My Name is Jesse. When I was a kid my grandfather gave me the greatest advice ever. He told me to live my life like a beautiful piece of music. At the time, like most kids, I didn't understand (there's a good chance I wasn't listening). But the words stuck in my head.

I live in Northern California, in one of the most beautiful sections of the Sierra-Nevada Mountains. I write for a living, very far away from the large cities the "typical" of a fashion website. I prefer it this way.

I get to do what I love which is write, but to write I need peace and quiet.

Yes I'm lucky. Typically people look at me funny when they ask me what I do for a living and I say "I own a website about the 1920s." The typical response are raised eyebrows followed by the question "People pay you for that?"

In addition to writing, I've always loved jazz. In addition to giving great advice, my grandpa also taught us to listen to and appreciate beautiful music.

When our family would visit every morning, at 7AM sharp, my grandpa would wake us up by blasting jazz through his apartment.

By the age of 6 my brother and I could name Miles Davis by the subtle vibrato of his trumpet, or John Coltrane by the power of his sax.

Grandpa taught me to revere the discipline of musicians.

And as I learned more about the history of jazz, I became intrigued by the 1920's as the turning point of modern music. . .

. . . I came to love the 1920's because of it's unique sense of individuality and style (speaking of style. . . that's my Grandpa Lew as a young man on the right).

Lewis E. Bliss ~ 1944 Van Nuys, CA

I've always admired people who stand up for what they believe in. Folks willing to face danger head on, and pursue their dreams despite fear.

The characters of the 1920s: Coco Chanel, Henry Ford, Louise Brooks, Charlie Chaplin, and Al Capone all hold a special spot in my heart because they lived by their own creed and pursued their passion despite the risk.

I've always had a passion for reading and writing. I got my degree in English literature from a small liberal arts university on the coast of Northern California.

After I graduated, my small family and I headed out to make it on our own. . . in Idaho of all places.

I intended to pursue my PhD in literature and become a college professor; necessity has a way of changing plans.

I ended up taking a leadership position on a wildland fire crew in Coeur d'Alene.

My firefighting career, while lucrative, consumed me, my time, my energy, my time, my passions, my life.

That's Me 2003 Idaho

One August, after a particularly long and grueling fire I returned home to find the house dark. . . my wife and 7 year old son were gone.

The note on the kitchen table said that they couldn't take me being away from home so much. 7 years had passed like nothing and I found myself alone, in Idaho.

I really believe that's the day the light finally went off in my head.

I had to figure out a way I could get my passion for life back. I needed to figure out how to restore relationship with my family. I also knew most of my problems stemmed from my career.

But I didn't know what else I was qualified to do.

I had to figure out a way I could pursue my passion for writing and turn it into an escape plan from my career. A career I had allowed to take over my life, and drive a giant wedge between me and my family.

I searched for ways other people had made it on their own. I read about people like Babe Ruth, Charlie Chaplin, Al Capone, and Coco Chanel.

There was a common thread that ran through all of their stories. . .

They were people who never settled for less than what they were capable of. They pursued their passions with unstoppable force, and ironically, they all got their big breaks in the 1920s.

There had to be something special about the Roaring Twenties right?

Every decade has it's share of folks who really define their time in history; the 1920's just seems ripe with people who really made their mark.

Because of those jazz history lessons my Grandpa Lew gave me, the 1920's held a special place in my heart.

My Grandpa Lew Over Hawaii ~ 1947

He taught me the importance of pursuing my dreams. . .

. . . he was a dreamer too. That's Grandpa Lew flying his plane over Hawaii during World War II.

After the war, he went on to become a pilot for TWA, and flew 747 jets all over the world.

I needed to figure out a way to turn my love of writing into a living that would eventually allow me to quit my job as a firefighter.

So I began searching for a solution. . .

I knew what my goals were:

Those were my goals.

Now the easy part ;-)

I had to find a real way to turn my dream into a reality.

I started browsing the Internet looking for freelance writing careers I could do from home. . . totally fruitless.

Then, late one night, I ran across an advertisement for something called Site Build It!. . . SBI! for short.

They said I could actually build a website that would pay me for writing about my passions, skills, or hobbies.

I didn't understand how I could make money with a website. How could I get paid to write about stuff I was interested in?

It sounded cool, but it didn't make sense.

I knew absolutely nothing about building websites; I had no clue how the Internet worked. Intrigued, I decided to look deeper because it seemed like exactly what I was looking for.

This program claimed it would help me find the exact topic I should build my website about. . . and exactly how to make money with my website once I began building it.

I admit, while at first I was intrigued by the fact I could make money at home from a website. The idea about writing about a subject I really loved made my stomach tingle (in a good way).

Go to the top of this 1920s Spirit Page

Read much more about the 1920's on our Homepage