Another Summary

It was Tuesday, November 27th, 1973 when I completed the 30331 (Air Traffic Control Radar Repair) course at Keelser AFB in Biloxi, Mississippi. That was a significant milestone in my life, so I figure this is a good time to (once again) summarize the events leading to that point:

As I've mention numerous times before, I graduated from high school in 1970 (at the age of 16) convinced that I was neither particularly bright nor particularly useful (thank you school system)... Since the primary function of my brain seemed to be the creation of random (and semi-humorous) distractions I could never maintain focus long enough to accomplish much of anything... And despite my lifelong interest in technology it was clear from my high school math and science grades that I had absolutely no aptitude for such pursuits... It seemed like the only thing I was good at was playing my 1953 Telecaster, but since we were constantly moving from place to place I could never get established with a band.
So it came to pass that in the winter of 1972 (two and a half years after high school) I concluded that unless I did something drastic my life was going to continue to suck, so I went down to the recruiter's office and took the Air Force entrance exam... I wasn't really surprised that I got top scores (although the recruiter was so excited he almost wet himself). I had always tested well (I figured it was an "idiot savant" kind of thing).

The next thing I knew I was at Lackland AFB undergoing basic training. Up to that point my primary goal in life had been to avoid any form of pain or discomfort (when things got unpleasant I would simply quit). But in basic training quitting is not an option - the drill sergeants just make things even more unpleasant.  So I learned to tough it out ... just one more step - one more pushup - and by the time basic was over there wasn't really any "quit" left in me...

Tech school brought two more things I had rarely (if ever) experienced in my life:
The first was stability. It had been a very long time since my life wasn't being constantly disrupted by circumstances outside of my control. (I can't begin to express what a relief that was).
The second was academic success. Turns out I was actually really good at math and science (apparently the pace in high school was just way too slow for me). That was a huge surprise. I graduated with honors at the top of my class without even breaking a sweat. It was (up to that point) the most significant accomplishment of my life. (The first of many.)

And there you have it :-)

But before I move on I just wanted to say a few more words about Airman Juneau (aka "The Grinch"):
Juneau and I had gone through basic training together and were roommates for most of my 8 months at Keesler, and although we had some really good times he was (for the most part)  a serious pain in the ass. He drank too much, had a volatile temper, and was really annoyed that I got better grades than he did. On a couple of occasions he got so torqued off about something that I went out and slept in my car rather than deal with his sh*t. (It was impossible to have a rational discussion with him.)
He did mellow out a bit in October when he fell in love with one of the WAFs in the triangle. She was a redhead with glasses and tattoos (uncommon for a woman in the early 1970s), and was (as near as I could tell) every bit as temperamental as he was (definitely a match made in hell).

I never saw Juneau again after tech school but a few years later I ran into a sergeant who had worked with him at his first assignment and he filled me in on the rest of the story:
Apparently Juneau and the WAF got married before leaving Keesler and ended up being stationed together (I no longer recall what base). Their relationship was a constant "firestorm", and it really hit the fan one night after a huge fight when his wife called the base commander's home phone and woke him up at 3 o-clock in the morning to tell him what a jack-hole Juneau was... I don't remember what the final outcome was (other than divorce), but the story didn't surprise me in the least... Enough said...

And it's finally time to put Keelser AFB in my rear view mirror :-)