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David A. Czuba
David Allen Czuba (born April 2, 1965) is an American poet and author.

Early Years
Born in Buffalo, New York, in the southern township of Lackawanna, David is the youngest son of Julian Joseph Czuba (b. 1936) and Patricia Ann Sterlace (b. 1942). With older siblings Michael Joseph (b. 1961), Tina Marie (b. 1962), and Denise Ann (b. 1963), they resided at 67 Ingham Avenue, before moving when David was age 2 to a new home at 5170 Electric Avenue in Hamburg, two townships south of Lackawanna, bordered by Lake Erie on the east and the township of Orchard Park on the west. The property was subdivided from that owned by Patricia's father Nicholas Sterlace (b. 1898), who built a modest two storey home there. The lot division met with controversy by the Town of Hamburg planning department, because the frontage of 160 feet for single family residences was reduced.

David met his new neighbor, Marty Rozwood, a boy his age, the first day of moving into the home. He and Marty would form a fast friendship until Marty's family moved to Seffner, Florida, in 1978. At age 3, David experienced his first traumatic injury, a gash over his eye, as a result of crashing his tricycle into the exterior brick wall at the Rozwood's back porch. His grandfather drove David on his and his mother's lap to the emergency room. He still bears a scar on his left eyebrow.

At the age of 72, David's grandfather passed away in his sleep from a heart attack. His death was the first experienced by David, who was close to his grandfather. The house was then rented to several young men who spray-painted interior walls with peace signs and other hippie-culture graffiti. After this episode, David's father, with the help of his children, demolished the upper storey of the home to prepare for renovation. Also, great uncle Ralph Sterlace entered as an influence on David's life, taking Michael and him on Sunday fishing excursions to the Cattaraugus Reservation, where Sterlace had made friends with Ted Van Arnum, a Seneca Nation native, during the 1920s. Sterlace gave David his first employment as a gofer on roofing jobs. When a cousin injured his thumb, Sterlace put David in his place, teaching him how to roof. David roofed for 5 summers under his uncle, who passed away from colorectal cancer in 1984.

David registered for kindergarten at Big Tree School for the 1970-1971 school year under teacher Mrs. Susan K. Smith. Part of the Frontier Central School system, Big Tree was located at the corner of South Park Avenue and Bayview Road. In her teacher's comments on the first 20 weeks of school, Mrs. Smith wrote that David "is inclined to be hasty and doesn't listen to directions." Subsequent primary teachers repeated similar observations during David's primary education.

The Czuba's parents separated when David was aged 8 (divorcing in 1977), after several episodes of domestic violence. Still, Julian continued to care for his children through child support, taking them to Buffalo Bills football games, and taking them during summer vacation to a cabin he helped to build for Tom Cordier on Lake George, at Huletts Landing.

David showed an interest in coins and began a collection with the help of his mother, who was employed with Pine Hill Coffee Service. She would exchange older coins and bills found in the till with cash from her pay, making David agree to her ownership of half his collection. Her beliefs about wealth included the coins each New Year's Eve, when David was made to place the entire collection outside the front door, as an act of 'trust' thought by her to bring good luck. When he sold the collection in his early twenties to J & J Coin and Stamp in Orchard Park, NY, he gave her half the proceeds. David purchased many coins on his own, but partly built the collection in other ways. He searched through his grandmother's jar of pennies, finding a 1909 Indian Head Cent in excellent condition. He searched a shoebox held by his Uncle Sam, finding a 1909 VDB Lincoln cent, which he reluctantly accepted a quarter from his uncle for. Surreptitiously with Marty, also an avid collector, he added to the collection by theft from two main sources: the flea market held each weekend at Leisure Lanes on Camp Road in Hamburg, and Grants department store on South Park Avenue, which had a coin counter.

In his public school education, David attended Pinehurst elementary for third grade, Woodlawn Primary for 4th grade, Woodlawn Elementary for 5th and 6th grade, Frontier Junior High School for 7th through 9th grade, and Frontier High School for 10th through 11th grade. He studied biology, chemistry, physics, mechanical drafting, public speaking, and an introduction to computing. This last course, taught by his math instructor, Mrs. Troy, gave David an understanding of the Apple IIe computer. He already owned a Radio Shack Color Computer, given as a Christmas gift by his brother in 1981 or 82. Computers would bring a dimension to David's education that influenced his vocation. Tom Cordier, mentioned above, marketed IBM's first personal computer to college departments, and set one up in David's father's apartment.

College and Work Life
Deciding where to attend college, David's guidance counselor at Frontier Central HS, Donald Lucarelli, who was also a family relation, asked what subject he did most well in, which was chemistry. Because of this, Lucarelli urged David to attend Erie Community College's chemical technology program at the north campus. But at the end of his first year, David decided to switch to the computer science program, which was closer to home at the south campus. One influence was a course entitled Microcomputers in Chemistry, which exposed David to a Heath breadboard computer, and VisiCalc, spreadsheet software that allowed one to alter variables in an equation. Another influence on this decision was David's part-time work at his brother's employer, Universal Data Research Incorporated, just down Werhle Drive from the ECC north campus.

After graduation in 1986, David started work as a data control clerk at Computer Task Group, on the night shift. It was here that David learned Job Control Language, or JCL. The company owned a mansion on Delaware Avenue in Buffalo, and David would go there for computer training and to work out in the raquetball and basketball courts. Shooting baskets on the court one night, David injured his right pinky finger, which never healed due to a bone fragment. He quit this position citing difficulty working with the third shift supervisor, Gary Hartloff.

His next employer, E-L Products Company, was located in East Aurora, NY.