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Clark Edward Simmons, Jr.
I first saw light of day on August 10, 1934 at the Pleasant Hill Community in Milam County, Texas USA. My father was a farmer by profession and my mother a school teacher. At least four of my forebears were on these shores by the year 1650.
I am the oldest of three sons. The other two are Robert L "Bob" who resides in Ennis, Texas, and Ronald F. "Ron" who lives in Thomaston, Georgia.
My earliest recollections were life on a farm near Lexington, Texas. There was no electricity, running water, or telephone. My father plowed with a team of mules, named "Rip" and "Rubber". Rubber was pretty docile, but Rip wore a yoke as he had a fondness for crawling under barbed wire fences. My father also had a beautiful dun saddle horse named "Dan". Dan carried my father to town Saturdays where my father worked at my uncle's auction barn. Besides the mules and horses, our farm was home to a menagerie of cattle, goats, sheep, hogs, chickens, turkeys, geese, ducks, guineas, cats, and a dog. My dad grew peanuts for market, and for hay to feed the livestock. He grew corn, popcorn, sorghum. cotton, and watermelons at various times. He also raised a few head of beef. There was a large vegetable garden each year.
I started grammar school in Lexington, Texas in 1940. I skipped second grade and was in
the third grade when World War II began. One of my uncles rode horseback from town to
inform us. Next day, my grandfather who was postmaster, sent us a post card telling us
that Pres. Roosevelt was to address Congress. We went to town to hear his speech. Within
a few days I had six uncles in the Navy. All saw service in the Pacific.
Favorite subjects in school were history and English. Didn't care much for mathematics,
but wasn't bad at it. I had lots of good teachers, and several that weren't so hot.
Spring of 1942 found the family moving to Corpus Christi, Texas, where my dad accepted
employment at the Naval Air Station there. He remained there until he retired in the late
1960s.
I finished high school in 1952 with a class of eleven at Sundeen High School, a small
school in the country outside of Corpus Christi.
I owe my career to the education I received while in the U.S. Air Force
from 1952 until 1956. Testing showed that I had an aptitude for electronics, so I spent a
year at Keesler AFB, Mississippi learning to maintain airborne navigation equipment. For
the the remainder of my enlistment, I was was assigned to an Air Defense Command unit at
Larson AFB, Washington, near Moses Lake.
After my discharge in 1956, I accepted employment on the flight line at Chance Vought
Aircraft, in Dallas, Texas doing final assembly test and airport operations. 1958 found me
at NAS Corpus Christi on the flight line as a civilian employee. 1959 to NAS Pensacola,
Florida.
In 1959, I applied for and was accepted as an Army civilian working at Shreveport,
Louisiana as a nuclear warhead technician on the Nike- Hercules sites. A transfer found
me in Austin, Texas in 1961, then to Ft. Hood, Texas in 1962.
1959 was also the year that I first married. My three children from that marriage are
Clark III, Tom, and Leanna. They all live in Houston, Texas as does my grandson, John
Clay.
I felt like a career change in 1964, so went with Sperry Univac. I stayed with them for
14 years, in Austin, San Antonio, Houston and Corpus Christi, all in Texas. 1978 found me
with Sorbus, Inc, 1986 with xlDatacomp, Inc.
After my first marriage ended, I married again for the second time in 1974. A daughter,
Kristen, was born in 1980. That marriage ended in 1988.
In 1990, I accepted employment with Unit Data Service Corp. as a resident field engineer
at the Naval Support Facility New Orleans, Louisiana. That company transferred me to
Austin, Texas, then back to New Orleans, then to Chicago, Illinois, then back to Austin.
I married again in 1991. My wife, Lillian, was born in Havana, Cuba. She and her sister
came to the United States in 1963 via the Peter Pan Network, an operation that enabled
children ro escape Communist Cuba. Her parents were able to join them later. She has
a daughter, Opal, from a previous marriage.
I was a candidate for the U.S. House of Representatives in 1994 in District 1 of
Louisiana. Seems that I promised someone that I'd run against the incumbent Robert Livingston if he voted
for the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). He did, so I filed and got 7% of
the total vote as a non partisan candidate. Not too shabby, and it was a lot of fun.
By the way, the same representative later opposed the General Agreement on
Tariffs and Trade (GATT). I was a candidate for the Texas House in 2000, and the U.S. House in 2002.
At the present time I can't figure out whether I'm self-employed, retired, or a consultant. I am getting retirement benefits, but am creating the XLData Net in the meantime. I still get called to go fix a mainframe occasionally, under contract.
The XLData Net began as The Republic BBS in this same house on January 1, 1992. It was moved to New Orleans Louisiana in May of that same year. In 1995, I moved it to Chicago Illinois, then back to Round Rock
in December of 1995. It became The XLData Net early in December of 1996 with an internet presence..
One of my philosophies is that God will provide for those who half try to do for themselves.It's gratifying to know that my four children and step-daughter have grown to be responsible and successful as adults.
Life's a lot of fun. After a heart attack in 1979, I decided that life wasn't to be treated as serious as I had done until then. I
figure that if I don't see my name in the obituary column in the morning paper, everything's OK. That's how I see things today, June 13, 1997.
Clark passed away August 9, 2004, at age 70.
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