On Both Sides of the Street

On Both Sides of the Street is a real-life story about a man who experiences meteoric successes both personally and professionally, only to have them come crashing down through a series of life-changing disasters: some self-inflicted, some not. Taken in their totality, one would surely find these events to be unbelievable.

The story begins in the midst of this downward spiral and then reverts to a chronology of the man’s life, beginning in his upbringing in East Tennessee, followed by a normal ascent into adulthood, where he seemingly could do no wrong. His journeys take him to virtually every part of America, Europe, and then ultimately Central America.

His experiences include enviable successes both professionally and personally, with a propensity to attract the opposite sex, some to his painful bane. Life could hardly have been any better.

With a sense of premonition, he suffers the loss of a son, endures two divorces, the loss of all of his assets, and ultimately destitution.

The story describes his reactions to these disasters and gives a profound sense of the pain associated with each of these. The reader will get an acute sense of the frailty of the human spirit and, in most cases, how not to react to them.

The story spans over fifty years and includes a strong dose of historical perspective, describing some of the most significant events of the last half century. It also includes some colorful descriptions of many parts of America, Europe, and finally the country of Belize. There are also sprinkled in some commentary on political, geopolitical, and macroeconomic issues of our time, seemingly tongue in cheek but actually not intended to be so.

The story is a truly remarkable memorialization of a man’s progression through life, with a shocking ending. It is a story of a man who has truly lived on both sides of the street.

-- Alan Head