I'm a Hoosier. I was born and raised in Indiana. Some think of it as farm country, but my memories are more of General Motors' presence and impact. It was certainly a good starting-off place. And all in all, I still think that Indiana is a great place to live, raise a family, and call home.
I was a typical kid and had a normal childhood. I climbed trees, waded and fished in the creek, chased anything that moved, and was always looking for new adventure. I was also involved in scouting, dabbled in sports, kept my '55 Chevy on the road as much as possible, and tried to stay out of trouble.
School was a blur. At least it is now. I studied enough to get by and did. If I liked the class/teacher - great. If I didn't - sorry. I bussed tables at the local Holiday Inn, worked a few fast food jobs, and pumped gas to finance my interests. Easy come, easy go.
I enlisted in the Air Force my senior year and left immediately after graduation. I was fortunate enough to go to Okinawa, Thailand, and Germany during my military career, saw the Philippines, lots of western Europe, and was stationed at several wonderful bases in Texas and Virginia. During my Air Force career I was also able to start and complete my bachelor's degree (St. Leo and Park U.). (I finally figured out the importance of an education.) I served as a communications officer my last 10 years in uniform and retired from active duty in 1991. I still stay current on Air Force news and dream often of revisiting my old stomping grounds. (We returned to Germany in 2013 for a quick two-week visit {Spangdahlem, Bitburg, Trier, & Rottenburg}.) After retiring from the military I completed my master's degree (Troy U.) and worked for and retired from the federal government in Baltimore, Maryland. I'm now a full-time retiree living in L.A. (Lower Alabama). (I also taught history as an adjunct professor at Carroll Community College in Westminster, MD for 10 years.) As things stand now, 64 and counting, I may yet live to a ripe old age. If so, I look forward to traveling a bit more, reading more, and enjoying life at a much slower pace. I've worked hard, been conscientious about always doing my best, tried to be a loyal, patriotic citizen, lived according to my Christian principles, and strove to be a good example to those I loved, was acquainted with or was around. If success was all about wealth, (and many still think it is,) I'd have to rank myself as a failure. But I am fortunate and blessed to be where I am in life and wouldn't trade places with anyone, or wish, even for a micro-second, that we should have do-overs. We live, we learn, and we move on. There were and still are bumps in the road, but I'm on the right path and probably as ready as I'll ever be for Judgment Day. But, like most I suspect, I have to confess that I'm not in any real rush to get there. I hope there's more to this story and a bit more work on my plate left to do.
