9 About the Author Early in his career, Ernest Denman went to work as an apprentice for a large utility company in Houston, Texas, which had a very large fleet of cars, trucks, hydraulic equipment, trailers, cranes, and heavy equipment. The apprentice program helped young men and women to enter the work force by learning new skills. Jumping at the chance to work and start a family, he went for their training program, which taught the fundamentals and more. Not only did Ernest get the basic training in electrical systems, he learned hydraulics, transmissions, gears, instrumentation, and even built engines!