Edward Swift:
CLASS OF 1969
Wilmington High SchoolClass of 1969
Wilmington, DE
Edward's Story
Damn glad I was creative and had an artistic flair throughout my early years... that's probably the only reason I may have stood out from the crowd. Writing dirty limericks and sketching semi-pornographic cartoons for friends on the spur of the moment seemed to be a somewhat unique talent back in the day. Too bad I let Weird Al Yankovich parley that talent into serious bucks.
It did get me into the Philadelphia College of Art but suddenly I was a very small fish in a very big pond. At 17 years old, I lacked "worldly" experience from which to draw upon and my 20-plus-year-old classmates had plenty. And their art showed it! I decided that I too needed to see more of the planet than just Wilmington, Delaware so, at Christmas break, I was called by the Coast Guard recruiter in Philadelphia and told if I wanted to join, now was the time. I had been on their waiting list for nearly a year and this was the opportunity I figured I needed to gain that worldly knowledge. I enlisted for four years with plans to "see the world" then return to art college and knock 'em dead.
It didn't quite work out as planned. My first part of the "world" outside Wilmington was boot camp at Cape May, N.J., barely 70 miles away. My caustic limericks and artwork kept my 45 shipmates entertained and I dreamed of serving on a big Coast Guard cutter, visiting dozens of foreign ports. Upon being summoned to the office of my company commander (who had stumbled across some of my latest porno cartoons), I assumed the worst. However, he too must have appreciated pure artistic talent and the next thing I knew I was drawing signage for the base (instead of doing PT and running the obstacle course).
When the time for orders came at graduation, I didn't get the "any ship, any place" I had requested. Instead, I was transferred to Cleveland, Ohio, where I served as a crewman on a Coast Guard rescue boat in Lake Erie. It was fun, educational and rewarding... I even saved some lives while a boat coxswain. Still, I wasn't far enough away to really gain that elusive "worldly" thing I hungered.
As things go, being assigned to Cleveland turned out to be the very best thing for me. I met and fell in love with the USO "Cookie Girl"...Expand for more
after moving from the lifeboat station to the Coast Guard office downtown to "build a TV studio and make training tapes" because I was artistic. Mare would push a cart filled with half pint cartons of milk and donated cookies to all the offices where there were military. The building housed the Coast Guard's Great Lakes District office so there were about 200 Coasties, plus the Navy Finance Center and the Armed Forces Processing Station (remember Vietnam was going hot and heavy and there was a draft). Every guy there tried to hit on Mare but I guess she simply fell for my "Would like me to paint your body?" line. I had worked in a head shop (The Underground) back in Wilmington and did body painting. Whatever, it must've worked because she ended up dating me.
We married within 15 months and both our sons were born in Cleveland. I had also converted from Boatswain's Mate to Photojournalist and our little family's next duty station was Honolulu. I was finally getting to see the world.
Two years in Hawaii were followed by 18 months in Los Angeles, then 3-1/2 years at Gloucester City, N.J., just across the river from Philadelphia. Next it was New London, CT for two years, then Governors Island, N.Y. for four years. We left for Washington, DC in 1982, then back to Cleveland in 1990 for two years. We returned to Virginia in 1992 and have lived in Woodbridge ever since. So much for going back to art school though.
All in all, it's been an awesome trip and I can now say I am worldly, as are Mare, Kris and Scott. The kind of education you get from moving around, seeing other states and countries, and learning other cultures certainly helps broaden you, and looking back I wouldn't change a thing.
Got tons of crazy stories, mostly from my 30-plus year Coast Guard career, and don't mind sharing 'em with you as long as you're buying the beer.
Mare and I have been happily married now for more than 37 years and are sons are doing well. Kris is 37, married, a father, and working as a deputy sheriff in Marin County, CA. Scott is 35, single, and working security for the Dept. of Energy in Washington, DC. I come home every day after work to mare and our two cats, Rocky and Stella. Life is good!
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