George Hamilton

Does not seem like 45 years! I went to school at South Alabama in Marine Biology for two years then realized we were not likely to farm the oceans in my lifetime (still true), and that Jacques Cousteau only needed so many assistants, so I bailed out and went to engineering school at Auburn, finishing in 1980. I worked in Huntsville for a small manufacturing company that made "spare parts for missiles". Wanderlust struck, so I went to work for Avco Electronics in Huntsville, on their (first. last and only) Saudi Arabian airport construction job, on the Fire Alarm system. I signed up to go to the desert, and I did for a bit over a year. It was a different world!

We held our 45th GHS reunion the weekend of 26-29 July, and if you didn't make it, you missed out. There was a Friday night social at the Belk Hudson Lofts, a Saturday morning school tour, a midday picnic at Monte Sano Lodge, the gala at the Lodge Saturday night, an after party, well, party at Hampton Inn Hampton Cove, and a brunch at Another Broken Egg. Come join us for the 50th!

Met Laura shortly before I left for the desert. Our third date was in Paris, fourth in Madrid. We were married in '84, in her folks front yard in Gurley, AL, so we've our 30th anniversary coming up in May.

After we married, I went to grad school at UAB, for Biomedical Engineering, orthopedics (hips & knees), and graduated in '89, then went to work for NASA in Huntsville-still there.

She was an assistant District Attorney, and then ran for an elected District Judgeship, and won. I was "Mr. Mom" for daughter Josie, and we bonded closely, so she is wired like me. Later Laura ran for (and won) a Circuit Judgeship, from which she retired in 2012.

I'm a VW fan, starting out with a white bug with a sunroof in high school. It was a hand-me-down from dad, who had moved on to the pickup truck needed for cattle farming on Redstone Arsenal. That bug went many places, carrying younger brother & me to school, & dates on, well, dates.

One of the more memorable dates was when I took Lisa to meet Sylvia. Lisa was the current flame, tall, brash & a take charge kind of girl-my roller derby queen. I'd been telling her about the cattle we raised on the Arsenal, & she wanted to see the operation first hand.

One fine warm afternoon we drove out to see the cattle in the white bug, opened the gate and motored on out to survey the herd. They had been trained with a bribe of sweet feed to come over when the two legged ones arrived in their steel cages.

Sylvia was a special cow, & her eyes looked at you with the intelligence somewhere between a poodle & a six year old. She was friendly too.
We drove out to where the herd was munching grass, and seeing Sylvia I motored closer, then stopped. I was telling Lisa about Sylvia, when the bovine ambled over & poked her whole head into the open passenger window & the girls were nose to nose. Lisa was surprised, licked and drooled upon in quick succession. After that, I don't recall any romantic moments for about a week, maybe longer.