My dad died a few days before Christmas in 2005. And, boy, did he love to laugh. He also, as parents do, possessed profound insight into the lives of his children.
When I graduated from college, I knew that I loved to write but had little idea about what type of career to pursue. But my dad did. He told me to go see the woman ran who our hometown York Weekly — guiding me directly into what became a deeply fulfilling 30-year career in journalism.
Yet another “light-bulb moment” from a man who used to bring home the bacon creating advertising campaigns in a Pittsburgh skyscraper with the firm Ketchum, MacLeod & Grove. Yes, my dad was an ad man like those guys on “Mad Men.”
No secret that my ever-present impulse to blend humor and humanity comes from my dad — self-described “Depression baby” turned dashing young Air Force pilot, advertising exec, mid-life adventurer, small business co-creator — and from my mom. READ MORE
Breneman
Ernest Breneman resume entry (mid-1970s)
While reviewing some of my dad’s papers, I came across his resume. When I saw the words printed below, it blew my mind.
The story of his decision to leave behind a fast-paced, “Mad Men”-style career as a KM&G advertising executive in a downtown Pittsburgh skyscraper and move the family up to York, Maine, was an elemental part of our family lore.
But I had never seen the words printed below. His words.
At once enlightening and inspiring. Ernest.
