Barry Minkow - Fortune Magazine Jan 15 2012 - The Future Issue

Elementary School is a funny time in a kids life.  I knew Barry Minkow then, and that part of his life is never mentioned when you read about him.  Barry lived in Southern California until ZZZZ Best was raided.  At that time, Barry was part of a family that stayed put and was a foundation in the community, he knew everybody. My family never stayed in a house more than 5 years. In fact the 5 year rule has followed me into my adult life.

If you are like me and moved a lot due to parental employment, divorce and a host of other things, you probably don’t keep in touch with too many of your elementary school friends. You just have some fond memories of a time when you didn’t have bills to pay. I have the phone numbers of exactly one person from my elementary school days and we only see each other once or twice a year.  I lost contact with Barry about the time he started ZZZZ Best Carpet Cleaning.

The nomadic nature of my youth made it difficult to stay in contact with any of my elementary and junior high school friends. The fact that the nomadic life stayed with me into adult hood is another story. Back then, I didn’t have a car, there were no cell phones, and as with all things new and old, new friends came and old friends faded away. We didn’t have Facebook to stay “connected” or “friends” for life even if we never saw each other again. Most of my friends don’t even have a Facebook account, and others stopped using it sometime ago. If they want to know what I am doing today, they just text and come over with a bottle of wine.