A Little Background

So where did “Wirehead Jack” originate, you ask?

It’s a blend of several influences. First, many years ago, a colleague who was at the time a young Army MI Special forces officer was having computer problems. I offered to help, and did what IT geeks do in 90% of their initial troubleshooting efforts – reboot. It fixed his problem, got him up and running, and he ever afterward called me “The Wirehead.”

Two people have consistently called me “Jack” over my life. One, a friend in high school, who went so far as to sign his picture in my senior yearbook with the inscription, “Remember me as the first person to call you by your true name, Jack.” And my primary care physician, Dr. Robert Enelow of Burke VA, has called me “Jack” since Day One. And that was a quarter century ago.

And finally, putting them together. I’ve lately gotten addicted to the “Repairman Jack” supernatural thriller series by F. Paul Wilson, a fellow Xavier high School alumnus (although he graduated eight years ahead of me). FPW is a tremendous author, and Repairman Jack a wonderfully-developed, three-dimensional “flawed hero” type. So, in homage to Dr. Wilson, I put it all together and, as my deployment approaches, I’ve decided to reinvent my persona as Wirehead Jack.

Any questions?