You may wonder how a guy minding his own business building a kennel for his beloved dogs became the most successful junk business in the Springfield area.

It was 1993. I was twisting wire to form the kennel’s gate when suddenly I felt a sharp pain in my right eye. Was it possible I just poked my eye with a piece of wire?

I tried to ignore the pain, hoped it would go away. I finished the kennel, headed to the store for dog food. Now what? Blood dripped onto the store’s concrete floor from my eye. I knew I was in trouble.