How did it turn out

[Tbeck]

I recently stopped at my childhood sweetheart's home to see her parents . I normally stop and chat when I see them out while riding but I haven't gotten much saddle time due to health issues.

Anyhow it got me thinking about how different my life has gone from what I envisioned as a teenager. I was going to marry my childhood sweetheart, raise a large family she wanted, and work as a mechanic after doing a single hitch in the Air Force. None of that happened.
I headed into the Air Force with the intentions of being a mechanic, but I ended up doing something very different. It was an occupation I loved and it wasn't a good one for raising a large family due to extensive and extended deployment. So after three years in the Air Force I broke off the relationship I had. I met my wife shortly after and during our early relationship I was deployed frequently which didn't cause her any issues and we married after 3 year's dating. Still going 45+ year's later so it must have been right.
Shortly after desert shield and storm my back got so bad I couldn't be certified for worldwide deployment and was given a choice to medically retire or take recruiting duty for a few years in hope my back would heal . Needless to say at 18 years service and 36 year's of age I was medically retired.
I returned to an occupation as a HVAC tech, something I had done in my teenage years but after 5 year's, a burst appendix I walked around with for 3 days, my doctor told me I was done with manual labor.
So back to college, a degree in history and education and off to a small rural high school where I was really appreciated by the community and kids. Now I'm retired, a medical mess but retired. However NOTHING I thought about as a teenager came to be.

So how about you all, did it work out as you thought, or vastly different?

Oh and my childhood sweetheart? She married a guy from Guatemala has 8 children and is very happy. They travelled back and forth from the USA to the south doing missionary work for decade's and they recently moved back here to be with family.

[MadCow]

Vastly different...I thought I was going to be a Commercial Airline Pilot...until well...the money. lol

[Cuban]

I don't actually recall having a set plan laid out when I was younger, but I always knew I was a 'fixer' kind of guy, not a builder. I always enjoyed taking things apart to see what made them tick, so I guess it's no surprise that I ended up being a certified auto mechanic. After doing that for a few years I was lucky enough to be able to switch over to motorcycles when one of the guys at the Kawasaki shop was leaving and recommended me to replace him. I jumped on that one.

After a few more years of doing that, I felt the urge to do something a bit more creative, so I started volunteering at the local TV station, and before long I was working there. I did everything there was to do, Camera, Audio, Editing, and ended up as Technical Director. Just about that time computers were starting to enter the workplace, and I kinda gravitated to those things, which I found fascinating. Years go by and I find myself working with a private company specializing in the early days of digital video, creating DVDs and various other video files, mostly for the Canadian education system. More years go by and we're creating video files for companies all over the world. It was all very interesting.

2019 and both my wife and I retired about 2 seconds before the pandemic hit. lol

This weekend we celebrated 50 years of marriage. We have a beautiful daughter, a wonderful son-in-law, and a grandson who works with robotic welders and is to be married to his sweetheart next summer.

I guess life worked out as it should have for me.

No regrets.

[Digger]

Career and marriage wise neither went the way I thought it would initially.

Started out in credit and collections and pursued an accounting degree. Found accounting very boring so switched into operations and ended up managing a warehouse and staff. Enjoyed the hands on much more than pushing a pencil.

Always thought that I would end up like my parents, happily married for 50+ years but the first time around I only made it to 3 years. Thought I would spend the rest of my life single with a dog to keep me company and was not interested in having a relationship and perhaps a little scared of being burned again. But then I met the most amazing woman and I knew she was the one. Within 10 days of meeting her I proposed and we are now on our 44th year of marriage.

[sgtcall]

I grew up in Georgia and after High School had plans to get a degree in Business then go into my Dads business as a Builder and Developer. His companies built houses and office complexes all over north metro Atlanta. But as it happened life got in the way. A real estate crash in the late 80s early 90s put my Dad and most smaller developers out of business. I was in college at the time and money ran out so I joined the Army, just to pay for college of course, and ended up staying in for 27 years. No regrets I liked the Army and loved the Infantry. Met my one and only wife during my first tour in Mannheim, Germany and have a daughter who just graduated from college. After the Army I started working as a operations manager for a defense contractor on Fort Dix running digital exercises. Four years later I called it quits and flat out retired. So now I am 53 and looking for my next adventure.

[MattSunn]

Just kinda drifted through high school life, no particular goals in mind. Pretty poor student although I did enjoy English and History classes. Graduated with the bare minimum of requirements. College didn’t interest me and pickin’s woulda been slim for someone with my grades. Someone told me about a school for medical lab techs, so I gave that a shot. It was like a trade school and I graduated and went to work in the field. Worked at a contract lab for a while then went to work at a lab in a large pharmaceutical company. Got drafted, joined the Navy. The Navy changed my vocation and I wound up working as torpedo bait in engine and boiler rooms. Got out after 6 years and continued to work in the HVAC field in industrial settings. Never did residential or commercial work. I was married during my time in the service, bad idea, didn’t work out. Got married again, 47 years now. Two boys who have direction and are successful in their jobs and life in general.
Retired now. Still have no goals. Bunch of other stuff in there but I didn’t want to turn this into “War and Peace”.

[Tbeck]

So far the replies are interesting. Just as I thought but interesting just the same. Everyone starts with some idea of a plan but where it goes from there is quite novel.

For those who have responded, thank you for the input. I always find any type of history unique and interesting.

[HARRIS]

T, DIDN'T U SPEND TIME WORKING IN A GATED COMMUNITY ?

[Tbeck]

Harris, no I've never worked in a gated community. We've only recently started seeing gated communities in my area.

[sgtcall]

T, DIDN'T U SPEND TIME WORKING IN A GATED COMMUNITY ?

Harris, you do know there is a caps lock key on your keyboard for a reason, right? Or are you just yelling at us all the time?

[Herb]

T, DIDN'T U SPEND TIME WORKING IN A GATED COMMUNITY ?

Harris, you do know there is a caps lock key on your keyboard for a reason, right? Or are you just yelling at us all the time?

It's too much work to toggle it back and forth.

[Tbeck]

Sgt, that's always been HARRIS m.o..... He ALWAYS caps everything

[hillsy v2]

Sgt, that's always been HARRIS m.o..... He ALWAYS caps everything

Seen a few posts of his recently where they have been in lower case - must have slipped out of character for a while....

[HARRIS]

DOES UPPER CASE MAKE IT TOooo HARD TO READ AND UNDERSTAND ...

[Herb]

DOES UPPER CASE MAKE IT TOooo HARD TO READ AND UNDERSTAND ...

no more than all lower case does.

[sgtcall]

DOES UPPER CASE MAKE IT TOooo HARD TO READ AND UNDERSTAND ...

No but it reminds me of the old all cap order format the military used to use.

[Tbeck]

That was the pits

[Suzuki Johnny]

Been watching this thread since Tbeck posted it and I thought more members would respond in telling their stories of their young lives and what transpired. But with the current responses that are posted........ I can relate to.
So in that regard here is mine in a nutshell, mundane as it is.


I struggled through high school with less than average grades, my parents thought I was lazy, but I did devote a lot of my free time at home during required homework but for some reason(s) I couldn't retain what I had studied when weekly tests came around. The schools that I attended were all Catholic schools, elementary taught by Convent Sisters mostly and during high school it was the Christian Brothers, and they were very strict with their brand of education, it was either their way or the highway which eventually turned me around to their way of thinking.
My parents would not let me participate in any contact sports, students could only participate with parents' signatures, and I was into sports, so devoted my time to Track and Field and Tennis.
In those activities our opponents were Christian schools in nearby cities and towns... One year we traveled to a nearby city to participate in a high school tennis match. I was ranked third in our team of players and during that match, I bested my opponent and later found out he was their current city champion.
My running accomplishments would later help me get through boot camp at Fort Polk, La, as only one other troop could best me in our twice daily 2 mile runs.
Met my first wife when she was 15 years old, we dated off and on for three years, during that time I paid my dues to Uncle Sam and after my release we married, that marriage lasted 19 years and had two sons with her and for that I'm thankful for...and that's that.
My Dad got me a job in construction in the mid 1960's and after passing an entrance test ( which surprised me with no studying beforehand) I completed a 4 year apprenticeship program with the local union, finished the course ahead of schedule and enrolled in their welding program, best thing that ever happened to me. Later I took a job with a local Sheet Metal company whose owner was a good friend of my dad's and it worked out for the better, primarily as a welder and I retired from that occupation after 40 years.
In 1988 a good friend of mine introduced me to my present Sweet Wife and we're going on 37 years together, 31 years married with no kids.
Worked for Boeing Aircraft on a KC-135 refueler contract for a few years, first in their sheet metal department and later in production, one of the two best jobs I've ever enjoyed, great benefits..
Retired in 2005 at age 62 and went to work selling and delivering motorcycles for a local Suzuki / Kawasaki dealership who sold bikes and 4 wheelers.., the other Best Job!!
At first I was working part time on every other Friday and Saturdays then every weekend when one of the salespersons had back surgery I took his place,
I made some darn good money practically doing nothing, my best month I sold 13 units, ten motorcycles and three four wheelers, I knew motorcycles so that helped out. Even bought a brand new 2002 1400 Suzuki Intruder from him in 2004 for$7,500.00. The only time in the 60+ years I've been riding that it wasn't a Harley.
Joined the local HOG Chapter in 2005 and I've served as an active officer ever year since, with a two-year stint as the Director.

If I had to do it all over again, I would surely do things differently but I'm not complaining, I'm 80 now and I have two supportive sons and daughters in laws with successful careers and two beautiful grandkids.
Life is Good in Cajun Land!

[Tbeck]

SJ, you touched on something that I failed to address with my opening post.
I wouldn't change a thing either.
Sure many of the events in my life were decided for me by necessity but at the end of the day the final decisions rested with me. Glad I made them as I did.

[Cuban]

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