Quote:
Originally Posted by Mike D
That has to be one of the best opening sentences in an "open discussion" post I have ever read.
It just boggles the mind. I bet Christmas around his place was an exciting time.  |
He was an interesting dude. Former Navy pilot, Army Guard helicopter pilot, mechanical engineer, never married, didn't like kids so he got himself fixed (certificate hung on the wall along with his dogs' neuter certs), built his own house over a 20 year period on a lake in central ME, built his own submarine to avoid the game warden on his way home from the bar on the other side of said lake in the early a.m. hours, was single-handedly the 10th largest consumer of Busch Light in kegs in the state of ME according to the distributor's records, lived a life of leisure from date of discharge until the age of 50 without any discernible source of income while wintering in the FL Keys or Australia (there's a huge barter economy in the woods of ME so money wasn't really necessary).
He could really fix anything with duct tape and bailing wire if needed, and with the proper tools could fix or make anything the right way. He designed a flash board system for the lake association's dam in his free time (of which there was much) to prevent spring flooding of lower camps, which had plagued them for decades.
At the age of 50, got his first "real" job since the military for a national power company, flying all over as a consultant and trouble-shooter on new and retro-fitted power plants. Primarily to get health insurance since he was so fed up with the VA health plan. Ironically, he lost his battle with lung cancer despite being vehemently anti-smoking and never touching a cigarette.
I learned a lot of things from him over the years. Most of them my mother wished I hadn't.
Hijack over.
