I was born and raised in Cincinnati, OH. In fact, except for four years in the Marine Corps, I have lived my entire life in Cincinnati or across the Ohio River in Fort Wright, Ky.
I graduated from McNicholas High School in 1979, and after one year of studies at the University of Cincinnati, entered the United States Marine Corps in 1980. Upon my honorable discharge from the Marine Corps I was hired by Delta Air Lines and shortly thereafter joined the United States Air Force Reserve.
Shortly thereafter, I was re-admitted to the University of Cincinnati in the College of Applied Science and after a chance meeting with a high school friend who had recently received a commission in the Marine Corps, I gave the idea some credence myself and spent a fun filed summer at Officer Candidate School in Camp Upshur, MCB Quantico, VA.
I soon came to the realization that Marine officers were a cut above anything I might ever be and withdrew from the Officer Selection program. A short while later, I accepted full-time employment with Delta Air Lines with the lofty title of “Mechnic’s Helper” (essentially a non-licensed aircraft mechanic) and for the second time left the University of Cincinnati.
I’ll finish this later…