The year was 1952. I was stationed in El Centro, California on the southern tip of the Mojave Desert and just 12 miles north of the Mexican border at Mexicali.
It was desert country with Gila Monsters and Scorpions in abundance.
I had been writing ...
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Born in Oregon during the Great Depression, my family moved constantly in search of work for a day, week or, if lucky for a month. We lived for varying periods of time in just about every state between Oregon and Florida (where we lived in a tent) and back again.
I joined the Navy on my 17th birthday, during the Korean War, and served on the flight deck of an aircraft carrier loading and fusing bombs and rockets on the AD-1 Skyraider prop driven planes of my squadron.
I was honorably discharged just before my 21st birthday four years later.
My wife and I were married in 1952 and have three grown children plus many grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
I spent almost 40 years with a highly successful car rental business where I started as car washer and, though I never graduated from high school, retired as Executive VP and GM of 33 offices in Washington and Oregon.
During those years, in addition to my other duties, I wrote, edited and caused the publishing of a monthly in-house newsletter.
Writing a weekly column for the Edmonds Beacon is pure joy for me.
