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Damaged Goods

by Robert Brian Newbill © 2006



A beautiful crystal vase,
Lay broken on the floor,
Damaged beyond repair,
Lost forevermore.

The woman to whom it belonged
Was prepared to throw it away,
When a man arrived to tell her
There was another way
I can rebuild this if you will permit me...

He glued it back together
With gentle hands, and careful labor
Undertaken, not of lust
But of love and true devotion
And when he gave it back to her...

It was still far from perfect
There were some cracks and flaws
And still a few missing pieces

But she liked it even better
Than it had ever been before...

She knew it was a labor of love.

______________________

I was born June 30, 1969 at Fort Leonardwood, Missouri. (That's an Army base
for those who don't know.)

I grew up in northern Alabama. I attended Hartselle High School from whence
I graduated valedictorian in 1987. I then attended Birmingham-Southern
College where I acquired a Bachelor of Science degree in Economics May 25,
1991 (Magna Cum Laude, Phi Beta Kappa). Over the last fourteen years, I have
lived in New York City, ('91-'94) where I worked as an investment advisor
for Chase Manhattan Bank; Birmingham, AL, ('94-'98) where I worked as a
mortgage trader and bond analyst for Compass Bank, or as I like to call it,
"That Stupid Bank in Birmingham". During that time, I married my high school
sweetheart (How clichéd is that?). We were married 5 ½ years. We moved to
Bozeman, MT in '98 and I moved to Los Angeles in 2000. Needless to say, my
now ex-wife did not go with me. I am single now; and happier for it. The LA
thing didn't work out though. So I moved to Atlanta, GA. I stayed there
awhile, and now I am back "home" in Hartselle, AL where I am partners with
my father in an internet business.



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