Del Allie:  

In HS I was a non-person, you won't find or remember me. Tinch and Taylor might. They probably had a good laugh when they received requests for my high school transcripts as they picked them out of the trash. I thought they might bring back the "E" for my benefit . I would have been happier if I had Charles Lockhart's '57 T-Bird. Fortunately dropping out never crossed my mind. Due to the D---HS grades college gave me credit for having military service and put me on a one-semester probationary status. From one probation to another. Was life telling me something? My applying was just a shot in the dark considering my D-grades were right on the line, so what the heck, At least I was consistent. Flunking one grade, I would have quit. Sitting by the door would decrease my outbound transit time. Favorite hang out place was Tozer's Pool Hall. A nice place and my folks always knew where I would be, keeping out of trouble. But I wasn't going to let a little thing like that stop me. A minor thing but enough to know that I needed to change my life and the Army was the only way I could think of. Shooting pool eased my Army time & typing skills paid off. Playing pool in the Army is a really big thing. Between playing pool and typing I had 3 comfortable years. Best decision of my life was joining the Army when I did. I just barely missed Viet Nam. I would have joined anyway regardless of the trouble. Post military I was filled with a new enthusiasm but not expecting any miracles. Although Judging by the replies, the colleges must not have yet reached their Gangster quota. I also applied to Millikin. They sent me a nice "Thanks but no Thanks" letter. That was my first rejection. It was such a nice form letter rejection I could have featured it in my resume. T'was more like a letter of recommendation. Almost married my HS sweetheart. That was the first bullet I dodged in my life. I was the only bullett she dodged. Anyway, she dumped me when I joined up, as was the case with many other guys. You know, out of sight out of mind. No more perfume/lipstick letters from Eileen. Smart girl! You can tell it's a Dear John letter by the thickness of the envelope. May as well have just sent a postcard. She was/is a stay in Decatur all your life girl. She is Now married 30+ years, I couldn't have done it. In fact, I know I couldn't. I was the only bullett she dodged. Why do you girls think a guy is being unfaithful while away on an Army post with 100K other guys. I didn't know at that time I was going to have such an intransit, X-the family life. Considering My work hours over many years at Shell, I would have missed any family life . She must have had a crystal ball. Oh well, family life, 9 months of immobility followed by 3 years of crying & crapping followed by 13 years of trouble and then they leave home and never call you again. X-2 or 3 times. Wife #1 already had 2 kids. She wanted to get fixed. The doctor was explaining the operation and possible side effects. Out of the blue I said "wouldn't it be easier if I was fixed?" Wow! How many men would say something like that. On the day there were so many men that looked like they would rather have been somewhere else, anywhere else. So far I've survived 2 heart attacks, motorcycles, two bombs in Peru, 2 cancers and wives' hurricanes Betty, Barbara, Patrizia and Carol.. While not particularly good-looking and underweight I did gain 40 Army lbs I had a plus in my 30's> with the women by having a real job and a stay-at-home-hobby. I drank at home..... Kiddin'. Don't drink, don't smoke, no drugs, I ain't no fun. Those years 30> the girls drop their expectation to a 6 on the good-looking scale. In my 50's a 4 as long as he has other qualities, a real job, money, etc.. Geez, now a 2 unless he is a complete bum. I made/make, not for sale, but they do sell for lot$, model boats. During the winter non-motorcycle months I particularly enjoy making them for Navy guys that want a model of the ship they served on. You can see them on You Tube, Go to Sovereign of the seas model, Del Allie Absolutely the #1 decision in my life Out of HS and after 3 months of unloading itchy asbestos from boxcars, blessed by my dad and PO, mom cried (all moms do) was to join the Army, Now, I can't imagine life without the VA and duct tape, The VA here as far as I am concerned is an A+. In '58 my daily dead end future was unloading asbestos from boxcars. That was another later in life health Bullet I dodged, breathing asbestos for 3 months. I have asbestos nightmares. I didn't have a future other than tomorrow's boxcar. But at 18 I was already a higher echelon Manager, of me. If Judy Garland survived those asbestos snowflakes in Wizard of OZ, so could I. Betcha didn't know that. Those 3 regimented Army years got my head on straight even though I already knew how to make my bed and that the pointy end of the gun is towards the enemy. I was lucky to be in a peace time Army, 58-62, nothing was happening in the world and I got out on a 3-month early release for college. As far as I knew Viet Nam was a far away beach resort. So peaceful that sometime I don't believe I deserve VA benefits. Except for giving 3 years of my life. Glad to be out but also glad to have been in. Best decision of my life. On the bright side, That was back when asbestos and nicotine were good for you, just check yesteryear's commercials, they wouldn't lie on TV. A little asbestos on your corn flakes in the morning, black coffee, an unfiltered Camel cigarette, filtered if you want to be a health nut, got my day off to a good start, all the way up to walking out the door. Then the cold harsh reality of another itchy boxcar load of asbestos. That's what I get for just squeaking by in HS. Even the women in my dreams are wearing asbestos PJ's with the feet in them. Against all odds and just after hell froze over I graduated HS with a perfect and consistent 70 (D-) grade. After 3 months which seemed like 3 years of unloading asbestos I joined the Army when all they required was a warm body able to pass the rain test., Looking back I am sure if I had not joined when I did I'd have been drafted into Viet Nam, or done more business with the DPD, it was that time. I couldn't qualify in today's Army at 110 lbs or a 10 I.Q., but back then all they required was someone that was breathing. If they survived walking up 2 flights of stairs to the recruiting office, that was good enough. At the end of my 3-years and with my new found enthusiasm I went on to get a BA from the University of Southern California in LA. It was 6 years of work, shooting pool & school. The Corvette I wanted was just going to have to wait. I had to choose a big city that I could find a job, preferably not asbestos related with classier crime. No G.I. Bill, no support, Poor me, ahww. Too late for the old GI Bill too soon for the new. Things were tight, but all that I had was a responsibility to myself. Here again, typing proved a big + working for a customs broker afternoons and playing pool at night with only a sliver of time to study or the time waiting for my opponent to miss a shot. I had to be careful in the volatile areas, Compton, East LA, etc.. Beating someone 500 to 490 makes for a happy looser. But 500 to 3 might trigger a beatdown. I was on their "turf". Oh well, I needed the tuition. USC was not cheap but it was in California. Happy loosers were necessary in the Army, we didn't have much money. I don't know what happened to my pool playing, it just kinda faded away. Got just so good and couldn't get any better. Unlike Sx Practice didn't make perfect. Besides, I had to get back into the real world unlike the Paul Newman movie. It was hard to keep going back after taking a semester off. It was not fun. I had 2 semesters studying including summer sessions, 1 or 2 semesters work depending on the Pool-shooting at night. High School was definitely irresponsibly fun'er. No work, all play, garbage grades. It is difficult maintaining a 70 when you don't want to study. Today close to passing is good enough. If I got a "C" I'd think of myself as being on the honor roll. Some of my D's, I think, were Pity grades. I Only weighed 110# (sports was out) my IQ far less, studied for the urine test but flunked it anyway as well as those simple, quickie Wonderlic tests until I memorized them. My dad tried everything to get me into sports, but it just was not going to happen. Playing pool equaled his expectations of me for a alternative to extra curricular sports. We made money from that. It paid better than running a 4-minute mile and it didn't require a shower after every game. Although I was good at pole vaulting. My favorite bully in HS was Gary C. or maybe it was 9th grade. He had me up against a locker. Then, get this, some teacher comes along and says "if you two want to fight take it outside". But like every bad memory there are 10 good'uns that we forget. For me it was a good memory if I didn't get caught. But all luck runs out sooner or later. Fortunately it was sooner. So, so much for my foray into crime. Post Army everything changed when I found that piece of my brain that had been missing. Then came the real world with actual responsibilities. That world that does not accept a D-. Followed by a few years of dead end jobs. Then an MBA from Thunderbird Graduate School of International Management in Arizona. After that 3 months at The College of Advanced Traffic and Transportation in Chicago. Maybe posting my resume on bathroom walls was not the way to do it. That was back when degrees mean't something, and simple tide-you-over jobs were all too easily found until Ms. right-job came along, if e...Expand for more