After many long years in high school I joined the Marines in 1971 in order to make the world a better place. I was given a warm welcome when I arrived at Parris Island and life as a Marine began. (see me on the parade deck 25 years later. I still owed them 5,465 push-ups) I was very interested in Force Recon and becoming a Recon Ranger; given my aptitude (or lack of it) So, I requested Recon and was sent to aviation school. I became a flight engineer on KC-130's, spending the majority of my time in SEA. They said not to tell anyone at home that I was in some place called Cambodia, but it didn't make much sense to me. Nor did much else for that matter. I knew America was behind me, and that's all that mattered.
During my stay on Okinawa, I resumed training in the martial arts and eventually worked my way up to doorkeeper.
I eventually moved on to kick boxing and started to fight professionally.
I left the Corps in 1975, a much better person, much like Voltaire's Candide. After a lot of thought and planning one day, I decided to move to Bangkok, Thailand: life would never be the same for me. I remained there for a few years, teaching English and teaching myself to read, write and speak Thai, along with some Laos. I also married my beautiful wife of 20 years.
We came back to the states, and I returned to the only thing I knew, the Marines. They were very generous and let us stay in sub standard housing that was built prior to WWI. A son was born and life was getting more defined (constrained?). So for the next two years, I taught the martial arts, hunted and did the military thing again. Then, sensing that Cambodia was no longer a threat to America or our sense of democracy, I left.
I decided to go to school,to learn how to think logically and sensibly. So in the course of the next two years, I received my BA in Linguistics; had another son; secured my present job; fought for the middleweight title in Japan and then hung up the gloves. I then started law school. But then one day, I realized what I was doing was wrong and decided to go straight.
During my life, I've had several bikes, Harley's, and found in them the meaning of life.
I now work as a logistician for the Dept of Defense, managing foreign military sales of combat equipment.
In the case of Thailand, I provide translations during contract negotiations and technical support for equipment during deliveries. I still teach the martial arts on occasion and work out 7 days a week. I ride my beloved FXST-X every chance I get and dream of some day getting out of the deep freeze of Michigan and moving to a more humane and habitable climate. But until then, I'll continue to combine sound judgment with unaffected simplicity to survive.