- Well, 57+ years since we graduated from Shawnee. Where has the time gone! I enlisted (Army) in Jun 60 & found it to my liking so I stayed. Got to see & experience a lot in a lot of different places. Majority of my assignments were in Armor/Armored Cav with a couple in the Engineers & one with the Army's CID. A time or two I almost got out but now, looking back, glad I stayed - especially on payday. I retired in 80 (20 yrs)& then worked in security for the Army/AF Exchange (BX/PX) System. That lasted a few years, long enough for me to figure out I didn't like that line of work. Next worked for the USAREUR Postal System in Frankfurt Germany. Good job/pay but Russia/East Germany collapsed, the wall came down & suddenly the American workforce in Europe began to (drastically) shrink. I lucked out & got a position with PERSCOM's Replacement Bn at Rhein-Main Air Base outside of Frankfurt. That was the best job of all& & it lasted until William Jefferson Clinton gave the base back to the Germans.
- In Oct 2004 the Army moved me to FT Jackson, SC where I spent the remainder of my civil service career. Retired in 2011 & since I kind of like SC bought a house in a little town, Lugoff, 15 or so miles North of Columbia & here I am. I was married to a German for a while had 2 boys, Frank & David, but as oft happens the marriage failed. Frank lives/works in Switzerland & has 2 girls, Chantal & Chiara. David lives/works in Germany & has 2 boys, Tim & Lenny. Every year we try to alternate visits & either I go over there or they come here. Next Apr Frank coming here & we're doing a tour of the Gettysburg Battlefield. Likely, next Sep will visit David/family. Flying is a pain! Expensive & the airlines act like they're doing you an awesome favor to take your $$$$ & cram you into too small seat. I'm 5'11"// 190 lbs& the damn space cramps me so you know how the average overweight persons feels sitting for 10 hours in those conditions. But... I digress.
2017
- Made it to Shawnee's 50th reunion. Recognized almost no one. I get back to Louisville a couple time a year to visit my friends who live near FT Knox/E-Town. Health wise I've been damn lucky. Never got into drugs/alcohol abuse & thanks to all that time in the Army & living in Germany learned to love day hikes& just plain walking. Only exception was the prostate cancer - thanks to Monsanto LBJ & Robert S McNamara - all SOBs! Got MEDEVACd from Ramstein AB to Walter Reed AH in DC in 1998. Doc's gave me a lot of choices but I did not waiver & elected Prostatectomy. Wanted all the cancer out! Again, I was lucky. Cancer was caught early & all contained within the gland. Owe my life to a young Air Force Doc who spotted rising PSA, a Urologist at Landstuhl Regional Med Center & the 2 Walter Reed Doc'a who operated. Healthwise I got no comebacks. A little well controlled hereditary hypertension but as my Doc says, very very good.
- I got into Lumosity a few years back & enjoy the puzzles, games, etc... Also, enrolled in a study at Clemson University CAT Lab (Cognition, Aging & Technology) evaluating the ability of older adults to use/exploit modern tech. What I really enjoy is Trap shooting. Terrific hand/eye coordination exercise. Also fish. Every May (before the tourist descend) I drive up to NC's Outer Banks (OBX) for a week, fish/eat fish & walk the dunes. Love the ocean so much after I croak/cremated US Navy will drop me off somewhere in the Atlantic. That's about it. Hope all is well with you? JP