I enlisted in the navy in September 1963. Joyce and I were married in January of 1964. We rented a studio apartment within walking distance of the naval training center in Millington, Tn. That studio apartment cost $40 a month rent. Now in 2024 a studio will run around $800 a month. My navy pay was $74 per month or $888 per year.
The summer I enlisted I had bought a good used car for $50. Mom told me I had to get rid of the car before I left for the navy. I sold the car back to the man I bought it from for $100. These days, any car that runs would cost over $1000 and for that money, I wouldn’t rely on the car to last long.
We didn’t have a phone when we lived in Millington. We didn’t have enough money to afford a phone. Phones back then had a rotary dial on them. Now phones are less expensive than ever before, unless you have a fancy phone with a high cost plan. Good old AT&T ripped customers in every possible way under the sun back then.
During my navy years I went to more electronics training schools than I can count. I was always having to learn more to keep up with progress and keep advancing up the ladder. After the navy and for the rest of my working life I had to constantly learn more to repair or to diagnose failures in electronic equipment. Now nearly, if not all, the things I learned are of no value. Technology has skyrocketed and left me in the distant past.
Now at 79 years of age, I’ve seen a lot, experienced a lot, done things no one would want to or should do, been in places no one would want to be. So what does this all add up to? It adds up to 6 feet tall and 139 pounds. I’ve had the best of times in my life; I’ve had the worst of times. I married the most wonderful woman I ever knew. I lost her to an aneurysm in her brain two and a half years ago. Life seems to be getting more difficult than it was in the past. Physically I live alone, but in my mind I have a wealth of memories going back to my childhood.
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