Paul & Elaine Bodenweiser had their first date on 2-14-78 dated three and a half years and married 8-15-81 (that's right 29 years is coming up SOON !!). Paul was a graduate of Tusculum College and Elaine a grad of East Tennessee State University. Both graduated in 1981. We were going through a recession almost as bad as the one we've been in for two years now and Paul couldn't buy a job so he just continued to work for the moving company as a mover/truck driver he'd been with throughout college. Not just the summers...I worked for them during spring breaks and most others except for Christmas breaks.
When we married we didn't have much to our names. Three old cars and college degrees. No money from my father (but he did put me through college and I hope he's gotten his return out of that...I sure have!) but we both had jobs and worked hard at them.
I went to work for the KMart Corporation in 1982 and we moved around a bit due to that job and finally decided it wasn't worth it and moved back to Tennessee in late 1985. Two years later, with a little help from her parents and my mother we had put enough money together to buy a home on our own. Nothing special but it was big enough that we felt it would last us all our lives even if we decided to have kids. Neither of us had any desire to be parents so we just worked hard and saved up our money. Sometime in the mid 90's we paid off our mortgage. Life was getting pretty darned good for Paul & Elaine. TruckFinders Int ltd was making more than I had time to spend or enjoy. By now Elaine was the CFO of a large non-profit organization and was doing VERY well herself but by now we realized that we had no desire to ever have kids as we were enjoying life and all it had to offer as it was without the life changing event a baby makes.
Don't like the fact we didn't have kids? Neither did my mother as that was the only issue she had with us as a happily married couple of such a long time. Mom loved Elaine as they had cooking, sewing and gardening among other things in common.
For those that think I had any issue with not getting anything from when my father sold his business you're barking up the wrong tree. I'm the president and CEO (and sole shareholder) of a holding company that owns a controlling interest in a number of businesses in the northeast Tennessee region (TruckFinders was VERY good to me/us!). It saddened me to have to shut down TruckFinders at the end of June 2009 but it had to happen. It wasn't doing well and other business interests had the bulk of my attention by that time anyhow. Dang shame. I did that for 20 years and built it from nothing and ALL BY MYSELF. I'm also the current managing member of a Real Estate Investment Trust. Each member serves a two year stint as managing member. I'm on my second term.
I need to add our Volunteer work but all I want to claim is that I've loaded the Santa Train for 21 years and that we Volunteer and donate generously to an abused woman's shelter, United Way, two Veterinary Teaching Hospitals and a few other non profit organizations. We've both been on more Board of Directors of non profits than we can count as well as some for profits entities aside from our own.
We don't need a lot of 'toys' but we have, as many of our long time (30+ years now) friends from college (4 couples all married over 25 years) friends call a fleet of cars and some other things. No fleet of boats and revolving Corvettes like Commander God Squad but I did build (and YES...I, ME, YOURS TRULY) an Open Road Racing Thunderbird that we race together as a team our west on legally closed highways and I bought the home next door to house it. It lives in that home for free. It's a short term rental home that stays so busy I can actually own a home that I can have my workout equipment, Race car and lots of tools as only the upper level is rented out on a weekly basis and that's only about 26 weeks a year at that. I'm not sure how many people anyone out there knows that can go out and write a check to buy the home next to theirs just so that they can have a place to keep the race car close by....just my opinion and I could be wrong, but we're the only ones we know of personally that have that option. OK...I've added a picture of the car below. Anyone out there figure out why the car number is 815? Those radio guys may have trouble with that one. That's my lovely Elaine in the passengers seat and we think we're cruising along at about 163 at the time. It will run a little over 200 but we've only had it up to 187...long story, into a head wind felt lift in front end and my balls don't hang that low with my wife in the car.
On August 5 we will get a visit from members of the Hurricane Katrina family we housed for five weeks in our guest house. Yes...that was free for them. We got to know, love and care for all of them very much and visited them in Biloxi in 2007 on our way out to race our car.
For what's it's worth Commander God Squad called me one day gloating how he's just ordered a Corvette for Patty Potty Mouth (hey...that was my mother's nickname for her and it fit) and I must admit it kinda jerked my joint a bit so I went out and ordered my lovely Elaine a Lincoln LSE a few weeks later. They made 2000 LSE's that year and 500 of them had the super high output engine and performance handling package. She got #498.
Elaine and I do have one joint business venture. A number of homes we've bought, with our own CASH reserves. I've renovated, and we've rented them out to long time and as far as I know very happy tenants. The home next door is owned by that venture. I still have one "project house" left and that'll be our last. I'm working on it but have other things to do first.
I can go on but I'm not one to brag too much and I have a fish to fry. We're happy. We're comfortable. We've got more than we need for now but it costs a LOT to live when we get older! We've learned that as my lovely Elaine's parents aged (lost my mother in law last September) and it's a huge job taking care of elderly parents so we're preparing ourselves financially for our later years. Now we've got my parents getting older and they are our responsibility via long distance but I've got a bag packed and ready to go at a moments notice! We consider my father's wonderful girlfriend as our 'mother' and have for a long time now...so that's why I can say I still have parents. Dad's pretty cool and doing well and we thank and appreciate his girlfriend for all she offers us in our lives in friendship and love.
Any Questions? Sorry I'm not telling you any more so you can kiss my shiny white hiney!!
|
 |
| The Super Coupe at cruising speed |
|
|
Anyone recognize the little cow under the TruckFinders logo? Dad had it on his race cars for years and it's there to honor those memories. You can't see it but my pet name for my lovely Elaine is on the bell of the cow. Boo! I love my wife! She's never said a word about the first dime spent on that car and she's crazy enough to not only ride in it with me but tell me I need to go faster or slower at speed. You'd have to understand Open Road Racing to know what we're doing but it's the only racing sport I could share with her as a BIG part of the racing. She's my race engineer/navigator and LOVES IT !!
|
|
|