A Veteran's Journey

Trivia Questions (Answers @ end)

1. In what movie (and who said it) did we hear, “Free your mind.”?
2. Who said, “Success is not final, failure is not fatal. It is the courage to continue that counts.”?
3. In what song (and who sang it) did we hear the following lyrics?
   I… Can turn the gray sky blue
   I can make it rain, whenever I want it to, oh I
   I can build a castle from a single grain of sand
   I can make a ship sail, on dry land tell ’em yeah
   But my life is incomplete and I’m so blue

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I’m writing this blog post on Friday, March 20, 2020.

When I started “A Veteran’s Journey” blog last November (Veteran’s Day), I had an initial list of about 30-40 blog “topics.” That list is now up to about 60. I’ve found that when I write about one thing, something else may pop into my mind. And so, the list continues to grow.

I can think of all kinds of things to write about now regarding this current COVID-19 crisis. But, that’s already “well-covered” all over social media and the news, so I won’t add to it. Instead…

… if I can continue to stick to a routine that helps me stay in the “normal” zone (whatever that is), then that’s what I’m going to do. That, of course, may change in the not-too-distant future, but for now, here’s this week’s blog. I hope it brings you a smile and that it helps you through your day.

The year 2000 was sooooo far away

Back in the 70s when I was in the Navy (’73-77), I was still a “kid,” like most of us were when we first joined the military. It doesn’t matter if you were Navy, Army, Marine, Air Force, or Coast Guard. We were all young when we joined.

An 18-year-old kid with a lot of responsibility. That’s how old I was when I reported to my first duty station, NAS Agana, Guam. I was an ABH (Aviation Boatswain’s Mate-Handler) and assigned to the Crash & Rescue crew. I’d been through six weeks of training, had literally walked through fires in my training (yes, I was wearing an asbestos fire suit), and knew what to do and when to do it. Didn’t we all?

Our job in Guam was to be on call if a plane crashed or had an emergency. We had five firetrucks and one tanker, if memory serves. Our motto was, and still is, “You light ’em, we fight ’em.”

We were not only the firefighters for Navy aircraft, but we were also on call for civilian aircraft, since commercial jet liners used the same runways; the civilian airport was on the other side of the landing field. We probably had as many emergency calls for civilian aircraft as Navy aircraft; thankfully, no crashes while I was stationed in Guam.

In Guam, we ran two shifts: “Port” and “Starboard.” I was Port. All that meant was that I worked the first 24-hour shift (yes, that was supposed to be a joke)… we worked 24 hours on and 24 hours off. And, I might add, we did that for 15 straight months.

Initially, our shift change was at noon. However, not long after I arrived, the Division Chief (Bos’n Joye) changed it to 0800. That was a much better time to change shifts and gave us a full day for fun in the sun. After all, we were on a paradise island.

When I was 18 years old in 1973, I didn’t think much about the year 2000. I don’t think any of us did. It was “ages” away. I do remember talking with a good friend of mine, Glenn Law, about how old we’d be in the year 2000. I figured since I was born in 1954, I’d be 45 years old. Holy Toledo, that (back then) was old.

Of course, now at the age of 65, my thinking has somewhat “shifted.”

Glenn, BTW was with me both in Guam and aboard USS Kitty Hawk. He stayed in for a Navy career and (I believe) is living in the Oakland area. I was only in for four years—that’s all I wanted to do at the time. Those were great years, though… many great memories.

Have You Ever Heard the Term…

Several years ago when my wife, Becky, and I were approaching retirement age, we heard the term, “The Go-Go, the Slow-Go, and the No-Go” Years. Neither of us had heard that before, but when you’re planning for retirement, it’s one of those things that you need to figure into your financial calculations.

From what I understand, the “Go-Go” Years typically occur when you first retire (for us, age 65). Some people do a lot of traveling, a lot of socializing, and a lot of visiting. That period of time usually lasts for about ten years (or that’s what the financial planners tell you). Of course, it’s very subjective, depending on health, finances, and your current situation.

After that, you hit the “Slow-Go” Years, where you still travel, but perhaps not as frequent and not as far. I get it, but I also know that many of us may not think in these “exact” terms. That’s okay, just stay with me here.

The last “phase,” if you want to call it that, is the “No-Go” Years. That’s when you’re typically in a retirement community, assisted living, or somewhere similar. You simply don’t travel much, primarily because you don’t move as well as you used to, or you need some assistance. It could be any number of situations. Again, this is all very subjective.

So, there you have it in a nutshell: the Go-Go, Slow-Go, and No-Go Years. At least, as it was explained to me.

But Wait, There’s More!

Now that I’ve got you thinking…

I have a 91-year-old neighbor down the street who lives alone (his kids are out of state). He still travels (alone) to visit them, but I’ve also seen him working out in his yard, mowing, raking, pruning crape myrtles and hedges, and… on a ladder. I also see him at the local YMCA on the weight floor. He ain’t in the “Slow-Go” or the “No-Go” Years yet.

Yeah, “be like Bill.”

Becky’s mother is 99 years old. She lives close to us in a retirement community – one that progresses from a house/villa/apartment to assisted living to skilled nursing. She and her husband moved into a house there years ago, knowing that was the plan: Go-Go, Slow-Go, and No-Go.

She’s in the “No-Go” Years, but is still pretty peppy, still tries to write notes to family members, and relives a lot of old memories.

When she and her younger 90-year-old sister (who still travels alone from Tennessee) get together and start to reminisce, well… I just have to chuckle to myself when I hear some of the things these young ladies did when they were kids.

No, it wasn’t the, “Here, hold my beer” kind of stuff, but for a couple of girls who grew up in the Boston area in the 20s & 30s, well, let’s just say I was shocked more than once.

Yeah, “be like Marion and Doris.”

“Unraveling” the Later Years

I’ve heard that getting old can be likened to unwinding a roll of toilet paper. This may not be an appropriate analogy given our current “TP” state of mind, but stay with me here. This is good.

When you get that fresh new roll of toilet paper and start to use it, it comes off the roll rather slowly. But, as you get closer to the end of the roll, it appears to unwind rather quickly, wouldn’t you say?

I’m not sure how that applies to getting older, but I think it’s a relativity thing. But for me, it does seem that the older I get, the faster life seems to pass me by.

There’s a great line in the movie, Deep Blue Sea (1999). “Preacher” (LL Cool J) says to “Tom Scoggins,” (Michael Rapaport) a Harvard PhD: “Einstein’s theory of relativity. Grab a hold of a hot pan, a second can seem like an hour. Put your hands on a hot woman, an hour can seem like a second. It’s all relative.”

Stay healthy, stay safe, and “wash your hands.” We will get through this.

Until we meet again,
Andy

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. Download your FREE copy HERE.

Previous blogs mentioned in this post:

• #10 – You Light ’em, We Fight ’em

Answers:

1. The Matrix (1999), Neo (Keanu Reeves).
2. Winston Churchill
3. I Can’t Get Next To You (1969), The Temptations; written by Barrett Strong, Norman Whitfield, Norman J. Whitfield.