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What did I used to do?

Me in a suit, back in the 9th grade. Wasn't I cute? :) And look, I had hair!

Prior to this current incarnation, I was in the Navy for 8 1/2 years. I dropped out of high school when I was 17 to join the Navy, just 3 days before they stopped taking non-graduates. While in the Navy I was a Mess Management Specialist (MS), which is a fancy way of saying cook. After boot camp, I went to the MS 'A' school in San Diego (basic training for cooks), then Basic Enlisted Submarine School in Groton, CT.

After graduating from Sub School I reported to my first command, the Pre Commissioning Unit for the USS Alabama (SSBN 731-Gold). You may remember hearing about that ship in the movie Crimson Tide with Gene Hackman and Denzel Washington. We had some fun in the shipyards for a few months until the boat was commissioned in May 1995 then moved to our permanent home port in Bangor, Washington.

For an idea of what it's like to live on a submarine for 3 months at a time, check out How to Simulate Submarine Life at Home. This hold over from my Navy days is a humorous look at the lives led by submarine sailors.

This will give you some idea of just how tight things are on a submarine. This is the serving line on the mess decks where I worked. That guy peeking over the shelf there is Dan Maloney. You've heard of or seen the Navy Memorial in DC? He's the one that modelled for the statue of the sailor in the navy jacket.
	And here is me, reenlisting on the USS Arizona Memorial in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.

During my time on the Alabama I: Went through the Panama Canal, was on board for a test firing of a Trident Missile, became a Shellback, was the first junior enlisted man on the Alabama Gold to qualify for his dolphins, spent the majority of my time working as Night Baker and made way too many patrols at sea. I also re-enlisted for a second term and got a re-enlistment bonus, along with some more schools in San Diego and a promotion to Second Class (E5).

After 2 1/2 years on the Alabama I did what is known as Cross-decking - I transferred to the USS Henry M. Jackson (SSBN 730-Blue), coincidentally getting myself 6 straight months of off-crew (missile subs, if you didn't know, have 2 crews, Blue and Gold. Each crew takes the boat out for approximately 90 days, while the other crew occupies an office on shore and does training).

While I was on the Jackson I took some time and made a camping trip up in the Olympic National Forrest. Here is a sunset shot I took while up on Hurricane Ridge.
	Here is me with a friend, Sharon. We were best man and bridesmaid at my best friend's wedding while I was on the Jackson.

While I was on the Jackson I spent most of my time, again, as Night Baker, and took over a majority of the administrative duties for my division. After a very long time of working 22 hour days trying to make up for a Leading Petty Officer who didn't know his job I got too ill to perform my duties anymore, and was transferred to Naval Station San Diego after they disqualified me for submarine duty. The disqualification had more to do with the fact that I had the balls to question the fact that my seniors didn't know their jobs and were putting the sailors' lives at risk than anything else, and was my first introduction to the wonderful world of military bureaucracy.

Moving to San Diego proved to be fortuitous. While working for the Bachelor Quarters there my administrative skills lead to a job working with the BQ computer system, and ultimately resulted in my receiving a Navy Achievement Medal and helping our command win the 1993 Admiral Zumwalt Award for Excellence in Bachelor Quarters Management. It was there that I met the man who is now my boss, since he came onto the base to install a telephone system for the barracks, and offered me a job just as I was due to get out of the Navy.

And that brings us up to date. Gee, aren't you glad you read through all that? :-)

My Family

I come from a pretty large family. Besides my Mother and Father, there is Denise (6 years older), Pam (4 years older), Chris (3 years older), Jenny (4 years younger and my half-sister Amy (9 years younger). There is also my step-brother, Sid, who was about 12 years older than me (I honestly can't remember, we weren't very close). He passed on earlier this year from cancer.

I guess you could say that my family isn't very lucky with marriage. Only one of my siblings who hasn't been married (Chris). All the others were married and now divorced (myself included). Only Denise has remarried, although Pam has found Mr. Right and plans on getting married very soon. Both my parents got remarried after their divorce, although neither one of them currently lives with their new spouses.

Here's my Stepmom, Dad and my sister Jenny	And here is me (there's that sailor suit again), Jenny and Dad

The entire family, except for my stepmom, lives in the southeastern Louisiana/southwestern Mississippi area now. We aren't very close, but we chat on the phone occassionally, and my sister Pam's oldest kid, Michael, came out here to live with me for about 9 months last year.

The EX

Like many gay men in the military, I made the mistake of getting married to a woman, mostly for the wrong reasons. Had things worked out better, I would have stayed married to Wendi, though, regardless of what my personal preferences were/are. However, there were other problems that had nothing to do with sexual preferences that resulted in our getting divorced. We actually separated after 5 years of marriage, but didn't end up getting completely divorced until a year and a half after that.

For those of you who may be wondering, yes, I really did love Wendi. I was completely devoted to her, and was completely dedicated to making our marriage work. In fact, we were quite happy for the first 3 years or so. Like many couples though, we got married too young, too fast. Had we waited another six months to get married, things probably would have worked out much better in the long run. Well, you know what they say about hindsight :)

The one good thing that I can say came out of my marriage - having been in a marriage with a woman, I can definitely say that I have tried both sides of the street, so to speak, and there is no doubt in my mind as to what my preference really is. Having been through that, and knowing how wonderful a marriage can be, I'm looking forward to meeting Mr. Right some day so I can try it again with someone that I have just a little more in common with *smile*.

One of these days I'll dig through my old photos and find a good picture of Wendi and put it up here. Maybe I'll even find a picture of the really bitchin' wedding cake I made for our reception! :)

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