InsaneJournal

Charles James Aldridge was born on the Isle of Wight, England on November 15th, 1972 to his mother, Sylvia, and his father, Greg. Charles was their only child by choice, and thankfully they were well enough aware of the importance of values that they didn’t spoil him too heavily as so many only children often were. However, since he was an enfant he was encouraged to try many different things, to pursue whatever interests that he fancied, to learn what he liked and discard what he didn’t. From music to writing to building - he was supported. His first interest was in becoming an astronaut, as it was for many young boys, and his fifth birthday was themed after it, it would remain to be his first full memory of childhood.


In his pre-pubescent years, Charles studied primary from ages four to eight years old at the All Saints Church Of England Primary School. Those years were happy ones with no significant problems other than finding his place in the small world he inhabited. He kept a few close friends and did well in school but was never truly popular. In year three he was bumped up into the next level so it would meet his standards of learning. This didn’t help his attempts at making friends, sadly, it only hindered him and he felt more out of place than he had before.

After finishing primary school, he moved on to Nodehill Middle School from ages eight to twelve, which not unlike his childhood years were uneventful and a little dull. That is, until he realized that girls were another sex, a comprehension that most young boys come to at some point in their lives, up until then girls were just boys with long hair that didn’t like bugs as much as he and his friends did. He 'dated' his first girlfriend when he was thirteen years old, her name was Cassy, she was blonde, and they played kickball together during school breaks with the other kids in their class and the pair wouldn’t even hold hands. It was a short-lived innocent relationship as all first relationships should be, but it was the start to his ‘love’ life.


Ryde Secondary School was the next stop for young Charles, under the rule of Headmistress Harrison. Charles truly flourished in secondary school, there from age twelve to seventeen. During the first couple years, like most, he tried to remain invisible from those who were older than he was and attempted to fit in where he could without stepping on any toes. Throughout it all he kept up with his classes and was one of those kids that remained an honor student no matter how much he didn't care for school, although secretly he was enthralled with it. In his later years, Charles came out of his shell and thrived. While he was awkward looking in primary and middle school, secondary school was a little kinder to him as he grew into himself.

It was during his years at this school that he developed an interest in older woman, a theme that would surface over and over again throughout the rest of his educational career and into his young adult years as well (although the habit is now gone and seems to have been replaced with the opposite). It was never an obsession but just a preference, he felt that the girls his age were boring and too giggly and that bothered him. It was during this time that he developed more confidence in himself that pushed him out of those self loathing preteen years of being ‘uncool’. It wasn’t that he was suddenly extremely popular, his school was far too small for that kind of thing, it was more that he didn’t fear those he had classes with anymore.

At seventeen, Charles graduated from Ryde, and during that summer he spent many years walking along the Ryde Pier, trying to figure out what he wanted to do with the rest of his life. He knew that he would go to university, but he wasn't sure what he would major in or what felt right. He was uncomfortable with the idea of picking something he would probably do with the rest of his life. Contemplative day after contemplative day happened on that pier where he met Paul, someone much like himself – searching for a path in life, waiting for enlightenment on the best choice to make. They began to spend more and more time together there, watching everything around them and talking about their future lives. Paul was Charles’ first and only real experience with a man, it was a guarded relationship that was kept secret and only lasted until the end of the summer when Paul moved away. Since then Charles has thought about it often but has never found himself all that attracted to other men; none of them ever felt the same.


Charles left the Isle of Wight after that summer, disheartened by the end of a strange relationship that he cared so much for, and ready to make his new life among the rest of England. He moved to Oxford (yes, he got in) to study among like minds. He decided to study English and toyed with the idea of becoming a writer in the future, and that he one day might write novels people would love. Two years were spent studying there, learning the tricks of language and the best way to present it, but it didn’t last much longer than that. Charles soon dropped out when a friend offered him the chance of joining him in a high risk starter business: publishing. Although there was a very big chance it wouldn’t work out, he couldn’t help himself and accepted immediately. It was soon after that when he realized that it was what he truly wanted to do, that it was something he was happy with and good at. A few years after the company started up, his friend decided to move onto the next big thing, leaving the choice up to Charles whether or not to continue. Of course Charles couldn’t give up the business, so he changed the name to Aldridge Publishing, and it has done nothing but grow ever since.

After living in Manchester for nine years, where the company began and the original offices remain, Charles decided that it was time for the business to stretch out to America and that he would go along with it, at least for the first few years. Chicago became a place of interest as it seemed a suitable city for Aldridge Publishing to expand, and in 2002 it became home for the newest branch of the corporation. While he had only planned to be in Chicago a year or two to get this branch off the ground, he still hasn’t left and constantly wonders why he never did. Somewhere along the way he became attached to the city and the people in it, and while sometimes he entertains the idea of leaving there is no telling when that actually may be – if ever.