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My
Mom had been writing me about dating this certain girl when I got home.
She was a friend of my younger sister. When I left she was 13 years old.
I told my Mom that she was just a little girl and I was 22 years old.
Have you guys ever noticed how much a girl changes between 13-17? Let's
just say she wasn't a little girl anymore. We were married in December
of 62. She was still a senior and I had to sign her report cards for 6
months.
We have been married 45 years now and still going.
We had 2 sons. Our oldest was killed in an accident in 1990. He was 26.
That has been tough but we still go on.
My employment history? Well, I had about 3 and 1/2 years in a textile
mill. My first job paid $1.47 and 1/2 per hour, $48.00 per week. I paid
our rent by the week. A furnished apartment with utilities for $16 per
week.
After that job I drove a Wonder bread truck for about 4 years. Those
long hours 6 days a week were tough so I quit and tried to sell
insurance.
After about two years, that didn't work out so I went back to the
textile mill which did pay a little better now. I started to a
Vocational School at night with GI Bill benefits. After about 18 months
I finished with a Machinist Diploma. About the same time a bread route
opened up with another company so I went back to a bread truck for the
next 10 years.
I then was able to get a good easy job with great benefits. It was
selling food to restaurants, schools, nursing homes, etc. Most of you
have seen a big 18 wheeler truck in your vicinity with the word SYSCO on
it. They are the largest wholesale food distributor in the country. I
could always tell someone how good something was to eat.
That is all it took. I did that for the last 20 years.
There was one time in 1965 when I was still at the textile mill that I
decided it was ridiculous for me to have the security clearance I had
and not use it. I wrote to NSA asking about employment. We swapped mail
for a couple of months and finally they said I would have to come to
Washington for some tests and interview. I took a week off work and went
to Washington. I took all the tests and interview.
I had ran into a friend I had been stationed with working there as a
civilian. Some of you may have known him, Pete Latham. Pete said he
would talk to his supervisor and get me assigned to his department.
After the interview on Friday they gave me a GS-5 rating and assigned me
to Pete's department. They said it would take about 12 weeks to check my
clearance for the last 3 years. If they found anything that would
disqualify me they would let me know immediately. If I hadn't heard
anything in 12 weeks to make plans to move to Washington. I sweated out
the mail for 12 weeks and no word. I traded cars and got a station wagon
so I could move more stuff.
After 17 weeks they sent a letter stating they didn't have anything
commensurate with my qualifications. I fired off a letter to my
representative in Washington and they sent him a letter almost identical
to mine. You can say I've had an up and down life but I'm happy to have
had it.
I definitely believe the characteristics dedication to God Country and
Family is what got me through it all. The Marine Corps has always been a
part of me. Oh, about the dress blues. I own a set now. I ordered a set
to be buried in.
Semper Fi,
Harold
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