Dave wrote on 05/11/18 at 03:03:14:Lancer:
It took me a long time to get to college......and to graduate. I graduated from high school in 1974 and had no intention of going to college, and I had not taken any college prep classes. I was working as a mechanic at a mower shop, then got a job in the A&P meat packing plant, then at a steel mill in Alliance, Ohio that made railroad undercarriages. I finally decided to go to college and started at the University of Akron in a 2 year technical degree in Electronics. After 2 quarters of that I realized I didn't want to spend all my time in a lab environment. I stopped going to Akron at the end of winter and I went back to the mower shop, and the next fall I enrolled at the local branch of Kent State in a 2 year degree in Land Surveying....there were only 5 of us in the class and they dropped the program after 2 quarters. The next fall I enrolled in engineering at the University of Cincinnati....and since I didn't have college prep classes that included calculus or geometry I was way behind. I had to take some 3 hour calculus classes to get me up to speed with the 5 hour engineering level calculus and differential equations math classes. I graduated from college in 1983....9 years after getting out of high school - so I was a late bloomer and I was 27 years old when I graduated from college! It was not a quick and easy path - but it did motivate me to be a hard worker and to be thankful for all the blessings in my life.
Those were kinder/gentler years and my full time tuition at the University of Cincinnati was $275 a quarter when I started and about $600 a quarter when I graduated. I worked as a surveyor on Saturdays and with the City of Fort Thomas on my summer quarters, and in the fall/winter/spring months I worked part time at Burger Chef across the street from the university and a couple blocks from my house (walked to school and work). I was able to pay for all my tuition and living expenses and I didn't get any loans.....and $850 car was a big expense for me.
I was also a bit of a late bloomer when it came to drinking and voting and was long past the legal age before I did either.
Very interesting Dave, I did not know of your journey. It is amazing the way things work out.
I started college out of HS at Parks Colege, in Cahokia IL. in ‘67 in Aerospace Engineering, after which I would go into the Marines for their flight program and then fly commercial afterward making what seemed at the time to be really big money. It was still a bit glamorous back then to be an airline pilot. After almost 2 years and spending a lot of time partying instead of studying I decided I would cut out after the second year and join the Marines in their Marcad program which only required 2 years of college and you could still fly. Then I found out that they were shutting that down and would require a degree, as did the Air Force and the Navy, so my only route to fly rested with the Army Warrant Officer Pilot Program which only required a HS diploma, so I took the tests and physical and joined up. It was a good decision, I really liked flying helicopters and especially the TYPE of flying we did in Beautiful SE Asia... “whatever is required to do the job and get yourself and the aircraft back in basically one piece”. There were a lot of YEEEE HAWWWW moments to be sure. It was the best job I’ve ever had. I miss it.
After active duty I went back to school for the degree and then joined the Navy after my son was diagnosed with Cystic Fibrosis and was told his life span MIGHT be up to 14 years if he was fortunate. The prospect of continuous medical bills for the remainder of his life sent me back to the military for his medical care. Was in 2 of the Navy’s flight programs until being grounded for good due to sinus & ear blocks and then migraines. That was 1979. Total time active Army and Navy and 2stints in different National Guard units with a total service time of 19.5 years when the Guard told me to go home and don’t bother to call, we’ll send you your discharge papers, due to the VA disability for migraine. Just 6 months short of 20 year retirement. But God has provided.
Strange things happen on the way to life.
I’m still not sure that I’ve bloomed yet.
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