I have absolutely no reason to believe that anyone will ever read this blog other than my wife, children, and maybe one of my brothers or sister. However, since my retirement two years ago, I find myself sitting around in my pajamas watching mindless TV and getting fat on junk food.

It seems rather absurd to suddenly want to be a writer at the young old age of seventy-seven, but here I am. I was on line recently and came across an article on Blogging. I’m still not exactly sure what Blogging is, but the article urged me to just write about something I am passionate about and put it out there in the ether. ! https://www.bloggingbasics101.com/how-do-i-start-a-blog/

Of course, as I read further I quickly came to understand if I were to follow all the advice in this particular article, the writer of the article was going to make a little money off of me.

Well, why not? Everyone else seems to these days!

So, what am I passionate about, how do I spend money and time, what do I talk about incessantly (much to the chagrin of Elizabeth, my dear wife)? TRAVEL!   Yes, I do love to travel and I’ve done a moderate amount. Not as much as I wanted and I am fast running out of time to do more but at least I can reminisce.

My passion came to me at a very early age as my family moved frequently; never to any exotic places, but all around western Pennsylvania and finally to Florida. It was mostly from one relative’s house to another. My father had a hard time with steady employment so we had a hard time with steady housing. I was in eight different grade schools, five different Jr. Highs, and lucky enough to have attended only one high school.

My travels began when Mom and I went to Brooklyn, NY to visit my father just before he shipped out to North Africa in the spring of 1943. My mother, somewhere, in all her belongings has a photo of me, a mere babe in arms, sleeping in the bottom drawer of a hotel room dresser (wish I could find that photo again). As a three year old I got to travel to Pawtuxet River, MD where my father was discharged from the Navy after the war. And at the age of five, my mother had evidence (Photo) of me running away from home. It may have been my first run away but it certainly wasn’t my last.

Oh, the gray hairs I personally placed on my mother’s head.

I spent nine years on active duty; four years – U.S. Air Force and five years – U.S. Navy and an additional seventeen years in the Naval Reserve. As you can imagine Uncle Sam introduced me to some very exotic places around the world (More about those travels later).

Bless my first wife, Carla, for putting up with my wanderlust and like my father, the inability to keep a job for very long. I’ve had 38 jobs (Jack of all trades….) since my first job at the age of nine:

• Paper Route
• Construction Laborer
• Grocery Store stock boy and cashier
• Butcher’s Helper
• Gas Station Attendant & Mechanic
• All before I was 16

Since the age of seventeen I’ve been in the Air Force, Navy, construction electrician, taught third grade, farmed, commercial fished, been a technician on the Centaur Launch and the Polaris/Poseidon Programs, Insurance salesman, Manufacturing Manager for McDonnell Douglas, Manufacturing Engineer, Design Engineer, Project manager for the Flow Cytometry Division of Coulter Corp, B&B operator, a Fund Raiser and Development Director for a Domestic Violence/Sexual Assault Organization, part time car salesman, and Marketing Director for  an automobile dealership.

I have been married for fifty-eight years; twenty-five to Carla Jean Drinkwine and thirty-three to Elizabeth Kay Elsey. They are both fine accomplished women who I admire very much. We all maintain a friendship centered on family and the fact that they have both lived with The Butt Head.

Speaking of family we have three great children; Mike, Sheryl, and Sarah and eight wonderful grandchildren. Well, there’s a quick synopsis of my life to date. However, after today I will be able to add Blogger/Author to my long insignificant resume.

What a joy that will bring me as I reminisce about my life and especially my travels. Where to start will be my predicament, but since we are leaving for London in two weeks for our fourth Christmas Holiday there, maybe that will be the smart choice???