Andy Franklin:
CLASS OF 1977
Washburn High SchoolClass of 1977
Washburn, ME
Zweibruecken American High SchoolClass of 1976
Zweibruecken,
Andy's Story
Left Washburn because I didn't belong there. Joined the Navy and attended the hardest school they had to offer (NO, not THAT one. Hah!) Join the Navy and see the World! Oh, YEAH!!!
THEN, I wound up in Beirut in the middle of the Lebanese civil war. From there, our Task Force thumbed our noses at Muammar Gaddafi in the Gulf of Sidra. After that, we went to Egypt when Anwar Sadat was assassinated, then went on to assist the Coast Guard TACLET on their first live mission which was called "The Recife Incident". Recovered 30 tons of marijuana, 600 pounds of heroin and 400+ pounds of cocaine.
Attended college while I was still active duty. End Of Active Service was October of 1983. After leaving Norfolk, Va., went to Clear Lake in Texas and worked for Ford Aerospace at the Johnson Space Center as a Maintenance Manager on the mainframe computers during the first few Space Shuttle missions. After I got bored with that, I went to work at NORSK Data as a contractor to Link Flight Simulation doing hardware/software integration and installing NORSK Data supermini computers on the F-16 simulators. Went around the globe doing maintenance and installation of the computers on said simulators at various Air Force bases in different NATO countries. NORSK went belly up so I was picked up as a direct hire to Link Flight. All was well until Link was bought out and gutted by Paul Bilzerian, the famous "Corporate Raider" who promptly skimmed the retirement funds and then sold the company piecemeal, YAY! Corporate life is SO much fun... Sometime in there I wound up getting divorced. Yeah, things aren't always what they seem, oh well...
After I was finally laid off at Link, I was self employed for a bit (Loooong story... Did some overseas "contract" work, yeah... THAT kind) so I had a Federal Firearms License and bought and sold guns and sporting goods. Life got a little strange for a bit, then the divorce and consequently, the IRS wiped me out so I had to start from ground zero. I would not not recommend this approach to life, BUT, I recovered after a while. Oh yeah, did I mention I became an alcoholic? Recovered from that as well with a hard constitution and the help of God. Haven't had a drink since June 4th of 1985.
I finally landed at the South Texas Project Nuclear Generating Station (Which I have now been retired from...Expand for more
for the past couple of years! Spent 32 years there) as a computer field engineer and then I went into Maintenance and Technical Training. Somewhere around 2009 I earned my instructor certification in Krav Maga. Subsequently, I taught self defense and operated a Krav Maga school during the evenings. Also, before and during that time I was an assistant instructor at the local Tang Soo Do school. In my 40s and 50s I was very active and involved in a LOT of different things! I trained with Dan Inosanto, "Superfoot" Bill Wallace, Ernest Emerson and Richard Bustillo at his studio in Torrance, Ca.
I was in a few bands and went through the nightmare of trying to make things work regardless of all the usual things that make bands fail. All to no avail, unfortunately...
I figured out I could make more money repairing guitars and amplifiers, so I started a company building tube amplifiers for musical instruments. This was a side hustle on top of my other side hustles while still working full time at the nuclear power plant. Wish I had that kind of energy today, LOL!
These days, I've slowed down a little but I teach as an adjunct/overrun instructor at the local college and I also teach at several different industrial facilities. I teach Nuclear Theory, Electro-mechanical Generation, Nuclear Power Generation Process Instumentation and basic to advanced electronics. Also in the mix is Solid State electronics, Digital Fundamentals, Microprocessors and Fiber Optics. However, I pick and choose which contracts I want and choose where and when. I like it this way, life is so much better!!!!!
I still play my guitar every day, write a song here and there, and still strength train and practice martial arts. Maybe ONE day I'll just kick back and relax and enjoy those "Golden Years", not for now though... Too much life to live!!!!!!
Well, that covers most of the high points and things I'm willing to disclose. There is still a vast number of trials and tribulations in between these lines here. Stories that'll make you laugh so hard you'll lose control of your bladder and just as many (if not more) that'll curl your toes.
Well, that was kind of a spurious moment of typing away madly on my keyboard. I intend on keeping on as long as I'm able!!! Many more stories to be told!!!
My gratitude if you managed to read all this! LOL!!
Register for Free to view all details!
Yearbooks
Register for Free to view all yearbooks!
Reunions
Photos
