BIOGRAPHY

I (Greg LaLiberte) was born in early 1967, within the metro Detroit suburbs of Michigan, and raised up in mainly Redford Township.

Metro Detroit is the metropolitan area centered on the city of Detroit, Michigan. As the birthplace the "Big Three" American automakers (General Motors, Ford, and Daimler-Chrysler), it was once the nation's automotive center and was once a foundation of the US economy.
The Detroit (Warren, Livonia, Hamtramck) Metropolitan area includes the areas of Flint, Ann Arbor, and Monroe. An estimated 46 million people live within a 300 mile (480 km) radius of Metro Detroit. The Canadian city of Windsor, Ontario may sometimes be considered part of Metro Detroit, because it loops down south of the City of Detroit, on the Detroit River. Windsor Canada is referred to as "South Detroit" _{*1.) in a old JOURNEY song ("Don't Stop Believing").}

Without a care in the world, I grew up in the auto-industry middle-class  of the seventies and eighties. I attended private Catholic schools until my high-school junior year (Our Lady of Loreto K1-8, Saint Agatha K9-11, Redford, Michigan). Incidentally, SAINT AGATHA HIGH SCHOOL, no longer exists. I very much cherish and honor the memories and foundations the Catholic Loreto nuns gave me.

Metro Detroit was a happy and prosperous place, as well as safer and saner in the 70s and early 80s. My  cheery adolescence in Redford Michigan had a lifestyle similar to That 70s Show but the youth-culture, fashion and music were 80s new wave/punk/power pop/heavy metal. 

I do recall Mark "the Byrd" Fidrych in 76-77, and all the great Red Wings like the later 95-98 classics. 

My only worries as a teenager and young adult, were how soon my friends would stop by or pick me up for moonlight drives and adventures. Great days when cruising Telegraph through Redford and Pontiac, then Woodward Avenue through Royal Oak, "fashionable Ferndale" and Detroit. I played the costume game at BLONDIE'S, BOOKIES, and The Shelter.

A lost art-form of slacking and safe freedom existed in those days when every kid felt rich, and consequences were easy.

The upper River Rouge flowed through Lola Valley Park. We hit Brightmoor for the party stores, "Sam's Jam's" at midnight, Sutherlands, Hines Park, Hines Drive, Tel-12, Blondie's, Bookies, Harpo's, the Hamtramck Pub, The Shelter, Wonderland, and the Miracle Mile. A good site for metro Detroit 80's nostalgia is http://www.motorcityrock.com/ 

Unfortunately my immediate days after high school were not inspiring, as the auto industry began it's long pull-out, and the region suffered. Many Detroiters (including myself and many friends) just out of high school were not able to easily find peace and prosperity.

I briefly attended Morehead State, and in 2000 I got a Bachelor of Science from Eastern Michigan University. At one point I ran an internet consulting business called "BRIGHTON ROCK Internet", using this domain name. My purchasing of the domain name "BrightonRock.Net", was inspired my love of a book and movie written by Graham Greene called "BRIGHTON ROCK". In addition there is a live album by BIG COUNTRY (one of my fave 80s, new wave/power pop groups) called "BRIGHTON ROCK".

From working as a computer technology consultant, I fell into a call to service, first as an educator and then a mental health professional.

I am of Quebec/Quebecois French / French-Canadian, Irish, and Polish genographic heritage. I speak, read & write English & French, and read and speak some Spanish. Hablo un poco en espanol. Je parle francais un peu plus. My [paternal] and also my [maternal] DNA codes can be downloaded in MS-WORD by clicking on the bracketed words, should you be a genealogist or long distant relative doing research.

An easy world that rewarded efforts was what our parents had and probably what we expected getting out of high school in the mid 80s. We didn't have much of a road map in life, as things are moving and changing at light speed in the world. Things are even harder for kids growing up now. The best we can do is learn from our mistakes.

People always want to whip out judgment on others. It's always a false comfort to see yourself as better than others. I have screwed up so much in my life; I really have no business judging others. At least if I judge others unfairly I hope I do not condemn them. This doesn't or shouldn't mean we don't learn from our mistakes and take responsibility for the future and all our efforts. I try to not judge others. In the first place I have made too many mistakes in my life to condemn someone whose shoes I don't fit in. I really try to respect people of all faiths, creeds and lifestyles. This may be where I get the empathy to want to work in mental health.

My parents, both sets of grandparents, my uncle Gerald Smith, and aunt Sue Briesky - LaLiberte, are no longer walking among us. I will never forget them.  I will always remember my good friends John Bara, Ron Herkis, and Ted Angel, who did not live into the 21st century or even survive long enough, to achieve anything close to a full life.

Presently in this year 2008, I am just west of Houston, Texas as a Licensed Professional Counselor Intern (LPC-I). 

Link for the Eulogy I wrote for my father, Thomas Ernest LaLiberte [ here ]