I have found the G I Bill kind of humorous. Before I went into the Army, I was taking a class in Diesel Mechanics. I got my draft notice and not wanting to be a random factor and take what they were giving, I decided to enlist. So, my friend and I decided to do a buddy thing. Off we go to the recruiting office and sign up for that. I said I wanted to go into Diesel mechanics, so the recruiter looks up in his book and says, here you go, 62E20, Diesel Equipment and Operation. He further said when you get to your school, you will have the option of going into operating or maintaining. Lies, all lies.
So, we get to the reception center and we're sitting there, not having a clue what is going on, when all of a sudden this HUGE Negro Staff Sargent comes stomping out and says in a loud voice, "OK, who's the !$@#$$%$^Y alien?" Who knew he was a Canadian? So, off he goes, and that is the last I ever saw of him. Maybe he wound up as a stew for the non coms. Time passes, I finish basic and off to my school. I there found out that operation and maintenance were basically the same thing. We learned how to operate bulldozers, scrapers, graders and all that fun stuff. The maintenance part was lubricating, changing oil, maintaining fluid levels, etc. My choice, my a$$.
Phase II. So, I do my time and I see the world. Finally I get out and go back to college, again at the Diesel course at the local city college. I am there less than two weeks and lo and behold, the teacher up and died. No more class. They offered a class in auto mechanics which I transferred over to, but I had already had a few of those, so it was no big deal. Fast forward a couple of years or so, and I had worked in service stations and garages but not a lot of progress. So, I decided to go back to school in accounting. Surprise, I really aced that. Seriously, would have had a 4.0 if it weren't for typing. All the time, I was getting a check from Uncle Sam the first of the month. So, I can say that the benefits finally paid off. How good is that?
Over a course of time, I went from accounting into computer programming and operating and finally, I got into powder horn making and here I am today, still making horns in my semi retirement. And Uncle is still sending me a check every month. It just goes on and on.
John
Topic: A Big Step (Read 902 times)