[RKDinOKC]

I get all itchy if I go up in my attic.

When I was in college I did custom stereo installs in people houses. I put speakers in the ceilings and controls for the room on the light switches with a control for the CD juke box. It was before the home theater thing and those people really liked it. Got away with charging $25 an hour in 1977. In 2012 money that comes to $90 and hour. Most of it was crawling around in the attic running speaker wires. Never got itchy then.

Helped a guy I did electronic assembly for so he could have his house wired for music. He also had me help him do a new bank that was just built. Didn't want to step on his toes so asked him if he minded if I did it on my own. He said he thought it would be great and got me a couple of other jobs. My Mom and another lady made almost all the custom drapes etc, for most all the interior designers in town. Got my foot in the door thru them and told the interior designers what I did and how much I charged and what the equipment cost and became well know for custom home music.

The biggest interior designer in town asked me take on his son my age. Felt a little obligated since I got most of the jobs from him. His son stepped thru the ceiling on the first day on his first job. His Dad apologized and had the ceiling repaired at his expense. Told me his son was evidently just too much of a clutz. He was really hoping his son could do the work because it paid better than anything else he could find him. Also said the major reason they liked having me do the work and didn't mind paying me so much is I never messed anything up.

I never stepped thru a ceiling except once at home. Relied on a board across some joists, it broke and I landed sitting in Dad's lazy boy in front of the TV. My Mom heard the crash and came running. She looked at me sitting in the lazy boy with all the ceiling and insulation, then up at the ceiling, then back at me, then laughed. Don't even remember what I as doing up there. Patched the ceiling just fine. But the real down side was having to re paint both the living room and kitchen ceilings so it would all match.