The 39th Short Story
Friends, Part 2: My 20s and Early 30s -- Fun and Foolish
"Friends, Part 2: My 20s and Early 30s – Fun and Foolish"
ANDY'S LESSONS FROM LIFE
My 39th Short Story
While direct and extended family members often provide some of the most-lasting relationships, this particular story is focused on friends, other than family. I do mention Bonnie, only because we were friends first, years before we ever decided to get married.
Many of you may not appreciate my foolhardy shenanigans during my 20s and early 30s, but you’ve been the greatest supporters of my writings, so I have always owed it to you to be brutally honest. This period of my life wasn’t exactly my proudest or smartest, but it was what it was. I can’t change it after the fact. I could only learn and prove to be a better man from that point on.
I hope you enjoy more of Andy's life experiences and the lessons that come with them.
"Friends, Part 2: My 20s and Early 30s – Fun and Foolish"
“Friends often participate in the most exciting times of your life.”
--Andy Skrzynski
When I’ve reflected back on my life, some of my most thrilling adventures included many of my beloved friends. Life couldn’t possibly have been as rewarding and would certainly have lacked the excitement and humor, without my greatest buddies by my side.
Close to a year after moving to Austin, Texas, I met another young college graduate. Vernon was hired into the same Product Engineering organization at IBM as I, and we quickly developed a meaningful relationship.
My second wife and I frequently joined Vernon and his wife, Julie, at many parties and dinners in the years that followed. Getting together came easy since we lived only blocks away, in the Gracy Woods subdivision, just a couple miles east of the IBM complex.
Even when a heavy snowfall shut down the Austin area, my wife and I simply trudged through the heavy, white stuff and walked over to Vernon’s house. Instead of sulking, we celebrated the unexpected interruption by enjoying margaritas while breaking in a new deck of cards as we played Spades.
Very intelligent and dedicated to his lovely wife and his challenging job, Vernon seemed to have plenty in common with me, and I considered our frequent times together as highly rewarding and informative. While this relationship budded into an even more enduring friendship, I still spent lots of time with my single buddies as well.
A couple times a year, Robert, Ted, and I joined a number of other young engineers, including Robert’s brother, Vince, and one of their cousins, Fernando, on a trek to Padre Island, south of Corpus Christi. We’d kick off such fun-filled breaks by fleeing work early on a Friday afternoon and having a blast until around noon on Sunday. Unfortunately, we’d have to drag ourselves back to work on dreaded Monday.
Our caravan usually consisted of three to four speeding vehicles, ignoring far too many safety precautions. We didn’t just casually drive to and from our destination on the beaches of the Gulf of Mexico – no sirree. We RACED to get their first!
Such a thrilling ride often included strategically tossing the remains of our milkshakes at each other’s windshields as we passed one another, but that wasn’t the worst of our stupid pranks. Like incredibly insane maniacs, we also veered onto the shoulders of the highways to bypass any Sunday Drivers, who happened to get in our way and slow us down too much.
When we found ourselves falling behind one of our friends as we neared our destination, we resorted to tricking the leader of the pack to slow down or stop. During one trip, as we were speeding down the final two-lane stretch to Padre Island, I trailed Ted by an eighth of a mile.
While my buddy was easily cruising in the lead with his glistening yellow Corvette Stingray, I struggled to keep up in my Chevy El Camino – loaded to the hilt with a lot of our gear for the weekend. This demanded a touch of devious maneuvering on my part. I can’t lose to Ted! He’ll never let me live it down.
It was getting late, and the sun had already set. Fortunately, our vehicles were the only ones on the road at the time.
Desperate, I pulled onto the shoulder and slowed to a halt, while turning off my headlights and switching the hazard flashers on. I hope Ted sees me.
In the blink of an eye, his brake lights lit up. Within a couple seconds they dimmed, and his taillights weaved a bit as he backed up at high speed and approached from a distance.
From my backseat, Robert’s voice startled me. “What are you up to now?”
I chuckled. “You’ll see.” I turned off the emergency flashers, slammed the shift stick into gear and firmly mashed the accelerator.
My terrified buddy yanked the hair on the back of my head and yelled, “Stop! You're gonna kill us!”
Ignoring him for the moment, I kept my eyes peeled to the reflective, white center line that glowed in the light of a full moon. The 350-engine roared as my trusty El Camino rapidly closed on the unsuspecting Vette with increasing speed.
Within seconds, we blew past Ted, as I watched his headlights shrink in my rear-view mirror. That’s what you get for being a nice guy! We’ll see you at the condo when you finally get there.
As soon as he pulled up behind me in the parking lot, his door flew open while he yelled, “You cheated! You better never have any car trouble, because I’m not stopping for you!”
Oops. Hadn’t thought of that. I couldn’t contain myself, as a sheepish grin crawled across my lips. “Hey. As you know, anything’s fair in war, my friend.”
His expression growled at me while shaking his head and setting his suitcase down. A muted chuckle escaped him. “Can’t believe I let you trick me like that.”
None of us really took each other's shenanigans to heart, and we always had a great time on the beach. We rented a large condo that could handle 8 to 10 of us, some sleeping in beds, couches, or on the floor with their dates or wives.
That first night on the beach, well before most of us crashed within our sleeping quarters, Fernando picked at his guitar, while serenading us all. Our good friend’s romantic melodies floated along the salty breeze, blowing across the sand.
Totally mesmerized by the enchanting music, under the shine of a full moon, I treasured the soft, white glow, settling across the calming body of water. The constant splash from the waves, crashing into a foamy film along the shoreline, soothed my mind. Every lingering remnant of stress ever so slowly oozed from the tips of my toes and into the wet sand below.
Closing my eyes and spinning in a circle with my arms outstretched, I soaked it all in. This is paradise, and I’m never going to leave.
The delightful night proved to be the perfect kick off to another amazing outing at Padre Island. The beach afforded treasures of colorful shells and varying sizes of sand dollars, while we gingerly stepped over the translucent, bluish-purple jellyfish. When bored and the sun began to warm the bare portions of our pinkish skin, we’d gallop into the refreshing water and body surf the waves.
Far too often, I forgot to hold my breath and choked on a mouthful of water, while a hint of salt filled my nostrils and lightly stung my eyes. Such were the playful moments, shared by all, until the dreaded time to pack up and race back home.
Whenever I reflected on our dangerous shenanigans, it was painfully obvious we were in the wrong and very fortunate nobody got hurt. Being in our early 20s, we were definitive proof why insurance companies charged men, younger than 26 years of age, much higher premiums. We were flaming idiots behind a steering wheel.
As fate would have it, we didn’t always avoid the law. God had a way of getting back at us, eventually.
On one occasion, as we were flying at 70 mph in a 50-mph zone, I was leading the pack as we zoomed past a patrol car. The dreaded vehicle was partially hidden behind thick bushes on the shoulder of a two-lane highway.
Gulping, I feared what any stupid driver does when blowing past a cop. I’m doomed. He’s going to nab me for sure.
Letting off the accelerator, I shook my head with my eyes peeled on the reflection of his black and white Camaro. Sure enough, as the last of our caravan sped by the officer’s car, flashing lights glared as its siren blared.
My heart sank. This is going to cost a pretty penny, for sure.
I kept waiting for the approaching lights to settle in behind me as my El Camino slowed further. But no; since all my buddies were flying at the same speed, the police officer stopped the last in our caravan.
I released a huge sigh. He got poor ole Robert. Man, is he going to be mad at me.
My buddy hated speeding and only did so to keep up with the rest of us. In fact, Robert often joined me as a passenger on some of these trips but decided to drive this time.
Over the years, I jokingly blamed him for the bald spot near the back of my head. Whenever he was my backseat driver and felt like I was speeding too fast – which happened most of the time – he’d yank my hair and yell, “Slow down!”
Following such joyous vacations, we eventually had to return to the far less enchanting tasks at work. After a couple years in Product Engineering at IBM, I was invited to an annual second-line manager interview.
During our meeting, I explained that my first-line manager was okay by me, but the projects were rather boring at times. Transformers, capacitors, and power supplies weren’t exactly the kind of catalyst for excitement. Furthermore, I contended that there were more interesting projects we could consider.
Well, only two weeks had passed when I got called into my first-line manager’s office. My head swirled with possible reactions I might face when I walked through his door. I hope Duke doesn’t fire me. I need this job!
After some small talk, my nerves settled a bit, and he smiled. “How would you like to work on something more exciting? There’s a software project, called Displaywriter, that needs more people. They’ve got plenty of work that you’re likely to find the job more interesting than what you’re currently handling.”
He described some of the details of the new project before continuing. “In order for you to be considered, you’ll need to take a Basic Programmer Training course for a few weeks. If you pass, then you’ll be eligible to join that group. What do you think? Got any questions?”
I pondered the opportunity a bit and asked a few questions. Plenty more banged around inside my noggin, but I thought it best to keep them to myself at that point. I don’t want him to change his mind!
His answers were encouraging, so I looked Duke in the eye and replied, “It all sounds pretty good to me. When do I start training?”
Wouldn’t you know? That very next week, I found myself sitting at a table with lots of other young engineers absorbing as much of the schooling as we could. After completing Basic Programmer Training, I joined the functional verification testing department of the Displaywriter word processor development group.
Within a year, my manager at that time invited me into his office. After finishing our greetings, a broad smile crept across his face. “I’ll be taking a 2nd-line management position in the organization next month or so, and I’d like to recommend you as my replacement.”
What did he just say? He wants me to be a manager? I hadn’t really considered such a thing, since I was relatively new to the group, but who was I to challenge his judgment.
Tons of questions flooded my mind, but before I could ask any, he jumped right in. “If it is approved and you accept, you’ll fly up to the IBM headquarters in New York and take a short management training class. If you pass, you will be promoted and receive a raise. Then, I’ll make the announcement to the team, and you will become their new manager. So, what do you think?”
My heart leapt with joy, as my grin stretched from ear to ear. Promotion AND a raise, with a trip to New York to boot! I’ve hit the jackpot! I sighed. How could this be? I better make sure to pass that class!
During the period leading up to that moment, I had developed great friendships with most of my department members. A few more questions raced through my mind, but I loved the wonderful people in the group, which made my choice a snap. Forget all those stupid questions! I’d be a fool to turn this down!
I smiled. “How could I refuse? When would this take place?”
He chuckled. “Very soon. I’ll let you know when it’s approved.”
One of the lingering concerns, floating in my head, dealt with whether being a manager would affect the wonderful friendships developed within my team up to that point. To some extent, a couple of sessions in my management class helped. When I received and accepted the new role, our relationships changed, but my friendships with Keith, Cindy, Leo, and their spouses, Maureen, Vance, and Lucy, held fast and grew to new heights.
I was determined not to allow work to get in the way of our great times together. We still enjoyed lunches and happy hours with each other, and I always invited the whole department over to my house for a Christmas party.
Even so, I took extra care to avoid any sense of favoritism, when it came to assessing each of their IBM responsibilities. Work is work, and play is play. Gotta keep it separated.
As time went on, I came in contact with others in the Displaywriter organization that joined in on many get-togethers, including Mel, who ended up being my closest bud from the old test organization.
During the many years that followed, I also managed mixed softball and volleyball teams and always asked the department members and other friends to join, if they wished. Playing together only strengthened our bonds during and after work.
To this very day, our lasting relationships have joyously endured the test of time. More than 40 years later, we communicate via FB and meet on occasions when Bonnie and I visit Austin, after retirement.
The broader my family of friends expanded; the more rewarding life became. I couldn’t have been happier, or so I thought.
********
That’s it for now. As you can readily tell, my 20s and early 30s were filled with fun, turmoil, and wasn’t necessarily a period to garner much pride. My life was changing by leaps and bounds, and my mind struggled to keep up.
I’ve never regretted having been married to my first two wives, but I know I could have been a better husband, if I hadn’t been such a kid at heart during those years. Fortunately, I learned a great deal about my heart and soul and how to better conduct myself to become fully committed in any future marriage.
Thank you for your tremendous patience and wonderful support!
Andy Skrzynski
ANDY'S LESSONS FROM LIFE
My 39th Short Story
While direct and extended family members often provide some of the most-lasting relationships, this particular story is focused on friends, other than family. I do mention Bonnie, only because we were friends first, years before we ever decided to get married.
Many of you may not appreciate my foolhardy shenanigans during my 20s and early 30s, but you’ve been the greatest supporters of my writings, so I have always owed it to you to be brutally honest. This period of my life wasn’t exactly my proudest or smartest, but it was what it was. I can’t change it after the fact. I could only learn and prove to be a better man from that point on.
I hope you enjoy more of Andy's life experiences and the lessons that come with them.
"Friends, Part 2: My 20s and Early 30s – Fun and Foolish"
“Friends often participate in the most exciting times of your life.”
--Andy Skrzynski
When I’ve reflected back on my life, some of my most thrilling adventures included many of my beloved friends. Life couldn’t possibly have been as rewarding and would certainly have lacked the excitement and humor, without my greatest buddies by my side.
Close to a year after moving to Austin, Texas, I met another young college graduate. Vernon was hired into the same Product Engineering organization at IBM as I, and we quickly developed a meaningful relationship.
My second wife and I frequently joined Vernon and his wife, Julie, at many parties and dinners in the years that followed. Getting together came easy since we lived only blocks away, in the Gracy Woods subdivision, just a couple miles east of the IBM complex.
Even when a heavy snowfall shut down the Austin area, my wife and I simply trudged through the heavy, white stuff and walked over to Vernon’s house. Instead of sulking, we celebrated the unexpected interruption by enjoying margaritas while breaking in a new deck of cards as we played Spades.
Very intelligent and dedicated to his lovely wife and his challenging job, Vernon seemed to have plenty in common with me, and I considered our frequent times together as highly rewarding and informative. While this relationship budded into an even more enduring friendship, I still spent lots of time with my single buddies as well.
A couple times a year, Robert, Ted, and I joined a number of other young engineers, including Robert’s brother, Vince, and one of their cousins, Fernando, on a trek to Padre Island, south of Corpus Christi. We’d kick off such fun-filled breaks by fleeing work early on a Friday afternoon and having a blast until around noon on Sunday. Unfortunately, we’d have to drag ourselves back to work on dreaded Monday.
Our caravan usually consisted of three to four speeding vehicles, ignoring far too many safety precautions. We didn’t just casually drive to and from our destination on the beaches of the Gulf of Mexico – no sirree. We RACED to get their first!
Such a thrilling ride often included strategically tossing the remains of our milkshakes at each other’s windshields as we passed one another, but that wasn’t the worst of our stupid pranks. Like incredibly insane maniacs, we also veered onto the shoulders of the highways to bypass any Sunday Drivers, who happened to get in our way and slow us down too much.
When we found ourselves falling behind one of our friends as we neared our destination, we resorted to tricking the leader of the pack to slow down or stop. During one trip, as we were speeding down the final two-lane stretch to Padre Island, I trailed Ted by an eighth of a mile.
While my buddy was easily cruising in the lead with his glistening yellow Corvette Stingray, I struggled to keep up in my Chevy El Camino – loaded to the hilt with a lot of our gear for the weekend. This demanded a touch of devious maneuvering on my part. I can’t lose to Ted! He’ll never let me live it down.
It was getting late, and the sun had already set. Fortunately, our vehicles were the only ones on the road at the time.
Desperate, I pulled onto the shoulder and slowed to a halt, while turning off my headlights and switching the hazard flashers on. I hope Ted sees me.
In the blink of an eye, his brake lights lit up. Within a couple seconds they dimmed, and his taillights weaved a bit as he backed up at high speed and approached from a distance.
From my backseat, Robert’s voice startled me. “What are you up to now?”
I chuckled. “You’ll see.” I turned off the emergency flashers, slammed the shift stick into gear and firmly mashed the accelerator.
My terrified buddy yanked the hair on the back of my head and yelled, “Stop! You're gonna kill us!”
Ignoring him for the moment, I kept my eyes peeled to the reflective, white center line that glowed in the light of a full moon. The 350-engine roared as my trusty El Camino rapidly closed on the unsuspecting Vette with increasing speed.
Within seconds, we blew past Ted, as I watched his headlights shrink in my rear-view mirror. That’s what you get for being a nice guy! We’ll see you at the condo when you finally get there.
As soon as he pulled up behind me in the parking lot, his door flew open while he yelled, “You cheated! You better never have any car trouble, because I’m not stopping for you!”
Oops. Hadn’t thought of that. I couldn’t contain myself, as a sheepish grin crawled across my lips. “Hey. As you know, anything’s fair in war, my friend.”
His expression growled at me while shaking his head and setting his suitcase down. A muted chuckle escaped him. “Can’t believe I let you trick me like that.”
None of us really took each other's shenanigans to heart, and we always had a great time on the beach. We rented a large condo that could handle 8 to 10 of us, some sleeping in beds, couches, or on the floor with their dates or wives.
That first night on the beach, well before most of us crashed within our sleeping quarters, Fernando picked at his guitar, while serenading us all. Our good friend’s romantic melodies floated along the salty breeze, blowing across the sand.
Totally mesmerized by the enchanting music, under the shine of a full moon, I treasured the soft, white glow, settling across the calming body of water. The constant splash from the waves, crashing into a foamy film along the shoreline, soothed my mind. Every lingering remnant of stress ever so slowly oozed from the tips of my toes and into the wet sand below.
Closing my eyes and spinning in a circle with my arms outstretched, I soaked it all in. This is paradise, and I’m never going to leave.
The delightful night proved to be the perfect kick off to another amazing outing at Padre Island. The beach afforded treasures of colorful shells and varying sizes of sand dollars, while we gingerly stepped over the translucent, bluish-purple jellyfish. When bored and the sun began to warm the bare portions of our pinkish skin, we’d gallop into the refreshing water and body surf the waves.
Far too often, I forgot to hold my breath and choked on a mouthful of water, while a hint of salt filled my nostrils and lightly stung my eyes. Such were the playful moments, shared by all, until the dreaded time to pack up and race back home.
Whenever I reflected on our dangerous shenanigans, it was painfully obvious we were in the wrong and very fortunate nobody got hurt. Being in our early 20s, we were definitive proof why insurance companies charged men, younger than 26 years of age, much higher premiums. We were flaming idiots behind a steering wheel.
As fate would have it, we didn’t always avoid the law. God had a way of getting back at us, eventually.
On one occasion, as we were flying at 70 mph in a 50-mph zone, I was leading the pack as we zoomed past a patrol car. The dreaded vehicle was partially hidden behind thick bushes on the shoulder of a two-lane highway.
Gulping, I feared what any stupid driver does when blowing past a cop. I’m doomed. He’s going to nab me for sure.
Letting off the accelerator, I shook my head with my eyes peeled on the reflection of his black and white Camaro. Sure enough, as the last of our caravan sped by the officer’s car, flashing lights glared as its siren blared.
My heart sank. This is going to cost a pretty penny, for sure.
I kept waiting for the approaching lights to settle in behind me as my El Camino slowed further. But no; since all my buddies were flying at the same speed, the police officer stopped the last in our caravan.
I released a huge sigh. He got poor ole Robert. Man, is he going to be mad at me.
My buddy hated speeding and only did so to keep up with the rest of us. In fact, Robert often joined me as a passenger on some of these trips but decided to drive this time.
Over the years, I jokingly blamed him for the bald spot near the back of my head. Whenever he was my backseat driver and felt like I was speeding too fast – which happened most of the time – he’d yank my hair and yell, “Slow down!”
Following such joyous vacations, we eventually had to return to the far less enchanting tasks at work. After a couple years in Product Engineering at IBM, I was invited to an annual second-line manager interview.
During our meeting, I explained that my first-line manager was okay by me, but the projects were rather boring at times. Transformers, capacitors, and power supplies weren’t exactly the kind of catalyst for excitement. Furthermore, I contended that there were more interesting projects we could consider.
Well, only two weeks had passed when I got called into my first-line manager’s office. My head swirled with possible reactions I might face when I walked through his door. I hope Duke doesn’t fire me. I need this job!
After some small talk, my nerves settled a bit, and he smiled. “How would you like to work on something more exciting? There’s a software project, called Displaywriter, that needs more people. They’ve got plenty of work that you’re likely to find the job more interesting than what you’re currently handling.”
He described some of the details of the new project before continuing. “In order for you to be considered, you’ll need to take a Basic Programmer Training course for a few weeks. If you pass, then you’ll be eligible to join that group. What do you think? Got any questions?”
I pondered the opportunity a bit and asked a few questions. Plenty more banged around inside my noggin, but I thought it best to keep them to myself at that point. I don’t want him to change his mind!
His answers were encouraging, so I looked Duke in the eye and replied, “It all sounds pretty good to me. When do I start training?”
Wouldn’t you know? That very next week, I found myself sitting at a table with lots of other young engineers absorbing as much of the schooling as we could. After completing Basic Programmer Training, I joined the functional verification testing department of the Displaywriter word processor development group.
Within a year, my manager at that time invited me into his office. After finishing our greetings, a broad smile crept across his face. “I’ll be taking a 2nd-line management position in the organization next month or so, and I’d like to recommend you as my replacement.”
What did he just say? He wants me to be a manager? I hadn’t really considered such a thing, since I was relatively new to the group, but who was I to challenge his judgment.
Tons of questions flooded my mind, but before I could ask any, he jumped right in. “If it is approved and you accept, you’ll fly up to the IBM headquarters in New York and take a short management training class. If you pass, you will be promoted and receive a raise. Then, I’ll make the announcement to the team, and you will become their new manager. So, what do you think?”
My heart leapt with joy, as my grin stretched from ear to ear. Promotion AND a raise, with a trip to New York to boot! I’ve hit the jackpot! I sighed. How could this be? I better make sure to pass that class!
During the period leading up to that moment, I had developed great friendships with most of my department members. A few more questions raced through my mind, but I loved the wonderful people in the group, which made my choice a snap. Forget all those stupid questions! I’d be a fool to turn this down!
I smiled. “How could I refuse? When would this take place?”
He chuckled. “Very soon. I’ll let you know when it’s approved.”
One of the lingering concerns, floating in my head, dealt with whether being a manager would affect the wonderful friendships developed within my team up to that point. To some extent, a couple of sessions in my management class helped. When I received and accepted the new role, our relationships changed, but my friendships with Keith, Cindy, Leo, and their spouses, Maureen, Vance, and Lucy, held fast and grew to new heights.
I was determined not to allow work to get in the way of our great times together. We still enjoyed lunches and happy hours with each other, and I always invited the whole department over to my house for a Christmas party.
Even so, I took extra care to avoid any sense of favoritism, when it came to assessing each of their IBM responsibilities. Work is work, and play is play. Gotta keep it separated.
As time went on, I came in contact with others in the Displaywriter organization that joined in on many get-togethers, including Mel, who ended up being my closest bud from the old test organization.
During the many years that followed, I also managed mixed softball and volleyball teams and always asked the department members and other friends to join, if they wished. Playing together only strengthened our bonds during and after work.
To this very day, our lasting relationships have joyously endured the test of time. More than 40 years later, we communicate via FB and meet on occasions when Bonnie and I visit Austin, after retirement.
The broader my family of friends expanded; the more rewarding life became. I couldn’t have been happier, or so I thought.
********
That’s it for now. As you can readily tell, my 20s and early 30s were filled with fun, turmoil, and wasn’t necessarily a period to garner much pride. My life was changing by leaps and bounds, and my mind struggled to keep up.
I’ve never regretted having been married to my first two wives, but I know I could have been a better husband, if I hadn’t been such a kid at heart during those years. Fortunately, I learned a great deal about my heart and soul and how to better conduct myself to become fully committed in any future marriage.
Thank you for your tremendous patience and wonderful support!
Andy Skrzynski

Many great friends and family, from Austin and surrounding areas, came to help celebrate a smashing 60th Birthday party for Bonnie and me. Our youngest daughter, Collen, went all out with lots of food, drinks, and fabulous decorations. Lots of great pictures bore witness to all of our fun times together, over many decades. Bonnie and I had a blast, because our friends and family were there to share in the joyous memories of times gone by!!!

Wonderfully enduring friends, enjoying another of our many get-togethers in Austin. This time, we enjoyed a great meal at Leo and Lucy's cozy abode. Left-to-right in this big selfie: Andy, Maureen, Leo, Lucy, Bonnie, Keith, Teresa, and Robert. Our friendships have thrived for decades of fun-filled times together.

Me, sitting on the beach at Padre Island while enjoying the soothing sounds of the crashing waves and screeching seagulls. I don't have many pictures of these trips, because I never took my best camera for fear of contaminating it from the salty air and always-present sand that tends to get into everything.

I will never forget the fantastic friendship Mel and I forged, over many years at IBM. We worked together in the same organization and played on the same teams in IBM-league softball and football games. The two of us always made it a point to take a break from work, at least once a week, for lunch together. Our daughters loved Mel so much, they frequently called him "Uncle Mel." He always flashed his patented smile, wherever he went. True to our hearts, we were great buds through the ages!!!