Howard Doering:  

When I was born, Dad was a model builder for Vultee Aircraft during WWII. Dad and thousands of others were immediately laid off after the war, but luckily NACA (NASA's predecessor) needed wind tunnel model builders. So off we went to Newport News/Langley Virginia for my first Southern living experience. After a little over a year we came back to California after Dad landed a job at Douglas Long Beach. On the trip back, I remember standing up in the front seat, watching the jackrabbits cross the road passing through the headlight beams at night. At first we lived in the apartment above Grandpa's machine shop on Eastern Av in East LA Then we hopped around from Monterey Park, Downey and Norwalk. Dad and Mom wanted a slightly more rural life, so Dad & Mom had a house built in N. E. Anaheim. Dad designed it. We moved in October of '53. Wow mostly orange groves then plus we got to go watch as Disneyland was built. Well, through the years, Anaheim closed in around us, but Mom taught me how to grow vegetables. I still love freshly picked produce, but haven't planted a garden in several years.In 2009 I revived the garden and it is producing fruits and veggies again. Started to get serious about model airplanes in Jr High and still am a top competitor to this day. As they say, "Like father, like son."! I went to Fremont Jr High, Anaheim High, Fullerton JC, and Cal Poly Pomona. During my first semester at FJC, Dad convinced me to join the armed force of my choice so that I wouldn't be drafted. Little did I know that as long as the grades were good, they would 'defer' me. Oh, well, signed up for the Naval Air Reserve. Promises, promises, 2 weeks active training and one weekend a month, plus 2 years active duty at the station of my choice after coll...Expand for more