The Early Years

I was raised by "Greatest Generation" parents in a family of seven. Being the oldest by several years, Dad still chuckles, "I raised the babysitter first, then had the kids."

Dad is still a card-carrying union bricklayer and always votes Democrat. Mom was beautiful in every way. She smiled coyly when I asked if she voted for Ronald Reagan. And although she would never admit it, I knew by the sparkle in her eyes.

College years are a scramble in my mind now. I worked construction with Dad during the summers to help earn my way. Julia and I dated while I was at State. We married shortly thereafter. And I took my first job with Chevron as a sales representative.

But Vietnam was raging then and the draft called for me. Basic training was at Fort Jackson, SC. I volunteered to go to the war zone and spent a year with a U.S. Army headquarters unit at Long Bien. Duty was fine until TET - then it got nasty.

I won some commendations and medals. And they even offered me a field commission to stay on, but I was long past that and ready to go home.