One year before the inauguration of President Ronald Reagan in 1980, a miracle was born in the Kaiser Hospital in Redwood City. Arriving at an absurd hour of the morning, young Joe Michael Walcek was swiftly taken back to his new home a few miles north in San Mateo. It was the dawn of a new time.
Keeping the ancient customs passed down by the elders, the young lad grew quickly physically and mentally in the Northern California city. By age three he was able to read books and manuscripts and at age six entered Saint Matthew’s Catholic School. There he excelled at all subjects and was accepted with honors into Junipero Serra High School in 1994.
By this time, the city of San Mateo was straining under the enormous burden Joe had brought to the Peninsula. In the middle of 1996, the family moved directly across the Bay to Hayward where Joe began to prepare for a much more monumental expedition.
Six infamous universities sought out Joe, yet only the best suited him. The fabled hamlet of Westwood opened its arms and heart for the ambitious prince, and it was there at the University of California at Los Angeles where he went. Forces of darkness nearly claimed his life on the voyage to Southern California in 1998, yet his mighty determination and vigor reigned supreme.
For five years, Joe ruled over his dominion with magnanimity. Two years where spent on campus, one year on Midvale, and then the final two chapters spent living it up on Glenrock. Joe finally graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics of Computation and a Minor in Classical Civilizations in spring of 2003.
A cruel twist of faith forced Joe to serve others in a café in Palms and a garden in Venice, yet he was content for he moved out into the grand neighborhood of Mar Vista. Finally after months of self-teaching in web technology, Joe was victorious once more over the forces of darkness, and was granted a development position with Civic Resource Group in wondrous downtown Los Angeles.
After a couple years, Joe began work at Kinecta Federal Credit Union in Manhattan Beach, where he presided over important changes to the online banking system and became a little too involved in their Halloween festivities. It was a wonderful time, since the South Bay offered much in terms of culinary exquisiteness.
Yet professionally, Joe became complacent with the business of programming websites. Something else burned brightly inside him, a desire to guide the planning of transportation systems and communities. Going to neighborhood council meetings and subway planning open houses was not enough. With inspiration from his wife (girlfriend at the time), he realized obtaining a masters degree in urban and transportation planning would satiate the feelings inside.
Even though studying at the University of Southern California brought ridicule from his family and friends, Joe nevertheless was able to triumph and still remain true to the Blue and Gold. He started interning with the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority, where Joe quickly became one of the transit guru interns. He balanced his time working on the Regioanl Connector, Gold Line Eastside Extension, SR-2, and playing pranks on other office drones. Sadly, Metro could not finance a full time job so Joe had to look to the east.
The San Bernardino Associated Governments bestowed upon Joe a wonderful position complete with an office and a sixty-three mile commute. It is there where he makes life easier for residents and visitors to move around in the largest county by area in the contiguous forty-eight states. Some say he will build a Subway to the Desert, yet others say he'll only build more toll roads.
Along the way in the middle of this stellar journey, Joe met a beautiful and intelligent young woman. They dated for several years before he realized he should lock her down and not let her get away. Eventually the two married in a lovely and amazing ceremony in Pasadena, witnessed by so many people. Their love for each other led them move to more urban life in the Wilshire Center/Koreatown district of Los Angeles, along with acquiring a noble beast of a dog.
The San Bernardino Associated Governments bestowed upon Joe a wonderful position complete with an office and a sixty-three mile commute. It is there where he makes life easier for residents and visitors to move around in the largest county by area in the contiguous forty-eight states. Some say he will build a Subway to the Desert, yet others say he'll only build more toll roads.
Along the way in the middle of this stellar journey, Joe met a beautiful and intelligent young woman. They dated for several years before he realized he should lock her down and not let her get away. Eventually the two married in a lovely and amazing ceremony in Pasadena, witnessed by so many people. Their love for each other led them move to more urban life in the Wilshire Center/Koreatown district of Los Angeles, along with acquiring a noble beast of a dog.
Currently Joe is thriving in his new life and is now ready to assume command of his final destiny, whatever and wherever that may be.