Comments:
In January 1961 I was still wondering if I would live to see the turn of the century. Well, here it is 2011 and I and many others are still here. Alas, I had looked up the memorial reference on the web site and noted the passing of many of my friends and fellow classmates. I remember a few who had passed on from several years ago, but now the list is growing and I am saddened that I won't be seeing them at this reunion. I now have a growing sense of my own mortality, which is rather discomforting.
The school motto is "Enter to learn, go fourth to serve.", which is I guess why I wound up getting drafted and serving two years, nine months, and twenty-four days of involuntary servitude in the U.S. Army. So much for school mottos.
I graduatred from Rolla with a B.S. in Civil Engineeering in January 1966. (Yeah, I was a slow learner. Took me three tries to get a C in Chem. 101.) Differential equations and thermodynamics wern't a bowl of cherries either. No doubt about it, I was not a stellar student, but it did keep me out of the draft for a few years. My first real professional job was Assistant Airport Engineer at Lambert Airport in STL. Nice job until I got drafted. So I enlisted to guarantee an Engineer Officer Candidate School class date. Got commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the Corps of Engineers. Was assigned to HQ US Army Communications Command at Ft.Huachuca, AZ., which is about 80 miles southeast of Tucson, as an Engineer Staff Officer. Nice place. Really. General Pershing (another Missouri guy) and General George Patton served there. From there I did temporary duty in Germany, Okinawa (Could of sworn that I saw John Yeager in downtown Naha one day.), Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, and Hawaii. I was authorized to wear civilain clothes, off post housing (motels) and rental cars. Really a world tour without having to get shot at. Nice job. Really. The best thing I got out of the Army was me. I never liked the fact that you just couldn't tell your boss to go stuff it and quit. The Army calls that deseration and they put you in jail for that kind of stuff. However, I did get out of the Army with a greater sense of patriosm and love of country. God bless America.
After gettng an honorable discharge, I became a construction gypsy. Between working for general contractors and major corporations, I did projects in Missouri, Arizona, California, Washington, Alaska, Colorado, Montana, Georgia, and New Brunswick, Canada. Nice work, really, except for having to live in the boondocks most of the time, where there was a very distinct lack of available women. Not so nice. Really.
I finally threw out the anchor in Denver in about 1980 or so. Nice place. Really. Sure beats the soxs off of living in STL. Low relative humidity, no chiggers, no gnats, very few other bothersome insects, no man eating reptiles such as you would find in Florida, and except for an occasional blizzard, the winters are relatively mild. Mostly. However, there are exceptions. Like right now, Feb.2, 2011, where tomorrow's temperature is forcast to be 17 degrees below zero. Not so nice. Really.
I wound up my working career in January, 2006. I retired from the City and County of Denver as the Director of the Design and Construction Management Division in Public Works after about sixteen years of voluntary service, although at times, it often felt more like invoulntary servitude. (See above.) Working for government is far more difficult than working in the private sector. There's more politcal BS to put up with and you have to report to a slew of political appointees who don't know squat about engineering or construction. Not so nice. Really. I've never learned how to be politically correct or how to suck up. You know, the square root of two is always the square root of two, no matter what the politics.
Retirement is nice, really, except for having to watch the stock market for the past two years. Every two years or so, we drive back to Rhode Island to visit Cynthia's relatives. Sea food is great. Really. The humidity is not so nice. Swimming in the ocean is not quite as good as it is cracked up to be. Enjoying a few brewskis on the beach is a much better pastime. Gives you a chance to check out the string bikinis. Nice. I keep waiting for a wardrobe malfunction. Really. And, you just can't beat the old home town beer - Budweiser. ("The only thing worse than warm beer, is no beer at all." Jack Parr, circa 1957)
For about three years now, I've been on the MS&T (Rolla) Alumni Association Board of Directors, so I get back to Rolla, and St. Louis, twice a year. A good time to savor STL stlye pizza, toasted ravs, and home town beer on the Hill. The Hill never changes. I always feel safe there and at home. We don't have very good Italian cuisine in Denver. We do have an Olive Garden, which serves toasted ravs, but the diping sauce is not very good. One time , I smuggled in my own sauce. Call me if you'd like the recipe.
I spend the rest of my time reading up on current events (something I hated to do in the sixth grade.), and surfing the net on my two favorite subjects, the myth of global warming and malfeasance in government. I swim about five days a week at either 24 Hour Fitness Center (We have more facilities in the Denver area than in the STL area. Interesting.) or up at Mountain Air Ranch in the summer time. And on sunny days, I love lying naked in the sunshine. No tan lines. Life is good. Really.
Finally, kudos to John Tanurchris, Vic Miller (I'm envious of your smarts in chemistry.), Jane Sanders, Kay Tominia, Joan Wasylenko, Tom Moeller (my former locker partner at the old Harris Teacher's College, who ate my apple and only left me a dime), and Dennis O'Brien. Thank you all for putting this reunion together. Really.
