In November of 1960, I joined the United States Air Force. I wanted to be a draftsman and was assured by my recruiter that I would be. During basic training I found that they were in dire need of cops and cooks so I chose to be an air policeman.
After Technical School I requested to be stationed anywhere outside the United States. Lucky me, I served close to four years at Manzano Base, in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
After leaving the USAF, I was hired by Pacific Bell Telephone Co. as a cable splicer. I worked there for a couple of years and during that time I met, and married, the girl of my dreams, Sherrion Wells, a 1965 BHS graduate. We will be celebrating our 40th anniversary this month (November, 2005). We have two children who we are very proud of, Debbie and Michael.
I was a firefighter for eleven years including three years in the Fire Prevention Bureau. After being injured on the job, I was forced to retire in 1977 with a service-connected disability.
Next, I was a salesman at Booth’s Appliances, and later an assistant manager at Beneficial Finance. Since then I have been in the fire & safety business. I’ve been a technician, service manager, outside salesman, manager and owner. In 1986, I started my own fire and safety business, San Joaquin Fire Service. The company was very successful and I sold it ten years later.
Eventually, I return to school at Bakersfield College and earned an AS in Fire Technology. It was only about thirty years later than one might expect.
Now I’m retired again.
I love to play golf. It’s great fun, even when you play badly. Where else can you spend four hours, totally oblivious to your troubles, with friends and in such a beautiful setting? It’s like a mini vacation.
