A Veteran's Journey

Trivia Questions (Answers @ end)

1. Who said, “I fear the man who drinks only water and wakes up this morning, remembering what the rest of us said last night.”?
2. In what TV show (and who said it) did we hear, “If ‘less is more,’ then just think how much more ‘more’ would be!”?
3. In what song (and who sang it) did we hear the following?
   We all have pain
   We all have sorrow
   But if we are wise
   We know that there’s always tomorrow.

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In one of my earliest blogs, I wrote about letter writing, asking the question, “Does anybody write letters anymore?”

Back in the ‘70s (I’m a “child of the ‘60s”), there was no e-mail and there was no Internet. In fact, the fax machine (thermal printing) was just beginning to make its way into the business world.

And while we’re at it, there were no iPhones or Droids or even portable telephones. Everything back then was still a landline. And yes, Superman could still find a payphone booth…

And while I’m at it, did you know back in 1973, it cost about $20 in quarters to make a 3-minute phone call from NAS Agana, Guam to Gainesville, Florida to wish my mom & dad, Merry Christmas?

That was a lifetime ago.

Since those medieval times, we’ve experienced generations of newly developed technologies.

Technology Changes

For me, I’m fortunate to have grown up in this new technology age and participate in it. My education background is an electronics engineer (I have both a Bachelor’s and a Master’s Degree in Engineering). I came into the industry in the early 80s, when mainframe computers were the standard—before PCs and Macs—and we programmed in “real” programming languages, like FORTRAN, Cobal, and PL/M. A little Pascal and C+ were added in during those marvelous heydays.

Now… I can’t begin to even talk intelligently about programming languages.

Java? Back in my day, it was a good cup of strong, black Navy coffee. Python? That’s a rather large snake, usually found down south in a “country” called Miami. Rust? We all know that’s what needle guns are for, right?

SQL, HTML, CSS, Perl, and so many others I can’t even begin to remember, much less pronounce.

But I digress.

Does anyone write letters anymore?

I mean, with e-mail and instant messaging and every social media platform messengeritis, you can send a text message with photos and it’s instantly delivered. Why would anyone want to write a letter when you have all this instantaneous technology at your fingertips?

I agree, albeit reluctantly, texting and email are great communicators nowadays; that is, if used properly. And as I mentioned in my earlier blog post, for those away from home and aboard a ship or overseas with expectant wives, getting a text, email, photo, or video with a baby within minutes of being born sure beats the heck outta waiting several weeks for the postal mail to catch up with the ship.

But back in my time, my mom used to write weekly letters, sometimes 8 to 10 pages on a legal pad (my dad was a lawyer), keeping me up to date on what was happening at home with her & my dad, my one and only sister, Anne, who was away in college, and our family and friends. I wish I’d kept those letters. But when you’re aboard a US Navy ship (USS Kitty Hawk, CV-63, an aircraft carrier), you only have so much storage room in your locker. There just wasn’t enough room. So, after a few letters, I had to toss them to make room for others.

Fortunately, my mom kept all the letters I wrote home during my four years (actually, Three Years, 11 Months & 29 Days, But Who’s Counting?) and I still have them. Periodically, I’ll pull them out and read a few. Keep in mind, these letters were written when I was 18-21 years old and I could still read my own handwriting. I’m 68 now and while I can read THAT handwriting from 45+ years ago, I can barely read my own handwriting now.

Am I the only one here with that problem?

You can’t smell an email

I didn’t meet my wife, Becky, until I was out of the Navy and 26 years old. If you must know, we met in karate class. Our joke is, “she threw me, and I fell for her.”

But during my time in the Navy, I was 18 when I joined and had just completed a year of college at Florida State University. Well, “completed” is a relative term. Actually, I flunked out… “Dismissed for academic reasons.” I think I’ve still got that “letter” somewhere around here.

My point is that even at 18 years old, I’d made a lot of friends at college, many of them female. Back then, it was somewhat “romantic” to write a serviceman who was stationed overseas. And, many times, my lady friends would dab a bit of perfume on the letter. Even though it took several weeks for the mail to reach me (either in Guam or aboard Kitty Hawk), the perfume still lingered.

While texting and email are a certainly a quicker way to communicate, you can’t smell an email.

Grandchildren

I don’t know if it’s true or not, but I’ve heard that schools no longer teach cursive writing. I think I understand why. In my mind, it’s a way for us seniors to write “code” to keep information secret from upcoming generations.

Am I the only one with that line of thinking?

No, I get it… it’s much faster to use keyboards and tablets, so why bother with cursive writing.

However, I’m a little leery to send my grandsons an email. They’re a bit too young and while I’d love to communicate with them more often, I find that if I can muster up the energy to periodically write them a letter, then I can still stay in touch with them.

I’ve also learned something else. My cursive handwriting is so bad now that I make doctor’s handwriting look like a calligraphic prize. So instead, I print my letters. It takes a little longer, but I find that I can actually read what I wrote.

I also realize that I won’t be around forever. I mentioned I still have the letters I wrote home during my time in the Navy (’73-77). I also have my father’s letters he wrote home from the time he first went to The Citadel for college, through the end of the war. I keep them in transparent plastic sleeves, and they are still in great shape.

I hope my grandkids will cherish them (both mine and my dad’s) long after I’m gone. I can honestly say that they’re much more fun to read than my emails and texts.

Until we meet again,
Andy Adkins

Answers

1. Ben Franklin.
2. Frasier Crane.
3. Lean on Me (1972), Bill Withers; written by Bill Withers.

Previous Posts Mentioned in this Blog:

• #11—Letters From Home
• #53—You Always Remember Your First…
• #25—“Livin’ the Dream:” Life Aboard an Aircraft Carrier
• #99—Dismissed for Academic Reasons…

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Andy Adkins is a US Navy veteran (’73-77) and the author of several books. His newest novel, NEVER FORGET, is the story of A Vietnam Veteran’s Journey for Redemption & Forgiveness. NEVER FORGET is FREE (eBook, PDF) for all veterans and their families. Download your FREE copy HERE.

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