November 2, 2022, would have been my mom’s birthday.  Unfortunately for me she passed in 2012 at the age of 89.  I think about her often.  “What a beautiful day the Lord has made” she would always say.  And today is a beautiful day, and the older I get the more I realize how right she was. 

Her name was Mary, and she, and in many ways my step-father, Everett Holt, both of whom are pictured below, made a long-lasting imprint on my life.  Another major factor in my life was when I joined the military in 1972 (50 years ago!).  It was during the Vietnam War and the Cold War.  And it was about this time in the year when I received permission to stop at home to visit them.  I had recently completed boot camp, my specialty ‘A’ School, and a pre-nuke school, which awarded me an advancement in rating to E-4.  I was somewhat proud of what I had accomplished and I think they were too.  During the couple of days when I stopped by their house, my mom took the picture of me shown below at this moment in my life.  It brings back special memories every time I see it.  And oh how I wish that I could still fit into that uniform!!