Hello. I'm Dave Murphy. I'm 82 years old and have just completed a three-year project to convert a 1955 MG Magnette into an electric car. A very detailed description of the EV conversion can be seen here.
Two things are on my mind now. First, I'm ready to move on from all the commercials for "seniors" that emphasize that we're old. Second, I'm totally fascinated by seeing that we boomers age and over are among the 15 million Americans 80 or more.
What are you obsessed with? That's the key question for the fifth quarter of your life. This site is for the obsessed and for those looking for an obsession.
The Fifth Quarter isn't about adding years to your life. It's about adding life to your years.
As for me personally:
I enjoyed my first four quarters of my life which was dedicated to business computing. I started my working career as an office boy at a bank. Believe it or not one of my duties was to fill ink wells. They were in the bank posting machines.
I was a physics major at Xavier University at the time and was asked if I would be a night operator for the check sorting machines. I accepted and even had the opportunity to "play" a bit with the monster NCR computers. I was hooked.
In those days there was nothing like a computer science degree. A computer person could choose mathematics or accounting for a degree. Being at a bank I chose accouting. And the degree was important then because I aspired to join IBM which required degrees.
I did join IBM and served as a System Engineer and Sales Representive in the Cincinnati banking industry. To make the long story short, I left IBM for a startup and then became a startup my self in accounting and manufacturing software. I finished my first four quarters as the manager of computer manufacturing at a large national cheese manufacturng firm.
Once retired I enjoyed my family, children and grandchildren. I had been something of a collector of MG sports cars. I stumbled on one, a 1955 MG Magnette. Something of a unique car I decided to convert it to an electric.
That became my Fifth Quarter obsession.
The horizonal bars near the top left hand corner of this and all the pages in this site is the menu.
I'm collecting the stories
