This photo was taken in the summer of 1972 when I was twenty-five years of age. I had just gotten an honorable discharge from the US Navy. I was stationed at the Naval Base in Norfolk, VA and Admiral Zumwalt was CHIEF OF NAVAL OPERATIONS (CNO).
I owned a 1967 Plymouth Barracuda convertible, living in the Piedmont of North Carolina, was married and had a 6-month-old daughter. I was working full time and was getting ready to return to college in the fall, where I attended as a full-time student while continuing to work full-time.
Being full-time in both these areas was difficult but I managed. My family and I pretty much lived paycheck to paycheck, did not feel disadvantaged even though we did not generate much revenue with both of us working.
I went to classes in the mornings, worked 8 hours as soon as I arrived at work, and then went home and studied or did homework for several hours. I went to three classes on M-W-F and two classes on T-TH and got to work by noon. Home by 8:30 pm and studied until midnight. I always worked a half day on Saturdays.
Life was simple but good and oftentimes rewarding especially because I was in a position to watch my daughter grow rather than always be on a business trip like my father was when I was growing up. In the summertime, we always had a vegetable garden of corn, tomatoes, cucumbers, squash, zucchini, carrots, potatoes, bell peppers, lettuce, cabbage, and melons.
We were no different than our neighbors... it was just what everyone did back then.
There were no racial tensions back then, at least where I lived, no worries about drunk drivers, crime and violence, and no problems with migrants who worked in the fields around us.
- Gas was cheap.
- Food was cheap.
- Clothes were cheap.
- Car maintenance was reasonable.
- Medical issues were non-existent.
- Neighbors helped each other.
WHY DID LIFE HAVE TO CHANGE???
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