My Post Vietnam Years
I tend to divide my life into four parts which include pre-Vietnam, military, post-Vietnam, and retirement years. I would be less than honest if I stated that the Vietnam War had no effect on me; thus, I think it is imperative that I address how that war experience has affected me. In this My Post Vietnam Years sub-section, I describe my life as an adult after the War.
I have presented the growing up years, My First 24 Years, in the sub-section above while the My Work Life and My Retirement Years sub-sections will follow this one. The Military section will be presented below the That’s My Life, Educating Glen, and Kelly High School 1965 sections. As I previously stated, the My Post Vietnam Years sub-section will encompass the time from my return home from the Vietnam War in January 1971 until the current year of 2020. There obviously will be serious overlap in this sub-section and the My Work Life and My Retirement Years sub-sections. This sub-section has five chapters.
Getting Ready
I had a lot of anxiety during my last few days in the boonies. Death was not that uncommon in Vietnam. Sadly, after a while one becomes conditioned and accepts it as a nasty reality of the battlefield. I absolutely abhorred that way of thinking, but what could I do but go on with my day-to-day activities? My main objective was to get me and the rest of my fellow soldiers home safe and uninjured. Dwelling on negative thoughts like that was a quick recipe for disaster. The War dictated every move that I made and consumed almost every breath that I took. I was very aware of the fact that that any distraction or lack of focus could get all of us killed.
A good leader learns to think two or three steps ahead in every situation. All decisions must be made with a clear mind considering the what ifs of any potential scenario. Unfortunately, we frequently were handicapped by top brass and their deadly rules of engagement. I have always held the opinion that the United States should only get involved in wars that she tries to win. In Vietnam, that did not appear always to be the case. In my War, I heard the phrase “this is not a free fire zone” much too often! Well, go ahead and tell the Viet Cong or NVA that we will not fire back if they shoot at us. Those are real bullets that they are firing and those real bullets are hitting our people. I will never agree that many of those decisions made by our top leaders were rational. Sure, the collateral damage of war is terrible, but please do not hold it against me that I have always rooted for our side. I will always have the opinion that we fought a war with one hand tied behind us. Thanks for asking me how I really feel.
During the War, too many soldiers were getting killed or wounded in their last two or three days in the boonies prior to coming home. That was a well-known fact. It became so evident that the 101st Airborne initiated a policy that infantrymen did not have to go out on nightly ambush patrols during the last week of their tour. This official-unofficial policy became effective about one month before I left Vietnam. I do not know how well that policy actually worked. I only have a sample of one (me) where the policy did obviously work well.
During my last week in the field, I kept thinking about something that I had seen on my first day in Nam just a few months earlier in Long Binh. I can recall that on my first day in this country, I noticed a magic marker posting on an outhouse wall that read “364 days to go, it seems like I only got here yesterday.” Next to this posted statement was a drawing of a helmet (We called them steel pots.) with only the feet of a soldier sticking out. This cartoon was a common funny portrayal of how short or how few days one had left on his one-year tour in Vietnam. These two statements on the outhouse wall represented the extremes of a tour in Vietnam. I found both of them quite humorous. One can be sure that I was looking for any humor I could find while in Vietnam. Finding humor in anything relating to war is quite rare!
I did not go on any ambushes that last week, however, that last week seemed like a year. I felt like I was walking around on eggshells as I was exercising an over abundance of caution. (I did not like the way that made me feel!) I had said my good byes and God bless you’s to all my fellow soldiers and left the battlefield for the last time only two days prior to going to Cam Rahn Bay for my departure. I have always pondered if any of my friends that I left did not make it out of that nightmare safe and sound. I can remember offering many prayers for their safe homecoming. Strangely, I cannot remember many of the names that I was losing contact with. I do think that it was due to my innate ability to somewhat compartmentalize many of the negative things that have occurred in my life. I suppose that was and is a very good ability to have and use.
I certainly will never forget how excited that I was when I boarded that plane in Cam Ranh Bay! It seemed, however, that we sit on that tarmac forever. Sitting out there in the open created more real anxiety for me. Yes, I was anxious to get into the air. I certainly felt much better when I could no longer see the coastline of Vietnam from the window of the plane.
It was a very long flight from Cam Ranh Bay to Seattle Washington. We did make a stop in Tokyo and were actually able to walk around the airport for a couple of hours. It was nice to be able to stretch my legs and to be able to add another country to my list of visited countries. Once back on the plane, I did find it very easy to get a lot of sleep during that flight. One thing that I should report is how beautiful the stewardesses on that flight were. After not seeing many females while in Vietnam, I suppose that I would have found any female attractive. I do believe, however, that these ladies were the cream of the crop and were particularly hospitable.
We arrived at SeaTac in Seattle in late afternoon and a bus was waiting to transfer us to Fort McCord Air Force Base which was near to the airport. In 1971, Fort McCord was the station where returning Vietnam veterans received there discharge papers from the Army. We received a great welcome home dinner that night. That may have been the best T-bone steak that I have ever eaten. Of course, anything was an improvement from C-rations or MRE’s. If everything went as planned, we would be able to leave the Army in the middle or late afternoon of the next day. I did not sleep very well that night because I had slept so well on our flight there. In addition, I was very anxious to get started with the discharge papers.
After a nice breakfast that next morning, we began going through the many stations that we had to clear before leaving. One of the stations that we had to pass through was the medical clearance station. Any claim relating to any medical or physical issues had to be made at this station. I knew that I had knee and hearing issues, but I was very reluctant to file a claim. Anyone filing a claim knew that they would be held up and not be able to leave the facility at the prescribed time. That was just another example of my less than smart logic! All the other stations related to administrative issues such as insurance, pay allotments, medal qualification, financial issues, and a voucher for our flight home.
I certainly did not want to be held up for any reason as I could be free and clear of the military later that afternoon. Thus, there were no complaints of any kind from Glen. I screamed “yes” when I received that final stamp on my paperwork at the last station and received a miniature DD-214. I may have jumped up and clicked my heels together. On second thought, I was most likely too shy to have done that. I was well aware that all drafted soldiers had a six year commitment and that a few returnees would be required to attend army reserve meetings if they lived close to a reserve facility. As I did not live close enough to a facility, I was not required to attend those meetings for four more years. Hurrah! Glen is now free of the military.
I can remember that we were bused back to SeaTac at 5:00 or 6:00 PM. Of course, we had to wear our military uniform if we wanted to use our flight voucher and get a military-status flight out of Seattle. I can remember that I was unable to get a flight out of Seattle until early the next morning. I called my folks and gave them the time that I was scheduled to arrive in St. Louis. All went well on my flight to St. Louis; however, I was not prepared for the problem that awaited me.
There was no one in St. Louis to pick me up upon my arrival and I could not reach anyone by phone. Of course, in those days, there were no cell phones so leaving a message served little purpose as I had access only to pay phones. After waiting about an hour, I tried again. Fortunately, my mom answered this time. She was so apologetic and I am sure in tears, as obviously, we had a miscommunication. I cannot remember what happened or how the final arrangements to pick me up were made. I just remembered calling her back about thirty minutes later and was told that my sister-in-law was going to pick me up.
About 4:00 PM that afternoon, my sister-in-law and one of her friends entered the waiting area of Lambert in St. Louis. I think that I had waited for about three hours and even considered taking a flight back to Vietnam not! (I would have walked the 160 miles to Bertrand if I had to. No, I was not returning to Southeast Asia!) It really was so nice to see two friendly faces that I knew.
My sister-in-law informed me that my mom and dad and sister were going to meet us at her house later that night in Flat River. We arrived at my brother’s home in Flat River,
Missouri at 5:30 PM. I will never forget how my two cute, young nieces, Dana and Beth, jumped into my arms. That was so nice. Later that night, I had a sweet reunion with the rest of my family. I was now back in the real world and I now again felt safe and secure.
Life in Bertrand
We returned to Bertrand the next day. I think it was a Thursday or Friday and I was planning to enroll for classes at Southeast Missouri State University on Monday. If I remember correctly, I had already missed the first day of classes. It was so nice to return to my home and sleep in my own bed in Bertrand. Also, I was so grateful that I had returned home in a relatively good mental, physical, and emotional state and was now able to spend time with my family again.
I probably should have mentioned it earlier, but there was no band or crowd of welcoming faces to meet me in Seattle, St. Louis, or Bertrand. I always thought that war heroes received a warm welcome home. (I am obviously teasing about being a war hero, but I am a proud veteran!) I did not receive a “welcome home” in January of 1971. Fast forward to June 11, 2019 or only 48 years later. I got my “welcome home” and it was wonderful as almost 2,000 people greeted us as we returned to Capitol Airport in Springfield on the June 2019 “Illinois Honor Flight”. I was brought to tears with the Springfield citizenry’s wonderful acknowledgement of our service to our country. I would like to express my gratitude to everyone that participated in the unexpected “last mail call”. I received almost 100 letters and/or congratulatory cards. They were so sweet! Your comments and well wishes were most appreciated.
In the afternoon of my first day back in Bertrand, I made my first important financial decision after my return home. If I were going to begin driving to my classes at Southeast Missouri State University, I needed to purchase some wheels. When I left for Vietnam in 1970, I had noted the advertisements for the new 1970 Buick Riviera model and left for Vietnam with a new Buick Riviera ingrained in my brain. Unfortunately, Buick drastically changed the style for the 1971 version of the Riviera and I thought it was extremely ugly. This dramatic change by Buick made me realize that I was going to have to shop for a different vehicle. As I think I have said previously, I had no place to spend money while in Vietnam; therefore, I had accumulated enough money in my bank account during my two years in the service to purchase a new vehicle for cash and to purchase the first six months of insurance.
My dad and I took a trip to East Prairie to look at cars. Upon arriving at Pope Motors, I began looking at the Pontiac line. The first thing that caught my eye was the new ‘71 Pontiac Grand Prix model. After seeing a floor model of that vehicle, nothing else interested me. Mr. Pope and I began negotiating and we arrived at a figure that we both could live with. (My dad had already advised me that Bill Pope does not do much negotiating.) We agreed upon a price that was a little more than $2,000. (Yes, in 1971, one could buy a fancy car for $2,000 – $3000. Since neither of the two models in stock was a color that I liked, we had to order my new automobile.
My next decision was selecting a color that I liked. It was very difficult to choose a color from a brochure, but I selected midnight green as the color. (At 73 years old, I now think that the color that I selected was putrid! I also refuse to remember some of clothing styles and bold colors that I wore in the ‘70’s including leisure suits and flared leg pants. It is embarrassing to even think about that. Oh, well! ) Mr. Pope assured me that my new vehicle could be built, delivered, and ready for pick up in about 45 days. Now, having my first financial transaction behind me as an adult, I now had graduated to my big boy pants.
It was getting close to 45 days and the days were passing very slowly. One day about 40 days after my purchase, while driving home from my classes at Southeast Missouri State University in Cape Girardeau on Interstate 55, I passed a truck loaded with new Pontiacs and one of the cars appeared to be a midnight green Gran Prix. I was very excited when I got home that mid-afternoon. The suspense was getting the best of me! Later that afternoon, I decided to drive to East Prairie to the dealership to see if my vehicle had arrived. It was after 5:00 PM and the dealership was closed; however, I was able to locate what appeared to be my new car parked in a lot in the back of the building. Yes, I think my new Grand Prix has arrived. I went home with a big smile on my face.
When I got home from college the next day, I could not wait to ask my mom if Pope Motors had called. (I suppose patience has never been one of my strongest suits.) I was surprised that her answer was in the negative. The following day, as soon as I opened the front door at home, I asked my mom if Pope Motors had called that morning. I received the same negative response from my mom. After her “no” she smiled and continued with “but they called right after lunch and said that it will be ready for you to pick up any time that you would like.” I had already arranged for the insurance the day before with Farm Bureau. The premium was going to be more than $700 for six months as it was classified as a high-performance vehicle. For the 70s, I thought that was outrageous, but “it is what it is” or “it was what it was!” Whatever!
I had been driving our family’s ’63 Comet back and forth to SEMO during the first six or seven weeks of classes. Now, I would drive my shiny new midnight green car to campus. At that time, I thought that my first new car was really the cat’s meow.
I loved driving my fancy new automobile. It was so easy to handle and had many extra accessories to play with. After driving the car for a little more than three months, the unexpected happened. I got clobbered in Sikeston as another car plowed into to the side of my new car. The other car hit me hard as it flew out of the Pizza Inn parking lot without looking. The young kid that had creamed me was really shaken. Fortunately, no one was hurt. The wreck did pretty extensive damage to my Grand Prix. I was without my new car for two or three weeks. The body shop did a very nice job of fixing it, but after that accident, it no longer felt the same to me. I did, however continue to drive it for two more years. Well, I suppose that is enough about the saga of my new 1971 midnight green Grand Prix.
Let’s now talk about a more important issue and that is the matter of my continuing education at SEMO. I had no problem with enrollment on that last Monday in January. The college had been expecting me to arrive on that day and there was not much legwork for me to do before starting my classes on Tuesday. (The military and college had coordinated my return to the campus as part of my discharge.) Fortunately, I was able to get into all the classes that I wanted and I had no difficulty setting up my new GI Bill benefits. I picked up all my textbooks and was ready to be a college student again.
Now after a few weeks back in the States, I was adjusting well to college life. I had matured significantly in Nam and finally had come to the realization that I had to concentrate on my future. Like the adult that I should have been in my early college career, I was attending all my classes and doing very well. Generally, my life was getting back to a normal state. Sure, I was still a little anxious when I would hear a car backfire or any loud unexpected noise. I got better as I spent more time back in the real world. Glen can and will adjust to his new environment! I like the new Glen!
My new friend, Bill Bye from Sikeston really stepped up when I returned to Bertrand. I had first met Bill in December of 1969 or only 13 or 14 months earlier. I think that he may had written two or three letters to me when I was in Nam. I certainly did not know him very well. He had been a close friend of my sister’s, but he must have taken a liking to me also or, possibly, he just felt sorry for me. Seriously, he probably just realized that I needed a friend. (Later, I found out that Bill liked everyone and everyone liked Bill.) Thankfully, Bill, somehow, was cognizant of the fact that I would have an adjustment period during the months after my return and he was going to be there to make sure it went well. He really reached out to me. What a great guy! Everyone needs a Bill Bye for a friend.
As all my close friends either had left southeast Missouri or had married while I was gone, Bill Bye really took me under his wings. He was aware that I liked to play baseball and basketball. Since I returned home in late January, it was basketball season. Bill invited me to play on a team that he coached. The players on Coach Bye’s team included Bobby Bye, Jim Ross, Benny Eason, Greg Bailey, Gary Vaught, Bill, and me.
We were not that bad as we played some of the hotshot teams around. After not playing basketball for a couple of years, I did okay. Benny Eason could really rebound and Greg and Bill would shoot and score with the long 3’s. Jim, Bob, and Gary could run all night without ever getting tired. We played very well together. I can remember playing at Essex or possibly it was at the old Morehouse gymnasium against many of the guys from the great ’65 Richland High School team. We held our own. We also defeated a team from Matthews that featured some good athletes such as Bill Reid and David Pierson. Coach Bye had a pretty decent team in Sikeston. Hey, Bill, did we have a name? Possibly, we could have called ourselves the Celtics, or the Lakers, or possibly even the Toolers. Yes, the Sikeston Toolers has a nice ring to it. We could wear denim vests and be ….. I dunno …. toolers, I guess. (Yes, there is an inside joke there, but I cannot remember what it was!)
When spring came, Bill invited me to play softball with the White’s Drug Store team managed by the now deceased Charlie Largent. I had not played much competitive softball and I thought my baseball skills would easily cross over to this game. Fortunately, their team needed a shortstop and I was available. I was rusty, but I improved quickly. For some reason, I never was a very good hitter in softball. For some strange reason, however, I was very successful in hitting a very good pitcher in our League. John Watson was probably the second best pitcher in the league behind our pitcher, Johnny Watkins. I can remember hitting two home runs and two doubles off Mr. Watson in the two or three games that I played against him. For some reason, I saw the ball really well when he delivered it. Very few other hitters had much luck against him. He really was an excellent pitcher and I cannot explain my success.
I played on a team with a very good little second baseman named James Shuffit (pictured above). He and I turned a few double plays which is not very easy to do in softball. Benny Jeffries (pictured above) was the third-baseman and was very quick and had good hands. Jim Ross and Billy Bye (both pictured above) roamed the outfield and hardly anything fell in front of or between them. Finally, Benny Eason (pictured above) learned to catch that season. He became very good and was able to handle Johnny Watkins, a first-class pitcher. All the guys I mentioned were very good softball hitters. I was the lone exception, as I just could not hit the larger ball. I actually played two years on that team and really enjoyed my experiences.
That last year, I received a compliment from Johnny Watkins that I will never forget. He told me that I had the best infield arm that he had ever played with. He could have simply been patronizing me, but I think he was serious. John played with some first class athletes and pitched for some world-class teams in his career. His comment would have given a lesser person the “big head”.
In the summer of 1971, I played on the best baseball team that I ever played with. Tom Masterson managed and we had some great players. I had my best year ever from a hitting perspective. I was hitting the ball so well that Tom had me batting cleanup for this team. I had even become a pull hitter, something that I never had been before. What had Vietnam done to me? A better question was, why was I knocking the stuffings out of the baseball and could not hit the much bigger softball? I have never found a sensible answer to that question. Possibly, the answer will become clear in one of my wild dreams.
Let’s get back to my new friend. Bill felt that if I were to have a complete adjustment back to the real world, he needed to set me up with some of the lovely Sikeston girls. Bill Bye had many connections in Southeast Missouri and introduced me to many of the beauties residing in the area. I will never forget his efforts. He simply never realized that he was working with a lost cause. Actually, I did meet and date some nice young ladies from Sikeston.
His efforts did not end when I left for Illinois in 1972. I think that I was living in Taylorville, Illinois, when I received notice of my ten year Kelly High School class reunion in 1976. I did not really want to attend as a single, so I contacted Bill and asked him if he knew of anyone that I could take to the reunion to be held at the Ramada Inn in Sikeston. I was half teasing, but to my surprise, Bill came through again. He checked his large database and was able to set me up with one of his coworkers. She was cute, sweet, and had a very pleasant demeanor. All of the girls in Bill’s database met that description. Just call Bill “Cupid” or the chief “fixer upper”! What a great guy and what a great friend he has been over the years.
After graduating from Southeast Missouri State University in May 1972, I was still working at Walmart in a part-time job making $1.65/hour. I realized that I should now start looking for a more permanent job. With no job prospects lined up after graduation, my wise brother again intervened. He suggested that I move to Taylorville, Illinois, and live with his family for a while during my job search. He reminded me that Taylorville was close to two large cities and that each city was the home of several large employers. After careful consideration, I decided to take him up on his offer. This would actually be the second time in my life that I lived a short time with my brother and family. He really did make an all-out effort to help his brother become successful and I have never forgotten. As I write this article, I have come to realize that I have had many positive interventions from friends and relatives in my life and for that I am so grateful.
My brother has frequently teased me about something that I stated back in 1972. I once naively remarked to my brother and sister-in-law that if I can ever land a job making $10,000, I will forever be content. He never let me forget that stupid comment. Well, it happened and I regret to report that I was not content and that I wanted more. I will let you decide. Was I being greedy or was I just totally being naïve at that time?
Life In Illinois
Where was I to start my job search? I was, by nature, shy, reserved, and not as aggressive as I should have been. I have always been short on selling myself. I can say that I have met people who have mistaken my shyness and standoffishness for arrogance. They could have not been more wrong. I wish extreme shyness on no one as it can have a tremendous effect on every facet of one’s life. It has been a lifelong struggle for me. I have had people say just “get over it!” I really do wish that it was that easy. My life would have been very different if I would have been able to overcome that malady. I have made great strides but I still have a lot of room to improve. May God bless the shy people of the world!
I arrived in Taylorville in late May of 1972 and had moved in with my brother and family. I began to apply at many of the large employers in Springfield and Decatur. I was having difficulty in even getting interviews. In fact, some employers would not even bother to take my resume. (What does it hurt for an employer to take one’s resume and quickly deep-six it after he is out of sight. I think it is rude not to do so. It certainly would have made me feel better.) I could not find anyone who was interested in a college graduate with a degree in mathematics. Some employers suggested that with that degree I should be a teacher. I did not have a teaching degree and I did not want to teach. Instead, my degree was a bachelor of science degree in mathematics.
Finally, an employer in Taylorville took my degree seriously. I accepted a position near downtown Taylorville. Yes, I landed a position as a gas station attendant at the local Derby Station. I really got off to a weird start there as I was left to close on my first night at the station. The very young manager gave me all of five minutes of instruction and training that first day. I had no clue that I was going to be all alone that first night and, much less, that I was expected to close. I had no problem moving the money from the register and securing it in the floor safe. What the manager did not tell me was how to turn off the lights and the pumps. Where were the switches? I could not find the breaker box.
The young station manager had gone on a last minute, unplanned overnight camping trip and left no instructions for reaching him in an emergency. I freaked out as I knew I could not leave the pumps on until opening time the next morning. I think that I was supposed to close at 9:00 PM, but I ended up staying open to 11:00 PM. Finally, I was able to a reach one of the daytime attendants who drove over and showed me how to shut off the pumps. Wow, that is quite a manager that I have! I am now off to a good start in my new and exciting job! For his defense, my manager used the argument that he thought that he had someone else scheduled with me that first night. Okay, and my dog ate my homework.
Even though I liked the smell, I cannot say that I really enjoyed pumping gas. On two or three of the cars, I could not locate the gas tank receptacle. On a few other cars, I could not find the hood latches. I actually had a couple of vehicles where the hood opened away from the windshield toward the front of the car. Problems always came up during that summer. And these were problems that we never discussed in either my differential equations or cartesian geometry classes.
Seal of the State of Illinois.Finally a friend of my brother stepped forward and informed me about the benefits of state employment in Illinois. For no good reason, I had never even considered a civil service career. He even offered to take me to the office of personnel in Springfield. I agreed to go with him and the rest is history. For more detailed information about this positive development, please go the My Work Life sub-section that follows this sub-section.
Upon obtaining a position in Springfield in September of ‘72, I quickly had to locate a place to rent. My sister-in-law volunteered to go with me apartment shopping one weekend after I knew that I had a new job. (She probably was real anxious for me to move out.) I was looking for an apartment close to where I would be working and that was near the capitol complex. I think that it was the third apartment that we looked at that morning that I decided to rent. It was a small,1-bedroom shotgun, sparsely furnished apartment that was located about six blocks from my workplace. It was very small and was in a large three-story residence. I was on the main floor and had my own entrance on the front porch. It rented for $180/month, which, at the time, I thought was really expensive. It was located in the 800 block of Spring Street. It turned out to be a good location for me. I stayed at this Spring Street apartment for 13 months.
My second apartment was located in Monroe Gardens, which was three or four miles from downtown on West Monroe. This unfurnished, 1-bedroom apartment was in a huge complex and rented for $200/month. It was quite an upgrade for me as it had a tennis court, a swimming pool, and a clubhouse. One thing that I can remember clearly, it had gold, wall-to-wall long-shag carpet. (I can remember purchasing a carpet rake to keep this beautiful floor looking its best!) This type of carpet was popular in the 60’s and 70’s. I now had to begin purchasing some furnishings for my new place. Would it be tacky for me to say now that I hate long-shag carpet? Ok, I will not say it. I have no comment about this issue!
After living in Monroe Gardens alone for one year, my sister, Kay, moved in with me in 1974. She had accepted a position with the Illinois Department of Revenue. We managed okay with a bath and a half. She slept on a mattress in the living room. The location of our apartment was quite a ways from her workplace at the old Revenue building on 11th and Ash Street at that time. She had quite a bit of traffic to negotiate every morning. One thing that we both disliked was scraping the ice and/or snow from our windshields each winter morning, as we did not have a parking garage. We must have adapted, as we both are still living.
In the early fall of 1975, I purchased a three-bedroom home with 1.5 bath located on Virginia Avenue in Taylorville. In November of that year, Kay and I moved into this new home. We adapted to the move very quickly. I think she really appreciated having her own bedroom, but we still had to share the full bath. I really enjoyed Taylorville and became active in the Baptist Church there. I did not particularly like driving to and from Springfield so I eventually started riding on the Taylorville Transit to and from work. This bus added about an hour each way to my workday. Kay was able to carpool with a coworker that lived about a mile north of Taylorville.
All Morrow Siblings Live Close to Each Other
I should have stated that my home on Virginia Avenue was about four blocks east of my brother’s home. Yes, the Morrow siblings were all living in Taylorville from 1975 to 1977. In the fall of 1977, my sister married a coworker from the Department of Revenue and moved to Mississippi. Kay and Patrick Langley were married for almost 25 years until they divorced in 2002. Next, my brother obtained a new position and moved from Taylorville to Slidell, Louisiana in 1978. Now, I was the only Morrow sibling living in Taylorville and I began to think “why am I driving back and forth from work to Taylorville each day?” That was the $64,000 question. I responded to my own question by selling my home and moving back to Springfield in July of 1979. I moved to a very nice duplex in Country Club Estates and stayed there for one year.
After living in that duplex for one year, I purchased a home on the northeast side of Springfield. It was in a nice, quiet area with good neighbors. My next-door neighbor suffered from agoraphobia or the fear of open spaces. He refused to venture much farther than one or two houses away from his house. I cannot imagine it, but he had lived under those circumstances for more than ten years. I tried to help him out by shopping for his groceries and purchasing items that he wanted at the hardware or other stores. He would reciprocate by completing mechanical tasks that I was unable to accomplish. Our arrangement worked out pretty well.
Geraldo Visits My Next Door Neighbor
Before proceeding, I will share an interesting story relating to that neighbor. One day, I came home from work and a huge truck with a huge satellite dish was setting in front of my yard. I glanced over at my neighbor’s yard and saw two people with movie cameras and headsets walking around filming. I could not wait for them to leave so I could go over to my neighbor’s house and find out what was going on. Eventually, they left and I went over to his house. He told me that Geraldo Rivera was doing a segment on his talk show about agoraphobia and he was one of the featured guests on the show. Of course, he could not go to New York because of his condition (surprise, surprise?), so Geraldo came to him via satellite link.
His segment was about a new therapy that had been developed to treat the condition of agoraphobia. The therapy included a series of thumping and tapping on your own body. (I am not teasing.) My neighbor had been under the care of a therapist in California and was paying a lot of money for his weekly counsel via phone and was religiously using this technique. I had watched the neighbor using the technique on himself several times. (Yes, it was really strange!) Let’s move forward a couple of weeks. I obtained a copy of the video of my neighbor’s appearance on the Geraldo show. My neighbor is sitting at his dining room table with his California therapist whom he has just met for the first time. Geraldo and the two guys are discussing this new therapy for agoraphobia. The therapist continues to gush about how successful his new technique has been.
What I found interesting was that the nice, unusual marble dining table that they were sitting behind used to be my dining table. My beautiful marble dining table was appearing on national TV. I would not have sold that marble dining table to him if I would have known that it was to later become famous. (I only sold it because it did not go with my other décor which was “early eclectic!” ) Holy cow!
I regret that I have to report that the thumping therapy did not immediately work for my neighbor as he was still suffering from his phobia when I last saw him. I know for a fact that a phobia like that would be a much harder issue to deal with than my struggle with extreme shyness. One should not conclude from that observation or admission, however, that I consider my shyness a minor or good thing! (To the contrary, I am simply applying the power of positive thinking in conjunction with keeping things relative and in perspective.)
Dad and Loretta
I will now share a funny memory about my dad that was really out of character for him. In 1973 or 1974, Bob, Kay, Dad, and I went to a concert at the Illinois State Fair in Springfield. (My mom was not feeling well!) The performers were Loretta Lynn and Conway Twitty. My dad really liked Loretta. We arrived there early enough that we could stand in line for the limited seats that were available on the racetrack in front of the grandstand and in front of the stage. These were first come first serve seats. Once the gates opened, it was a stampede toward these seats. My dad was right beside us running toward the seats. I could never have imagined that I would ever see my dad at any concert and particularly running in an effort to get one of the prized seats. But this was Loretta! (After that run, I teased my dad by telling him that the Illinois State Fair changed its policy of allowing people on the racetrack just because of his running over three young children in that stampede that year.) I think that we may have sat about three rows back from the stage. I remember Conway coming out in this dark green leisure suit. He actually looked like a huge gherkin pickle. Loretta was gorgeous and I think she may have done three encores and my dad loved the show. It was a very memorable night.
Sha Na Na
In 1974, my brother’s family and I attended a concert at the Fairgrounds. The main act was Sha Na Na. The warm-up act was a new group on the scene called REO Speedwagon. It was a wet and stormy night and the concert was delayed for at least two hours. We stuck it out. Once they got the stage all mopped off and all the equipment unwrapped after the rain storm, REO came out and started their set. More rain and storms were in the forecast and it was getting late. Finally, the crowd starting booing and began chanting for Sha Na Na.
REO Speedwagon went on to have a very nice career and several hits, but that crowd was there for Sha NA Na that night. (R E O had an album titled “You Can Tune a Piano but you Can’t Tuna Fish” that did very well in 1978. Over two million copies were sold.) It was about 11:00 PM when Sha Na Na began. I will never forget Bowser (more likely his predecessor) coming out and flexing his skinny muscle as Sha Na Na performed their rendition of “Get a Job”. It was very late and the group was great and came back for two encores. I was fortunate enough to see them a second time about 46 years later on Anna Marie Island in Florida in December of 2019. Two of the originals were still with them.
My Adventures in Baby Sitting
In the middle 70’s, my brother’s team played in a softball tournament sponsored by the famous Aurora Seals Softball Club. The Aurora Seals were known as one of the top softball teams in the United States. Bob and his wife left on Friday morning for the tournament and were going to stay in Aurora, Illinois during the weekend. I was asked to watch my two nieces, Dana and Beth, who were 6 and 10 years old. We were having a wonderful time and I was enjoying my first babysitting experience. The girls wanted to go to the pool for a swim. First, I will say that I am not a great swimmer. Dana was a good swimmer and Beth told me she had taken lessons and could swim. Beth jumped into the pool and immediately I realized that she was struggling, I jumped in and I was able to get her to safety on one side of the pool while almost drowning myself in the process. I told the kids not to tell their parents what had occurred as their mom and dad would never let me watch them again. Yeah, Beth, you were no Michael Spitz when you were six and, come to think of it, neither was I. That incident really scared me. I saw Beth in February of 2020 and she had to remind me of my scary adventure in babysitting.
Kay and Me Are Bumpkins
I regret to report that my sister is as much of a bumpkin as I. In 1974, the two country bumpkins, Kay and Glen, visited a Taco Gringo restaurant about one mile from our apartment in Springfield to pick up some sanchos to take back to our apartment for supper. We were anxious to try this new great Mexican food delight. When we returned home, we immediately ran into a problem. We could not figure out how to peel the bright white paper off the sandwich. Finally we just gave up and unwrapped it and put the fixings on a plate and ate it with a fork. Well, the next day I went to that same restaurant again (inside this time) only for the purpose of learning what the secret of peeling the paper off was.
Lo and behold, people were eating the sandwich with the paper still on it. Wow! I went home and told Kay that I saw people eating their sanchos with the paper still on it. I do not think that she was totally convinced that I was telling her the truth. The next time we brought sanchos home, I went first and ate it without removing the paper. It tasted great. Kay also liked it with the paper still on it. We had both eaten mud pies when we were young, so what was a little “bright white” paper going to hurt? I am here today to proclaim that I love sanchos and also that I have always liked “bright white” flour tortillas!
Birth of a Child
In 1980, I was introduced to a young divorcee at a Springfield church by a coworker. (She had a two year old daughter from a previous marriage.) We began dating and after six months, we got married. I was 33 years old and she was considerably younger. Didi was a very nice young lady and we had some very good times together, but our relation came to a halt in December of 1982 and we were divorced in the summer of 1983. I was absolutely devastated as I not only was getting divorced but also was being deprived of being with my beautiful four month old baby daughter every night.
We learned in the early months of 1982 that Didi was pregnant with our daughter Tiffany. We both were very excited about our bundle of joy that was to arrive in early September of that year. We agreed that we would attend Lamaze classes. We attended and completed the Lamaze training at Springfield Memorial Hospital. I took it very seriously as I was excited about becoming a father.
I can remember setting up our home office as a nursery. We had so much fun decorating it. We considered many names and finally decided on naming our child Tiffany Michelle, if our child was to be a girl. I think I saw the name Tiffany on a theatre billboard. I simply liked the sound of that name. I do not think that I had ever known anyone with that name when I grew up. Didi really liked the name Michelle. We both agreed that the two names sounded good together. Yes, Tiffany Michelle Morrow.
Tiffany was born on the morning of September 7, 1982. I remember that there were no complications and that the coach and patient performed our respective Lamaze duties extremely well. I will never forget that first time that I laid eyes on Tiffany in the delivery room. She was gorgeous and I was the happiest father in the whole world.
When we brought her home from the hospital, we knew that we had a special child. She had the cutest smile. It did not take her long to begin sleeping through the night. I cannot remember Tiffany crying very much. My mom had told me that I was a really dramatic, crybaby; thus, I certainly did not want Tiff to take after her father. It did not take Tiff long to enjoy playing peek-a-boo. Did I say that she had the cutest smile?
Losing Tiffany’s everyday companionship in late December of 1982 was extremely difficult for me and I had a mighty struggle with it. My neighbors tried to console me, but it did little good. It was as if a part of my very being was getting stripped away. I can remember sitting at my desk at work with the tears flowing. I had lost my pride and joy and I felt that I had lost my chance to be a good father to my beautiful little girl. My parents became worried about my depressed state and convinced me to take a break from work. I think that I may have stayed in Missouri for three or four days, but my grief consumed me.
I could not get it out of my mind. I had failed as a husband and as a father. I tossed it around in my mind always questioning what could I have done differently. I had no answers at that time. Time will heal most wounds, but nothing was going to heal this one. Yes, I could get better but the wound would always be there. A minister friend got me out of my funk and back to being myself by saying words similar to the following words. “Glen I know you are hurting, but you are not doing yourself or your daughter any good with your current state of mind. Nothing will change the past, but you do control the future for you and your daughter. Make the most of it.” I listened to his words and considered what he was stating. I interpreted him to say that I have not really lost my daughter. Instead, I will just have to make my time with her special. Instead of wallowing in the mud feeling sorry for myself, love your daughter with all your heart and soul. Become a strong and loving father to her. I have tried to follow that simple and sound philosophy in my relationship with my daughter. I love her as big as the sky!
I loved my Tiffany and wanted to be with her every opportunity that I had. I have really enjoyed watching her grow from baby to toddler, to small child, to teenager, to wife, and to mother. I immersed myself in Tiffany’s welfare and my work and ignored working on all the other things in my life. Tiffany and I would go to the park, would go on short drives, and would go to restaurants that we both liked those first few years. Tiffany grew up in Athens and Jacksonville cities which are both relatively close to Springfield.
When Tiffany turned seven or eight, she and I started to take longer trips. She went with me to visit her grandparents in Missouri numerous times. She went with me to Alabama a couple of times to visit her great grandmother. That was a long drive and she was a great shotgun and was very instrumental in keeping me awake. My favorite trip was to Door County, Wisconsin. In one of the villages there (Sister Bay), the power steering went out on my Lincoln. Tiffany and I walked a couple of miles to an adjacent town to get someone to tow us while Marlene and my mom waited on a park bench overlooking Green Bay (the body of water). That was a long but beautiful walk with my young daughter by the bay.
Now she is married to a great guy, Randy, and has two beautiful grandchildren, Abby and Austin. Tiffany is a wonderful mother. The Roth family lives in Jacksonville, Illinois.
I love my baby. Oops! My baby will be 38 years old in September, but she still is my baby.
Marlene in My Life
Marlene came into my life in September of 1989. I was 42 year old and my personal life had been in a holding pattern for a few years. Except in my career and my role as a father, I lacked real motivation and purpose. (I never let my work life suffer. Other than Tiffany, a few friends, and my family, I felt that my career was the only positive aspect that still was intact in my life.) I would come home from work and start my pity party. I had no social life and had only a few people who I could call friends outside the workplace. I was working at the Department of Insurance at that time. I admit that I never have been one who cultivated and maintained many friendships and I have always hated that particular trait that I possess.
I am a very loyal friend to the few friends that I do have. I would like to think that I am a straight shooter. What you see is what you get. I am not anti-social. It is just that I am not very outgoing. I do like people and like stimulating conversation. I feel like I can be comfortable with people from all walks of life. I do realize that it is uplifting to be around positive and active people. I also know that no one wants to be around negative Nancys. On the other side of the coin, no one likes to listen to people who have diarrhea of the mouth and dominate the conversation. That is totally boring. The secret is to strike that delicate balance. I generally am quiet, but I am a good listener. (I used to be a better listener, but as time passes my hearing keeps deteriorating!)
I suppose that at the time I met Marlene, I was in a very deep rut. I was accustomed to sitting at home and watching the paint dry. I was the ultimate dull and inactive couch potato. I often prayed for God to place someone in my life that I could honor and cherish. Finally, I realized that I could not simply sit and wait for the perfect one to fall from the sky in front of me. No, I needed to make some effort.
A Singles Conference?
I saw an advertisement in the Springfield Journal Register for a Singles Conference at the Springfield United Methodist Church which boasts one of Springfield’s largest congregations. It was located in the downtown area and was a large facility. It was an advertisement that I usually would have just dismissed, but this time something grabbed me and I read it a second time. I jotted down the time and place. I think that the idea that a church was sponsoring the conference made an impression on me.
I did not want to go alone, so I asked a divorced male friend named Bob if he would consider going. He had the same concerns that I did. That concern was that most of “the women will be under 25 years old or younger”. After, we had that discussion, we agreed that we could go and leave if the attendees were all very young. We arrived early that Saturday morning and parked right in front of the church. We had not been there more than five minutes and this nice looking forty-something looking lady goes into the church. She was followed by two more similarly aged women. We looked at each other convinced that all the females would not be in their 20’s. In fact, while we were sitting in front of the church, we saw no one that looked under 25 years of age go into the church. I know that old bugaboo of “age discrimination” is coming up again. But, this is different and it is okay, it is reverse age discrimination.
Once inside, we were welcomed by a young minister who was the coordinator of the program. We did some mixers and played some games in an effort to get everyone acquainted with each other. I would estimate that 50 – 60 people were in attendance and the female to male ratio was in the male’s favor. We had a nice dinner followed by a dance. I debated if I even wanted to stay for the dance part as I am a non-dancer. I sit around like a knot on the log until this younger lady (30-35) asked me to dance. Since it was a slow song, I agreed. After that song, this tall lady with dark hair says to me “save a dance for me” as I was making my way back to my seat after that dance. I had eyed her earlier across the room and thought that she was attractive. I do not thing that I even responded to her as I certainly did not want to embarrass myself on the dance floor. I sit back down and became a knot on the log again. I noted that my male friend, Bob, was spending a lot of time with the forty-something year old lady that we first saw go into the church. On one of the few numbers that they sit out, Bob came over and told me that his new friend’s name was Judy and she was from Rochester.
After a while, I saw the tall lady approaching me. I acted nonchalant as if I had not been watching her. She said something like “are you ready to dance”? Only as an effort not be rude, I told her that I would give it a try. We exchanged names and other pleasantries. She was Marlene from Rochester. I asked her if she knew Judy from Rochester and she responded in the negative. We were conversing and then the music began. Unfortunately, the song that we were going to dance to was a very fast song (might have been “Long Tall Sally” by Little Richard.) I really did not want to dance at all, but I certainly did not want to dance to a fast tune and this song was extremely fast. It did not take me long to get out of step. Frustrated, I just quit moving. She says, “do you want to dance or not”? Embarrassed, I tried to get back in step, but for me that was a lost cause.
I certainly was glad when the music stopped. We both said thank you and went our separate ways I never spoke to her again that night. I was kind of upset with her comment or I guess it was a question “do you want to dance or not?” How did she mean that? Was she giving me an out? Was she being rude? Was she making fun of me? Do you remember the three amigos of confidence, shyness, and self esteem that I spoke of in an earlier section? Well, they have struck again!
That singles group had a meeting once a week. There were several nice single people attending the meetings. We usually had two or three choices of classes each week that we could attend. In each class we were afforded an opportunity to discuss issues and/or watch short videos about topics of common interest. I think that I may have seen the tall, dark-haired lady that I called the “Dancing Queen” in only one class during the next month. We did exchange a greeting in that class, but we had no conversation.
About five weeks after the initial singles conference. I decided to attend a Saturday night service at that same Methodist Church. I had never been to this service so I just wanted to check it out. Well who walks in but the “Dancing Queen”. She looks around and eventually asks me if she could sit by me. (I assumed that she saw no better options.) I agreed. We had a nice conversation prior to the service. Maybe, she is not that rude after all, I began to think. I asked her out for dinner after the service. The rest is history. During that year prior to exchanging our vows, I do not think there was a total of three nights that we did not either see or speak to one another on the phone. And remember, I hate talking on the phone. You can watch a video that I made about this in the My Love Life chapter of the My First 24 Years sub-section.
Just so you know, Marlene from Rochester and Judy from Rochester eventually became acquaintances. Bob and Judy were married at the Springfield Methodist Church one year after Marlene and I exchanged vows at the Springfield First Christian Church, Disciples of Christ. Furthermore, we were neighbors in the State of Washington for 13 years. We have taken many vacations together and remain close friends. That singles conference worked out well for Bob and me! As an aside, I attended ballroom dancing classes shortly after Marlene and I were married. I really do have two left feet. We have only danced a few times since those lessons, but I still consider Marlene my “Dancing Queen”!
I had become “awakened” and my life changed. A new Glen was born in the fall of 1989. I can now divide my life into pre-Marlene and post-Marlene. I can assure you that you would find two different Glens. I can assure you that an artist would paint two distinct pictures. That was more than 30 years ago. On September 22, 2020, Marlene and I will celebrate our 30th anniversary. I had stepped out of my shell. Cardinals Win! Cardinals Win! Glen is alive again!
For our honeymoon, we flew to St. Thomas via San Juan, Puerto Rico, and spent a week. We had a beautiful small 3-level ocean-side cottage. Its design was unique. We really enjoyed the Virgin Islands. We toured St. John in addition to St, Thomas. That was the first of many trips that I have taken with Marlene. When I first met her, I was not aware that she was such a traveler.
Zihuatenejo and Puerto Vallarta
We really like Mexico; however, we would be quite hesitant to return in the near future, given all the negative news reports. We have traveled to Puerto Vallarta four times and Zihuatenejo three times. We love both of those places. Zihuatenejo is a small quaint fishing village with a beautiful bay. It has pristine white sand beaches and is close to the resort city of Ixtapa. Puerto Vallarta is a larger and busier city. We have stayed in several nice hotels there. We like an area called the romantic district which is located in the south central part of the city. The streets are always very crowded and are populated with numerous sidewalk cafes.
Ajijic
In the ’90’s, we subscribed to a magazine called “Where to Retire” and one of articles that we read related to the largest lake in Mexico, Lake Chapala. A very large contingent of United States expatriots live around Lake Chapala. In January 1995, Marlene and I thought that we would like to check this area out. According to the magazine article, the population center of this Lake Chapala area was a small town in Mexico called Ajijic (aw he heek’) The town was so small that our travel agent could not initially set us up in the area stating that she would have to do some research. She called back one day later, saying that she was now able to make the arrangements for us. We knew that it was not on the beaten path, but we really had no clue what we were getting ourselves into. It did, however, sound like a nice adventure.
On our way to Ajijic, we had to fly to Guadalajara. At Guadalajara we had to rent a taxi for the 30 or 40 mile trip to our hotel near Ajijic. Communication was a major problem. Neither the taxi driver nor the hotel clerk understood English and we could not speak Spanish. Somehow, we arrived at the hotel and somehow we were checked in to our room. Unfortunately, the hotel was a couple of miles from town and we were the only non-Mexicans staying there. The music was incredibly loud and the Mexicans partied every night to the wee hours of the morning.
What had we got our selves into? The next morning, we began our long two-mile trek (walk) into town. The traffic for such a small town was unbelievable. We reached town and randomly selected a street headed southward as we knew that the small town was north of the lake. We walked aimlessly about six blocks and met a couple who noted the obvious concern on our face. “Can I help you find something?” was a question that brought music to our ears. They actually gave us a map of the town and were a great help, but we did have difficulty understanding the Mexican way of numbering the street addresses. We were not expecting to find so many people that did not speak English. We were accustomed to the tourist cities of Puerto Vallarta and Zihuatenejo where almost everyone spoke our language.
At least we now had our bearings. We were able to find a breakfast place and it was very reasonable. The article about Lake Chapala had described a very nice hotel near the Lake. We found it and it was very nice. We checked at their front desk and they were taking reservations for six months out. We left the hotel and proceeded a block farther south and we arrived at Lake Chapala.
Lake Chapala is Mexico’s largest body of water. We were alarmed at how dirty it was and how plants had taken over in the shallow water. The Mexican government had ignored the lake for years and had been allowing some of its citizens to directly dump sewage into it. In the last few years (1991 – 1995), the Mexican government had begun a program to clean it up. First they bought a breed of carp that would eat the underbrush in the lake. Unfortunately, that resulted in a bigger problem as the fish were also consuming all the other fish in the lake and that carp population was significantly increasing.
I do not know how how long they had been dealing with this new problem before 1991. The year before we were there, the local population of former U.S. citizens had formed a coalition with the Mexican government in an effort to clean up Lake Chapala. It could be a beautiful lake once again if the ecological problems can be resolved. It is sad that the government of Mexico had allowed this beautiful lake to deteriorate. That was more than twenty years ago and I hope that situation has been resolved.
Yes, Lake Chapala was a disappointment, but we did enjoy our week in Ajijic. The noise at out hotel never ceased during our entire stay. We had very good food and saw some interesting sites. We learned a lesson about not knowing enough about an area before we visit it. At that time, we were far from seasoned travelers. We have no desire to go back. Glen and Marlene had another bold adventure in Mexico in 2011 and wrote about it in a blog.
San Miguel de Allende
Marlene and my boldest adventure may have been in January 2011. We flew from Seattle to Leon, Mexico, via Houston. Upon arriving at the Leon Airport, we were picked up by a driver who had a sign with our name on it. He drove us the remaining 50 miles from Leon to San Miguel de Allende. We had rented an apartment in San Miguel for 60 days. We were less than excited while riding from the airport to our new place, It was basically high desert and barren.
Upon our arrival at our new casa, we were not initially impressed as the outside was nothing special – what I would describe as a bright colored but ordinary building. Our new digs was called Casa Serenidad. As we slowly opened the huge and heavy front door, we were pleasantly surprised with the beauty of the place. The apartment had bold Mexican colors and very high ceilings. It was immediately obvious that the owners were very much interested in art as the apartment was chocked full of beautiful and unusual artwork. Our new casa had one bedroom, a large combination living-dining room, and a lovely well-equipped kitchen. Outside of the double patio doors was a beautiful courtyard filled with trees and plants and it had a large flowing fountain. Across the courtyard, there was a guest quarters which had a living-media room and sleeping quarters. In the corner of the patio, a metal staircase took one up to a terrace on top of our building where we could view the cityscape and get some of the warm Mexican sun. And to top everything off, we had a maid that came twice a week. Marlene, in particular, appreciated that amenity.
San Miguel de Allende is a historical and cultural city. San Miguel was a friar who started a settlement that eventually evolved into what is now the city with his namesake. Allende was from the city of San Miguel and was a major player and martyr in the Mexican Revolution that allowed Mexico to gain her independence from Spain in 1810. In our two months there, we tried to capture the essence of our bold adventure by sharing our experiences in a blog.
I do think that our blog was a success as many enjoyed sharing our daily experiences. We announced that the blog was ready for viewing on January 22, 2011. When we closed the blog on March 18, 2011, we had 7,648 page views, had written 126 (articles) posts which included 27 original videos that we created during our down time, and had received 166 user comments. Marlene took 922 photos and we included more than 50 percent of them in this blog. (Marlene kept reminding me that this was supposed to be a vacation and not work time as I kept her busy with the blog.)
I, unfortunately, had a computer crash in 2017 and lost the backup of this blog. At that time, I had already given up the domain that the website was located on. I am still hoping to find another backup on a CD somewhere, but, thus far, I have been unsuccessful. I learned a huge lesson from this experience and that is to keep more than one external backup at more than one place and possibly even place a backup in the cloud.
I really enjoyed taking on the persona of Professor Diego Moro (aka Professor Mexico). I created approximately 20 videos relating to Mexican culture and history. It was really a blast. I actually convinced Marlene to participate as she made some videos about food and art. We never felt threatened or scared while living in San Miguel. Of course, we were careful where we went after dark. We learned a lot and loved the people of Mexico. There was a large contingent of American expatriots that made their home in San Miguel. We had weekly outings with this group. They were very welcoming. After living there for two months, we really got a feel of what it was like living in a third world country.
In Mexico, no one ever knows what to expect hidden behind the tall concrete walls. He can open the gate and see a mansion or he may cast his eyes on a pile of rubbish. Our casa was considered upscale using Mexico standards; however, certain elements were not on par with regular apartments that one would find in the United States. Generally, I am speaking of plumbing and electrical issues. Architecturally, the inside design was fascinating and the interior decorations were beautiful. Well, enough about San Miguel. It was an interesting experience that we will never forget.
Cruising With Marlene
Marlene and I have been fortunate enough to take nine cruises together. I will just write a few words about each of them.
Seattle to Alaska: Our first cruise was to the beautiful State of Alaska. We left from Seattle and traversed the inner passage and had port stops in Juneau, Ketchikan, Kodiak, Hubbard Glacier, Anchorage, and Sitka. My favorite port of call in Alaska is Sitka with the onion domed architecture. Unfortunately, it is not a stop on the normal seven day Alaskan cruises. Our cruise was a 14 day cruise that included Sitka. I also really liked Juneau and Anchorage. Bob and Judy Stevens from Sequim (and Springfield, Illinois) were our traveling mates.
Mexican Riviera: This cruise left San Diego and stopped in Cabo San Lucas, Mazatlan, Aculpulco, Zihuatenejo, and Puerta Vallarta. This was a very nice seven day cruise that we took with the Stevens from Sequim.
Boston to Quebec City: The cruise from Boston to Québec City is absolutely awesome. Marlene and I went with two other couples from Sequim, Washington. This cruise has stops in Bar Harbor, Halifax, Bay of Fundy, Newfoundland, Prince Edward Island, and of course Québec City. In my opinion, Prince Edward Island is the gem of this tour. It is quaint and, of course, very rooted in literary history due to the Anne of Green Gables series of novels. We also found Québec City to be very interesting. We took the 14 day version of this cruise not realizing that the second week was basically a repeat of the first week in reverse order. I highly recommend this cruise, but I now would only take the seven day version.
Panama Canal: In 2017, Marlene and I decided to travel to our condominium in Florida from Washington State by cruise ship. Yes, we booked a Panama canal cruise that started in Vancouver, Canada, and had ports of call in Oregon, San Francisco, Cabo San Lucas, other ports in Mexico, Cartagena, Columbia, and a private island in the Bahamas. First, the city of Vancouver, British Columbia, is magnificent and one of the prettiest cities that I have ever visited. Probably, my favorite port of call on this cruise was Cartagena. We particularly liked the “Old Town” section of this city. The Panama canal cruise had always been on our bucket list and we are now able to mark it off our list. I highly recommend it.
Amsterdam to Vienna Riverboat Cruise: In 2016, We went on a cruise with Grand Circle on the rivers of Europe. This cruise started in Amsterdam and ended in Vienna, Austria. We liked it because there were only 140-150 people on the river boat. We stopped at some interesting cities along the river. We were able to visit Nuremberg and Heidelburg which were short bus rides from two of the ports of call. It was eerie standing on the grounds were Hitler made his infamous speeches and viewing the courthouse where the Nuremberg trials were held. That was a great tour offered by Grand Circle Tours.
Caribbean Islands (3): We have cruised to almost all of the Caribbean Islands. As we spend our winters in Florida, it is very convenient for us to take cruises out of Tampa. I think we have taken two out of Tampa and one out of Port Canaveral. We traveled with Marlene’s brother Mel Miller and his wife, Vera, on all three of these cruises. After a while, the islands all begin to look alike. Still, I really enjoy cruising.
Baltic Sea: Our last cruise was a tour of the Baltic Sea countries. This cruise featured the Scandinavian countries of Finland, Sweden, Norway, and Denmark. Other stops on this great cruise were Estonia and St. Petersburg, Russia. We also were able to take a side tour to Berlin from one of the ports in northern Germany. Overall, I give this cruise five stars out of a possible five stars. My favorite ports of call were St. Petersburg with its interesting buildings and fascinating architecture and Tallinn with its old world charm.
Great Britain and Ireland Tour by Motor Coach
In 2018, we took a C.I.E. Motor Coach Tour of Great Britain and Ireland. We flew from St. Louis to London via Toronto. This 14 day tour included stops in London, Cambridge, York, Edinburgh, Belfast, Dublin, Killarney, Waterford, Bath, and others. That was my first long bus tour and I really enjoyed it. I would love to return to the Kilarney, Ireland, area again in the future. I do prefer the smaller towns over the large cities.
I realize that this is not the Travel section, however. I pointed out in the introduction to this sub-section that there would be some overlap with the Travel section as this is part of my life post-Vietnam.
From Washington State to Illinois and Florida
Marlene and I really enjoyed our 13 years in Washington. It was a tough decision returning to Illinois; however, we decided that we wanted to be closer to our families. We love our home in Springfield, Illinois. We also really like our condominium and Bradenton, Florida. We have been coming to Florida in the winters for the last nine years. We purchased our condominium in 2013. We like the fact that in both of our homes, there are no steps. We planned it that way.
Old Favorite TV Series
Marlene and I are not much into television shows at this time of our lives. Currently, about all that we watch on a regular basis are “NCIS” (Marlene loves it, but I lost interest when Ziva left!) and technical crime shows such as “Forensic Files”, “On the Case with Paula Zahn”, and “Joe Kenda”. We were huge fans of the “Longmire” series and even purchased Netflix when it was the only channel offering that show. Some of the old shows that we enjoyed that no longer are available were “ER”, “LA Law”, “The Closer”, and “Rizzoli and Isles”. Of course, we watch a lot of news and analysis. Marlene has several cooking and food shows that she likes. In the summer, Cardinals Baseball is on almost every night.
Who could ever forget Lilly on “Cold Case?” I loved that series. Another favorite series was “CSI New York” with Gary Sinise and Melina Kanakaredes. I was very disappointed when Melina was replaced by Sela Ward. (Gary Sinise is one of the good guys in this world!) Then, there were the two Law and Order shows that we did not want to miss. They were “Law and Order: Criminal Intent” with Vincent D’Onofrio and Kathyrn Erbe and “Law and Order: Special Victims Unit” with Mariska Hargitay and Christopher Melonie. Dick Wolf certainly has produced some winners with all his crime series.
Enough! I hear you, but I must share a story about a series that we never viewed when it was first aired. That was Seinfeld. I always made fun of it when it was on every week for a few years and the critics loved it. (Usually, I do not like things that the critics like.) I could not figure out how anyone could like a show about “nothing”. When it went into syndication and the reruns began, Marlene and I decided to give it a watch as it was on right after we finished supper. Wow, that show turned out to be the best situation comedy that I have ever watched. I understood why it was such a popular show. The actors portraying the characters (Jerry, Elaine, George, Kramer, and Newman) were all great and the writing was fantastic. I simply loved that show, but the series finale left a lot to be desired!
High School Sports
When Marlene and I first met, her son, Nick, was a senior and her daughter, Heather, was a junior at Rochester High School. We began attending basketball games in 1989 and missed very few girls or boys basketball games during the fifteen seasons (1989 to 2003). We watched some very bad and some very good teams during those years. We enjoyed them all. We have followed a girls basketball team during the nine years that we have lived in Bradenton. We were rewarded four and five years ago with trips to the final four in Lakeland, Florida. We were the State champions that first year and won fourth place the year after. These tournaments were lots of fun for Marlene and me.
Marlene and I have certainly enjoyed following the Rochester Rockets football teams since we returned to Illinois three years ago. We left Rochester in 2004. Rochester High school began its football program in the middle 90’s. It has been a successful one as it has won eight state championships since the 2010 season. Marlene is not a football fan, but she has really enjoyed going to the Rochester games. Her explanation, for liking the Rockets is “they never have to punt. Before, when I attended high school and even college games, they would run the ball three times and then they had to kick.” She is right. The Rochester Rockets play an exciting brand of football that features a lot of passing. They have a great young coach and are great fun to watch!
Final Thoughts
Since Marlene came into my life, I still spend a significant amount of my time on the computer and am still basically a couch potato; however, I am much more open to trying new things and experiencing new adventures. I suppose that I am a work in progress. I have matured immensely since my early college years. It has been a gradual process, but I am getting there. I do still sometimes allow the three amigos to enter my life, but I can honestly say that am better at fighting them off. Shyness, is still my greatest enemy.
Vietnam was a game changer for me in many ways, both positive and negative. I try not to dwell on the negatives and accentuate the positives. Marlene filled a void in my life as she made me more complete – a whole person. She convinced me that no other person can make me happy if I do not like myself. I now am really appreciating and enjoying the natural wonders and beauty of this place called earth. I now have a much better capacity to have a good time. I apologize for gloating about my wonderful wife. I suppose that I may not always show it, I do love her dearly. Finally, Marlene and I love the Lord and appreciate the fact that he will never fail us. God is good!