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So, this is where I'm supposed to get all reflective about what I've done with my sterling personality, my brilliant mind, and my invincible body since we last met. And, like any purveyor of insurance, real estate or used cars, I'd tell you that everything has been just rosy: that life has been one continuous joy.
But, among my careers, I've not sold real estate, insurance, or used cars. Life has been, in the main, good to me. As my depression-era mother used to remind me, I've never “missed a meal.” I'd no idea what she was talking about at the time. Only recently did I realize that she was speaking from experience: she'd missed meals in her youth because there was neither food in the house nor money to purchase it. Our lives in post-WWII US have definitely been different than those of our parents.
The highlights: Developed my math and science skills at Brigham Young and the University of Utah and took 2 years out for the obligatory proselytizing trek. (Mine was in Hawaii – pure luck of the draw.) And a high-enough draft number kept me from the horrors of Vietnam. Then became a lawyer. Moved to Washington, D.C. to work for the government, convinced a woman there that I was a decent marriage prospect (Yes, even I finally developed the courage to ask someone for a date.), and stayed for about the next 40 years. We raised our sons there.
Along the way, I learned a few things. Oh, I got reasonably competent at environmental law – something that combined my science skills and legal training. But that is what I did to keep food on the table: it never became a vocation (in the true sense of the word). My career was more a slog than a sprint. Government work, corporate law, government contracting, private law firms. Nothing spectacular. Too many job changes – thank heavens for 401(k) portability!
Concentrating on the requirements of an engineering undergraduate curriculum, and proceeding through law school, I somehow missed the advantages of a liberal arts education. I've discovered that I enjoy history, although high school was my last formal history course. And I've learned to read for pleasure. Fiction & biographies, mostly. I've not tried my hand at writing prose, but the muse occasionally strikes for poetry.
Raised a Goldwater republican, I've migrated to the left (Latin: sinister) side of the political spectrum. (Hence, I didn't vote for Trump. Those of you who did – I hope that your consciences will be forgiving.) I've found that I enjoy helping people, and so volunteer with the Coast Guard, am president of our homeowners' association, and otherwise hope to continue to be a good citizen in my dotage.
I still have my health, and my height. I enjoy hiking and backpacking and can report cross-England, and circumnavigation of Mont Blanc treks. I'll keep doing as much of that as I can schedule. For fitness sake, if nothing else.
