Excerpts from…
Robert Miller’s Legacy Profile
…I have one extremely vivid memory from my childhood: I’m a Boy Scout, about 12 or 13 years old, and living on Olmstead Boulevard, a very poor section of Worcester, Massachusetts.
A friend and I are walking along. We see a wallet on the ground. When we pick it up, we’re shocked to find $500 in it! I call my mother. She says the best thing to do is to take the wallet to the Police Station.
When we get there, we discover that it belongs to a woman who’s married to a bookie. That was why there’s all that money in it! |
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The next day I get a write-up and my picture in the papers, and I’m honored at school: We found $500 and turned it in! I feel very good. And to top it off, they gave me $25 as a reward. It’s my first experience with $500…
Moving to Columbus was a turning point. I went to a good school: Lincoln Avenue. And that was the start of my foundation. I thoroughly enjoyed it there. I played cards with the guys – poker, blackjack – and football and baseball too. Finally, I was one of the boys! I related to my peers. I built wonderful friendships. In fact, I still see some of these guys today. At school, I dated and even took one girl to the Senior Prom, though dancing wasn’t really my thing…
At 19, I became a traveling salesman, learning the business world at a very young age. But that didn’t last too long. It was right before the Korean War broke out -- and within months I was drafted. So much for life as a traveling salesman!
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The Army was, surprisingly, a revelation: I was thrown in with people from a whole different walk of life. And during basic training, I learned a great deal. Unfortunately, I was being trained in heavy mortar – exactly what they were using for combat in Korea. At 19 years old, I was preparing to go to war…
The fun began when I went through Europe on furlough. By that time, I was 21. I traveled alone all through Italy, Belgium, France. It was wonderful! I got to know a lot of people, including a pretty girl about three or four years older than I. We met on a train going from Venice to Florence. I recall this as a nice interlude in my young, single life! It was very, very nice…
My philosophy is: Be good to the ones you love and try to achieve as much peace and happiness as you can – especially at my age!
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Now that I’m turning 75, I cherish the days that give me joy, probably more so than most people. Sometimes, in the morning, I sit at home feeling very thankful that my life enables me to do what I wish…
Whatever I’ve achieved, I did it all myself. I had no mentor, no one leaving me anything. I set a certain plan for my business, and it became a big success.
My most fervent wish is to stay healthy, active in mind and body, and not be dependent on anyone in my later years…
About celebrating my 75th birthday, I have this to say: I’m thankful I’m 75 and not the alternative!
I’m happy with who I am.
Everything I had to overcome, I overcame because of who I am.
The essence of who I am is that I’m a man of resilience.
~ As told to Jane Wollman Rusoff
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