John S. (Jack) Brooks

A stutterer from childhood, I was one of those kids who took the radio apart and put it back together and got a Ham Radio License to communicate with hams worldwide. A stutterer in my early years and shunned by other kids, I heard a local “electric Rock N’ Roll band” and the electric guitar consumed me, as I practiced Chuck Berry and Duane Eddy licks ceaselessly. I found the kids who laughed at me sat at my feet when I practiced on the screen porch during sultry Virginia Summer evenings. I went on to play gigs from age 15 to today, (if I’m called). After playing throughout the DC/VA/MD area and in New York City at clubs concerts, colleges and the studio, I moved to Laurel Canyon in the Hollywood Hills in the early 70’s and played at the Whiskey, Troubador, Gazzari’s and other L. A. hotspots, as well as road gigs backing up singers. A highlight of my music career was spending a year in Nashville working on songwriting, ultimately getting one published and due to be released in 2012 by a Nashville singer. After intensive cutting-edge Transformational Speech Therapy at UCLA by revolutionary Speech Therapists Joseph and Vivian Sheehan mid-70’s, I became passionate about speaking and communication to the point of competing at Toastmasters speaking competitions. When the Internet first appeared, I started on dialup with my bank’s newfangled “online account management” system. Soon after, I dove head-first into the endless ocean of information the World Wide Web offered and haven’t come up for air since. I moved to Lake Arrowhead in the late 70’s and have had numerous “careers”: Construction, Grocery Clerk, Courier, Pest Control/Termite Inspector, Telemarketing, TV/Radio Repair, Electronics Technician, Computer Consultant. Freelance and Newspaper writing/editing, Computer Consulting/Training, Web Design & Online Visibility, Personal Assistant, and more. Now 23 years clean and sober, I'm currently working in the Substance Abuse Recovery field at a men’s treatment facility and working on my California Drug & Alcohol Counseling Certification. Helping others to achieve sobriety and get their lives back is the most rewarding work I've ever done.