Worthington, Ohio
I was raised in Worthington, Ohio, the only child of Bob and Jeanne Caine. My father owned a road construction company. My mother kept the books from her home office. Between the two of them, I learned everything about work, money, and life.
The kid who could not sit still
School Days
I could read and write before I ever set foot in school. Could write with my right hand or my left, in either direction. They kicked me out of kindergarten. The teacher told my parents, "she had nothing she could teach me". So while all my friends were in school, I was home alone learning to entertain myself.
Summers on the job site
Age 10 and Up
I started working for my dad when I was 10, pushing a broom for 25 cents an hour. I was driving equipment on job sites before I could legally drive on the road. I made more money than any of my friends because Dad paid me what he paid his regular men.
The Air Force
Best Decision I Ever Made
After two years of trying and failing at the college thing, I joined the Air Force rather than wait to be drafted. Best decision I ever made. They gave me a battery of tests and kept giving me more. It came down to learning Russian or computer programming. Good thing I chose programming. What the hell would I have done with Russian after I got out?.
40 years of code
Career
That computer programming training became the foundation for the next 40-plus years of my life. Eventually became a project manager overseeing programming projects. At my peak, I had 20 to 30 people working under me. The path was pretty straightforward - programming all the way.
The hard lesson
A Cruise and a Phone Call
The biggest failure I ever experienced was on my honeymoon. I was watching the news on the ship and did not like how the stock market looked. From Tahiti, I called my stockbroker and said, sell everything. He talked me out of it. By the time I got back, it was too late. What did it teach me? Stick with my gut feel and go with it.
Starting over
Birmingham, Alabama
After my first wife died and my last dog died too, I said that is it, I am moving. Without even talking to my company, I put my house up for sale, bought a house in Birmingham, and moved. Because of that move, I met my wonderful second wife and built the life I have now.
Right now
Age 78 and Still Going
I am retired or at least that is what I tell people. The truth is I am still trying to crack this internet marketing thing. I have never failed at anything in my life, and I do not want this to be the last thing I do that does not work. A two-time cancer survivor, still learning, still moving. That is all I want. And I am not giving up until I get it.
"I want to be known for being an all-around good person. Someone trustworthy and ready to help. Honest, dependable. At least I hope that is true. I will have to ask them sometime."