Speaking of the passing of time, today marks the 30th anniversary of one of the happiest days of my life; on September 30th, 1975, I got out of the Army! Though I had advanced quickly, earning my Spec. 4 stripes (corporal) in the minimum time required, it’s safe to say that I looked forward to the day when my service would be done. I did earn my GED while in the Army, and that plus a few intangible lessons picked up along the way made the experience worthwhile, though it’s true that some years passed before I came to that conclusion.
I had been stationed near Seattle, at Ft. Lewis, and we lived in the small town of Auburn, about 20 miles northeast of the base. I got to see Mt. Rainier each morning on the way to work, and thankfully, even at that age I knew it was special and treasured those moments. Given the circumstances of our life after I got out of the army (young and under-educated, with a child but without a job) we decided to move back to Lindsborg. Sheryl had arranged for us to rent the old farm house her Aunt Minnie used to live in, and so we spent a couple of years living there before moving on to California. I absolutely loved that house, though I’m sure it wasn’t obvious from my behaviour at the time; still, I’m glad for the opportunity to have called it my home for a brief period of my life. During these years I did attend school up in Salina. Currently the Salina campus for Kansas State University, at the time it was known as the Kansas Technical Institute. I earned a 2 year degree and overall felt I received a well rounded education, with an almost equal focus between the general education classes and the core technical courses.
So, no big insights or anything, but I wanted to note the day. I usually remember it every year; don’t even usually mention it or give it much beyond a passing thought. But, the anniversaries with zeroes in them deserve a bit more recognition, and once I got started, it was easy to take a short stroll down memory lane.