It Pays to be Irish: An Autobiography

(Paperback)

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In this collection of life stories, Terry McCarthy tells us how he turned his troublemaking teen years into political success which led to an appointment to West Point. After surviving the rigors of Beast Barracks, his four-year grind to Graduation ended in a major disciplinary punishment, culminating in his receipt of a personal letter from General Douglas MacArthur. During Terry's five -year career as an artillery officers, he famously was involved in a "nuclear incident" (thankfully without an explosion) in Germany, and in his spare time played in a band with three Germans. His last year was with the famous 101st Airborne Division, where he jumped out of perfectly good airplanes, even managing to survive a parachute failure on his 13th (and final) jump.

Terry's business career began with selling computer equipment for IBM, and evolved into launching his own computer leasing company. Along the way, he was elected to the Board of Directors of his industry trade association, and as the Chairman of the Board, filed a successful anti-trust lawsuit against IBM. His company, PCL Leasing Corporation, is still functioning today.

We learn of Terry's marriage to Hilde and the birth of his "two perfect children" and his difficult but amicable divorce. His exploits finding a new partner ("shaking the tree") are humorous but disappointing until he finally meets Lola, who has been Terry's partner for eight years. Terry's travels have taken him all over the world.

Terry is the proud father of Kevin and Colleen and the grandfather of Cameron and Casey. He currently resides in Bellevue, Washington with his cat Queenie.

Author Bio

Terry McCarthy was born and raised in Seattle, Washington. After graduating from West Point he spent five years as artillery officer serving in Germany and with the 101st Airborne Division. After starting his civilian career at IBM he went on to form his own computer leasing company which is now over forty years old. Terry is the proud father to Kevin and Colleen and grandfather to Cameron and Casey.