It has been a year since I escaped the golden handcuffs of a very lucrative job building ships. It was tough to do, but a year later I am glad I did it. My old commute to work was 82 miles...one way! Now it is 1/4 of a mile, and done on a bulldozer, or skidder, or
tractor; and deep into the woods I go.
Now I find myself craving human intervention because other than my wife, or my 4 daughters, I really do not get out much. In some ways that is good; in others, not so good. But when I do get out, it is fun. I am with my wife, we are all dressed up, and we usually grab lunch or something together.
Years ago when I was in high school and the Army Recruiter would not take no for an
answer, he took me to the same restaurant my wife and I now stop at, and he said, "now don't you want to do something for your country?" At the time we had a
dairy farm and being the early 1990's when farmer's were despised, I got upset. I grabbed his plate of food, pulled it towards me, and said, "I think I already do." He looked at me, looked at his plate of food, and so I just pushed it back. he paid for the meal, but never asked me again about joining the military.
Jumping ahead 24 years later, my work ethic of welding found me welding a critical part of the ship; missile silos. It just has to be welded up correctly. Now I know there is heroism and merit to those who serve this great country, and other countries as well, but for me personally I love people and would rather
feed them then use my skills to build something that could kill them.
Like a squirrel out in the woods, I am now content.
2
