I am, most importantly, a father and grand father. I've also been a husband and a sailor, a veteran of the US Navy. I am a retired business owner. I owned and operated a plastics forming machine building company. I am a dog lover. I've had three dachshunds, two German Shepards, two rottweilers, one mutt and a Golden Retriever. I've always maintained that the best dog that you ever had is the one you currently own or your last dog.
I love all things transportation. I love cars. I've had sports cars, cars with big engines and cars with turbochargers. Convertibles and cars with single overhead an double overhead cams. If I had the money and garage space, I would keep them all.
Motorcycles, I've had two Ducatis, a two Hondas, a Yamaha, a Suzuki, a Triumph Bonneville and saving the best for last two different Norton 750 Commandos. Far and away the Nortons were the best of all.
I love to travel on trains. I first went to Navy bootcamp at Great Lakes Naval Station in 1959 all by myself on a New York Central train. A Pennsylvania Railroad train took me to the receiving station in Philadelphia in 1960. I had a roomette and I loved the trip. I've taken Greyhound and Trailways buses on long distance trips. The buses were not as exciting as the trains, but I was still on the road.
I love airplanes. I first flew in an airplane in a DC3. On the same day, we flew from Norfolk to Washington DC in a turboprop Vickers Viscount. DC to Baltimore on a DC6 and lastly to LAX in a DC8 jet. I arrived in LA on a February evening when it was literally freezing back East wearing my woolen Dress Blues with a woolen a Navy issue crew neck sweater and a Peacoat. I stepped off of the airplane, pre jetway days, at eight PM and it was 77 degrees outside. My first thought was, I want to live here. My second thought was I am going to live here. Since those days, I've flown in 707s, DC10s, L1011s, 747s, 757s, 767s and my favorite a VC10 back from Australia.
I took most of my flight instruction in a Piper tomahawk.I've flown a Ford Trimotor a lot. I could go on all day but modesty prevents.
Ships and boats: I was stationed on an aircraftcarrier USS Constellation and a destroyer USS Waddell. I didn't much care for the birdfarm but the tincan was all I was hoping for. Waddell was a DDG, a guided missile destroyer. I first saw her at Todd Shipyard in Seattle in February of 1964. I was on, in Navy parlance, new construction. We commissioned her at Bremerton Naval Shipyard in August of 1964 making all of us in attendance, Plank Owners. We'll save that for another tale. In 1968, I was discharged out of the Navy at Seal Beach and began my civilian life. As for boats, I sailed on Lake Greenwood in southern Indiana while stationed at NAD, Naval Ammunition Depot, Crane Indiana. While in Seattle, I rented twenty two foot sailboats on Lake Washington. While stranded at Midway Island, I circumnavigated the island in a 18 footer that I checked out from special services. Later on, as a civilian, I had a twenty two foot Venture which was a spiffy little trailerable boat that we also used as a camping trailer. Next I had a 28 foot Columbia that I lived aboard on in Marina Del Rey and later Redondo Beach. We bought a brand new Yankee Clipper a 41 foot Taiwan built Bill Garden ketch. After that I bought a 38 foot Downeaster Schooner which I lived on in Alametos Bay for the thirty five years that I had her. Now I live on a forty foot Choey Lee Trawler also in Alametos Bay and have a thirty foot Newport sailboat which we keep in Wilmington. I just couldn't kick the sailing habit after fifty seven years.
Ships and boats: I was stationed on an aircraftcarrier USS Constellation and a destroyer USS Waddell. I didn't much care for the birdfarm but the tincan was all I was hoping for. Waddell was a DDG, a guided missile destroyer. I first saw her at Todd Shipyard in Seattle in February of 1964. I was on, in Navy parlance, new construction. We commissioned her at Bremerton Naval Shipyard in August of 1964 making all of us in attendance, Plank Owners. We'll save that for another tale. In 1968, I was discharged out of the Navy at Seal Beach and began my civilian life. As for boats, I sailed on Lake Greenwood in southern Indiana while stationed at NAD, Naval Ammunition Depot, Crane Indiana. While in Seattle, I rented twenty two foot sailboats on Lake Washington. While stranded at Midway Island, I circumnavigated the island in a 18 footer that I checked out from special services. Later on, as a civilian, I had a twenty two foot Venture which was a spiffy little trailerable boat that we also used as a camping trailer. Next I had a 28 foot Columbia that I lived aboard on in Marina Del Rey and later Redondo Beach. We bought a brand new Yankee Clipper a 41 foot Taiwan built Bill Garden ketch. After that I bought a 38 foot Downeaster Schooner which I lived on in Alametos Bay for the thirty five years that I had her. Now I live on a forty foot Choey Lee Trawler also in Alametos Bay and have a thirty foot Newport sailboat which we keep in Wilmington. I just couldn't kick the sailing habit after fifty seven years.
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