Sorry I'm not very regular with this blog. Life is just super busy as always. I'll try to pick up our little story.....I served in the Oklahoma National Guard for 6 years as an Infantryman. Nothing very exciting really, humped a ruck sack and carried a M60 machine gun thru the woods of SE Oklahoma was about it. I did one 3 week rotation thru NTC as OPFOR my last year in but that was it. I ETS'd in March, 2000 and in April was a proud member of the US Navy Reserves......yup, the Navy in Oklahoma. Needless to say I was not on a ship. I served as an equipment operator for 3 years, then ETS'd from there as well. Again, not much to exciting......I was in when 9/11 happened but because I was still considered in training and had not been to my second 2 weeks of school yet I did not deploy with my unit....this decision was made by the unit just days before departing......AFTER the sad farewells from church....the family get togethers, and after quitting my job. Makes you look like a punk showing back up at church the following week only to say well, they changed their mind.....I'm not going. Stupid.....my unit deployed to GUAM to build roads......weren't even anywhere near any combat. Thanks....my one shot to serve active duty snuffed out because I haven't been to Gulfport, MS and drove a forklift for 2 weeks.
During this time I had several jobs, all of which were leading pretty much nowhere.
As soon as I got back home from Basic Training with the Guard I went to work for Wal-mart, first as a checker, then ended up after about 5-6 months as a department manager over pets, lawn and garden and seasonal.....i.e.; Christmas/Halloween/Easter/You Name it.......they were kind enough to pay me about $5.50 an hour to manage all three of these departments at the same time. Needless to say this didn't last long, although I truly loved the job. I think I just love people and helping others. During this time the kids started coming along......James Dean in November of 1993 and Paris in December of 1994.......for some reason I picked up the nickname of "fertile turtle" by the Wal-mart ladies.....;-).
I left this job and became an over-the-road truck driver for our great friends the Collards. I mostly hauled new horse trailers from the manufactures to the dealers. We ran basically the lower 48 states. Again, loved this job but missed the family. When I started out the kids would knock me down when I got home.....after a year and a half or so they didn't know who I was. I came off the road on a Thursday and told the boss I was hunting a local job, went to Ada Coca-cola on Friday and filled out an application and went to work on Monday.
Again, great job that I loved. Now I had the opportunity to combine 2 loves......people(sales) and driving. I had this job over 6 years and would still be there now had they not accused me of dishonesty. They had a history of accusing their highest paid drivers of theft.....in the 6 years I was there they had 5-6 guys that were in this category......I always had this suspicion in the back of my mind that they used this as a tool to fire people that they deemed to be making to much money but I never thought I'd be accused. I was a very effective salesman.....if the company goal was 6.5% growth I gave them 10%. Oh well, they will get what's coming to them.....I went directly to work for Pepsi with a single mission of spanking Coke.....glad to say I was pretty effective there as well.
I had applied for a government job while at Pepsi and was finally offered one. Pepsi was good to me and would have no issue working there again.I went to work for the McAlester Army Ammunition Plant as a forklift operator, then moved on into Transportation driving a semi truck hauling explosives on the installation. Loved this job as well but it was only a term job.
After about a year here I was offered an internship with the QASAS program (Quality Assurance Specialist, Ammunition Surveillance) which I'm working at today. After a year of school at McAlester we were sent to Fort Riley, Kansas.....what a great place and a tremendous blessing for me and my family. We found an incredible church home and we prospered while there. We also made some of our very best and closest friends while there. I pray that we will have the opportunity to return there some day.
Along the way we have had 5 great kids who continue to be an example to me. They make me want to be a better man, and better father. It is impossible to consider what I would be without them.
Well, I'm really not very proficient with my writing skills.......I have visions of me writing eloquent pieces, memorializing my family but end up with funny memories and sore wrists from chicken pecking on this thing!
Thru it all Tracy has been the one strong pillar in my life. She has never doubted me (well there was that one period when I was a meathead but we don't need to relive that), and has loved me when I surely did not deserve it. She has kept the church in front of me when I was making every effort to walk away, and for that I am truly grateful.
I'm glad I have eternity to try to thank her because I'll need it all.......after reading back thru this post is is obvious that it's all about me and that was not my plan......my work history is probably not the exciting blog reading you are hoping for but I think it is very telling for me......it shows me just how focused on making a living I was instead of focusing on making a life.
Thank God He forgives us and allows us these chances......
God Bless you all!
James
