Sep. 7, 1953
I feel blessed being born into the family I had. With 6 siblings my parents did their level best to treat each of us as individuals and challenge us on our own personal uniqueness. My mother, through her own artistic talents, opened the world of classical art and music to me. My elder sister Karen would take me on foray's to the Detroit Metropolitan Art Museum where I was exposed to many of the paintings of the great masters. I took an elective in college in Art of the
But I had a bit of a wild streak in me too. There was more to this new life as a teenager than just Titian and Botticeli. Susan, my parent's firstborn, introduced me to fast cars and trips to the library that seemed to end up at the bowling alley. I couldn't ask for two better older sisters. Each saw in me different likes, skills, and yearnings and in turn helped cater to them all. A better education about the varieties that life held I could not have asked for. I know that many of my friends were envious of me having two "cool" older sisters.
My parents also encouraged us to read. Many a night I would read the encyclopedia's by flashlight under my covers. Mom knew what was going on but knowledge was worth a little lack of sleep.
I am going to fast forward to the end of the 70's. It is not that there wasn't anything going on. On the contrary my existence was in a turmoil brought on by
Sep. 7, 1953
I joined the Navy in May of 1978. Before actually entering my brother Paul advised me to sign a contract where I would be guaranteed the type of training I wanted. Paul was active duty then on the aircraft the U.S.S. Independence, CV-69, and was having a rough go of it. He failed to sign a contract and his recruiter basically lied to him just to get a warm body to meet his quota. This was an unfortunate fact of the state of the Armed Forces at the time. All the branches were undermanned and there was still the stigma of Viet Nam that caused volunteerism to be low and the recruiters did what they could to fill quotas. So when it came down to sign on the dotted line I wanted to join for the longest time period I could in a technical field.
"Boot Camp" was not too difficult. After all you had someone telling you what to do and how to do it damn near 24 hours a day and all you had to do was follow directions. So in May of 1978 I went to Recruit Training Facility Orlando Fla. as a "Civilian Under Naval Training" and came out as an E-3, a seaman. (Those of you who want to get Freudian be my guest). A side note here; the enlisted ranking system starts at E-1, a recruit and goes up to an E-9, a Master Chief Petty Officer. I retired after 21 years in the United States Navy or my beloved "canoe club" as I often refer to it and attained the rank of E-8, a
Sep. 7, 1953
After "Boot Camp" I stayed on in Orlando for my "Basic Electronics and Electricity" school. It lasted about a month and I did not learn much and partied a lot. Hey, I was a young sailor full of piss and vinegar and doing my best to uphold the stereotype of a drunken sailor. I excelled at that! This would become a pivotal point in my life in the years to come. So after completing this short school, I was in I transferred to Great Lakes Training Command just outside of Chicago for Electronics Technician "A" school. "A" school starts the real training in the "rating" you have signed up for. "Ratings" are the broad job skills you have to master to work in that chosen field. Afterwards, you train in "C" schools that teach you the job skills to troubleshoot and repair a particular piece of equipment.