Where have I been:
While I was at Woodlawn,
I was a football and basketball manager and trainer, and played tennis on the tennis team.
Robert Parish and the guys on the basketball team game me the nickname of “TOAD”, just like the character
in American Graffiti”, which has stuck with me thru out the rest of my life.
After graduating from Woodlawn,
I went to Northeast Louisiana University in Monroe, LA on an athletic scholarship. I
was the trainer and manager for the basketball team. I attended NLU until 1975
when I left school, and returned to Shreveport. I took a short term job with
Baird Poulan, and eventually went to work for the old Western Electric/ATT/Lucent Technologies plant in south Shreveport.
I worked for them off and on until the layoff in 1985. I spent 6 months unemployed
living on severance pay, when I decided to go into the military to finish my college education.
I entered the Navy
in 1985, attended boot camp in Orlando, FL. I then attended Aviation Electronics
School in Memphis, TN, Advanced Avionics School, and eventually transferred to Strike Fighter Squadron 136 in Jacksonville,
FL.
In 1990 I married the former
Carolyn Self from DeRidder, LA. I met her thanks to a friend at the old Western
Sky Club, while I was home for Christmas in 1989. She and I have 3 grown children
from her previous marriage, and 8 grandchildren.
We transferred to Memphis, TN
in July 1990 to teach Aviation Electronic School for the Navy. In 1994 Carolyn
and I transferred to Strike Fighter Squadron 137 in Lemoore, CA. In 1997, Carolyn
and I transferred to Naval Aviation Technical Training Center, Pensacola, FL. In
2001, I was transferred to II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, NC. In
2004, I transferred to 20th Seabee Readiness Group in Gulfport, MS. I
retired from the Navy in February 2006 after over 20 years of service.
While in the Navy, I visited
26 countries, and made 5 deployments of 6 months or more on 5 different aircraft carriers.
I obtained my Associates Degree in Liberal Art, Electronics, and hold a Bachelors in Electronics Engineering.
Carolyn and I currently
live in Pensacola, FL. I currently work for Computer Science Corporation as a
database administrator, and data analyst.
