Turning Points
Life is a journey. It has a beginning and it has an end. All along its path are events, places
and people who are turning points. Here, I relate some of these turning points in my own
journey. Hopefully, the stories will illuminate and maybe entertain some of those who care
enough to read.
Life is a journey. It has a beginning and it has an end. All along its path are events, places
and people who are turning points. Here, I relate some of these turning points in my own
journey. Hopefully, the stories will illuminate and maybe entertain some of those who care
enough to read.
| Anchors Aweigh? August 25, 2006 |
four years following college. In return you received a scholarship with full tuition, books, room and
board at the college of your choice plus a monthly paycheck.
You attended regular college classes. But on Wednesdays, you would wear a navy uniform at
school and attend Navy science class in the Navy armory on campus. Your summers would be a
three month tour of duty on a Navy vessel as a midshipman. Wow! When you were graduated, you
received a commission as an ensign, equivalent to your peers in the U. S. Naval Academy at
Annapolis. This was the path Hugh Louis was on and he eventually completed a successful Navy
career retiring with the rank of Captain. For the same success all I had to do was apply, so I did.
Exhilarated by a passing grade on the written test, I worried a lot about the physical exam because
I knew that my glasses were a "no-no" in that era’s navy. Although those rules have since been
relaxed, my nearsightedness in 1958 loomed as a serious obstacle to the dream of a lifetime.
When the day arrived for the physical, I stood in the line with many others for the various
inspections and checks by doctors. As my turn neared at the vision testing station, I worried at not
even being able to see the chart, to say nothing of the letters on it. Just before my turn came, the
doctor excused himself momentarily to the other room. I snatched my glasses out of my pocket,
glared at the chart and instantly memorized it just as the doctor returned. Was I desperate! When it
was my turn, I faked a hesitant recall of the letters and luckily was passed on to the next station.
What a relief, I made it!
The next station was color perception. They used an album-like book of large numbers and letters
formed from a kaleidoscope of colors. If you had problems distinguishing the dominant color of
dots forming a character, you basically “couldn’t see” it. Out of the required minimum of 18, I got
17 correct. What a fall I took! I had no idea! I was out. I was rejected. My college and naval career
was over before it started.
The disappointment was profound to say the least as I found myself in a few days looking for a job
instead of shopping for clothes for college. Eventually, with my dad’s help, I landed a laborer’s job
at Brown & Williamson Tobacco Company in Louisville, maker of Kools, Viceroy, and numerous
other cigarette brands. That saga is a story for another day.
But my life was put on a different path and I headed in a different direction. I never forgot the letters
on that eye chart and they have become my password for a zillion computer logins ever since.
board at the college of your choice plus a monthly paycheck.
You attended regular college classes. But on Wednesdays, you would wear a navy uniform at
school and attend Navy science class in the Navy armory on campus. Your summers would be a
three month tour of duty on a Navy vessel as a midshipman. Wow! When you were graduated, you
received a commission as an ensign, equivalent to your peers in the U. S. Naval Academy at
Annapolis. This was the path Hugh Louis was on and he eventually completed a successful Navy
career retiring with the rank of Captain. For the same success all I had to do was apply, so I did.
Exhilarated by a passing grade on the written test, I worried a lot about the physical exam because
I knew that my glasses were a "no-no" in that era’s navy. Although those rules have since been
relaxed, my nearsightedness in 1958 loomed as a serious obstacle to the dream of a lifetime.
When the day arrived for the physical, I stood in the line with many others for the various
inspections and checks by doctors. As my turn neared at the vision testing station, I worried at not
even being able to see the chart, to say nothing of the letters on it. Just before my turn came, the
doctor excused himself momentarily to the other room. I snatched my glasses out of my pocket,
glared at the chart and instantly memorized it just as the doctor returned. Was I desperate! When it
was my turn, I faked a hesitant recall of the letters and luckily was passed on to the next station.
What a relief, I made it!
The next station was color perception. They used an album-like book of large numbers and letters
formed from a kaleidoscope of colors. If you had problems distinguishing the dominant color of
dots forming a character, you basically “couldn’t see” it. Out of the required minimum of 18, I got
17 correct. What a fall I took! I had no idea! I was out. I was rejected. My college and naval career
was over before it started.
The disappointment was profound to say the least as I found myself in a few days looking for a job
instead of shopping for clothes for college. Eventually, with my dad’s help, I landed a laborer’s job
at Brown & Williamson Tobacco Company in Louisville, maker of Kools, Viceroy, and numerous
other cigarette brands. That saga is a story for another day.
But my life was put on a different path and I headed in a different direction. I never forgot the letters
on that eye chart and they have become my password for a zillion computer logins ever since.
___________________________________________________
| And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. (Romans 8:28 KJV) |
For a kid in a family of ten with no prospects of
college, a four year full scholarship plus monthly
stipend to boot, was a pretty attractive payoff for
committing to spend four years in the Navy. So I
followed my older brother, Hugh Louis’s footsteps
and applied for a Navy ROTC scholarship when I
was a senior in high school. The process involved
a relatively tough written test followed by a physical
exam. Success meant that you would make a
commitment to serve as an officer in the Navy for
college, a four year full scholarship plus monthly
stipend to boot, was a pretty attractive payoff for
committing to spend four years in the Navy. So I
followed my older brother, Hugh Louis’s footsteps
and applied for a Navy ROTC scholarship when I
was a senior in high school. The process involved
a relatively tough written test followed by a physical
exam. Success meant that you would make a
commitment to serve as an officer in the Navy for
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