Richard Platt:  

I've had an interesting, to say the least, life. After high school I lived in town for awhile until I decided to join the U.S. Navy which I did in August '76. I didn't report to boot camp until February '77 as I was in the delayed entry program. I made it through boot camp with only one "hit" against me for the entire two months. Most people come out with 3 or more. I was then sent to Submarine school inn Groton CT as I had volunteered for service in that branch. I was above average in my studies there. After sub school I was transfered to class "A" & class "C" schools in a place called Dam Neck VA. I was only average in both those schools 'cause I was a little more interested in partying and having a "good time". It was great! After my schools were finished in VA I was sent to Charleston SC which was my last choice of the three bases we had to pick from. I didn't think I was going to like it there and went with an "attitude". I was only there about 2 days before I started to see things differently and found that it didn't matter where I was as long as made the best of what was handed to me. I was assigned to the U.S.S. James Madison SSBN-614 Blue crew and learned very quickly the good and the bad of life in the Navy. I qualified for submarines in one patrol, which is 3 months if you are on a "boomer", which I was. Unfortunately, by the time I got back from my patrol I had decided that the military wasn't for me. I wasn't a very patient person and was very upset that another crew member had got a promotion in front of me only because he was buddies with the men on the promotion board. It really pissed me off and I didn't have the perseverance to wait for the next round of test and decided to go AWOL and see what I could do on my own. I stayed on the lam on and off for nearly 2 years and for the most part enjoyed myself thoroughly. But I finally decided that I must "face the music" and went back to the Navy to "do my time" and get out. I was finally discharged in March 1981, on St. Patrick's day no less, and was free to make my way in the world. For a while I was just happy to be back home and make a living at my old trade, which is electronic assembly. I was trained as an electronic technician in the Navy but found I liked building rather than troubleshooting and repairing broken and defunct equipment. I did this for about 10 years but I was still searching for something that I just couldn't seem to find. I'd been in a couple of relationships but they ended one of them, quite possibly, the best that I'd had. Early in 1991 I moved to Dallas TX to get a new start and try my hands at different things. I didn't care for Dallas much and after just 7 months decided that I'd return to California. I was back for a little over a year and then got an opportunity February1993 to go to St. Paul MN and see what I could do. I loved and still love St. Paul. What a great city! I had a great time while I was there and would probably still be there but the timing was bad and I couldn't find any long term work. So it was back to CA where I could at least find work. I realized that I probably couldn't afford to buy a house in the area I grew up in but at least I could make a bearable living for a while until I decided what to do next. I was doing OK, not bad, not good just the status quo when in April 1994 I ran across an old friend who had unfortunately had burned himself out on drugs and whose older brother was looking for someone to look after him when he was away on business which was quite often. He, the older brother, saw that I seemed to have a calming effect on his brother and asked me if I would mind staying with his brother while he was away. I said sure. After just a couple of months of this arrangement the brother asked me if I would like to move into the spare room and take over full time care taking responsibilities for ...Expand for more