I, Thomas Edward Kraft, was born in Prince Georges County Hospital in
Hyattsville, Maryland on January 18th, 1959. My father, George Thomas
Kraft, and my mother Catherine Louise (Miller) Kraft were stationed
at Fort Mead, and I was an army brat, of sorts.
I spent roughly the first two years of my life on a military base and
even got to meet the president (I liked Ike, who knew). Apparently,
according to mom, we were at a Presidential parade and Ike was walking
along shaking hands and stopped to see me and I slapped him, totally
by accident (maybe I didn't like Ike). My mom states it would figure that
I'd slap the only republican she ever voted for at that time. I was unaware
since I was only a baby at the time.
We moved back to Ohio, where dad went to work at General Tire as a systems
analyst, and mom was the perverbial housewife. I had four brothers and sisters
added to the clan over the years from 1960 to 1968. Barb, Jerry, Joanne
and Kevin, along with myself attended a Catholic grade school, St Sebastians,
and we lead a fairly normal family life. School, play, scrapes, cuts, and
bruises. Good grades, summer camps, grandpas and grandmas, aunts and
uncles(twelve to be exact).
Then it all went awry. Dad and
mom divorced and we spent our remaining years at moms. I went to St.
Vincent-St. Mary High School (yes the same one LeBron attended), paying
my own tuition all four years, and I got decent grades and started working
in the restaurant industry after a brief young apprenticeship at a local
law firm. The boss now owns half of Akron, I hear.
Anyways,
after graduation and 2 or 3 restaurants later, and one failed marriage, I
had an opportunity to shift gears and entered the retail sales arena,
working for a local appliance and television chain. I did quite well, as
a matter of fact, as I was making good money, none of which was reliant
on my college education major in business administration. I progressed
quickly in rank and responsibilities, and when the opportunity arose to
head west to Los Angeles, I jumped at the chance. My first store management
position was merely a hop, skip and a jump from the rose bowl in Pasadena.
I soon advanced to regional sales manager and was flying high, living the
good life in L.A. and then the bottom fell out again.
The company division was closed and I had the option to return to Akron, or
transfer to another division in Columbus. I had been in Akron, so I headed
south to the state capital. I managed a number of outlets in Columbus
until the company went bankrupt and after failed marriage number two,
I went back into the restaurant industry. I jumped around from chain to
chain and landed at a local family owned chain specializing in down home
comfort food. There I remained for the next 13 years with a short sebatical
in fast food thrown in there somewhere. It was here at age 56 when my health
gave out and I became disabled and could no longer perform my management
duties. From here you can read the next chapters in my life at
My Story, and thanks for listening.
