Rob Riggott:
CLASS OF 1981
East Windsor High SchoolClass of 1981
East windsor, CT
East Windsor Middle SchoolClass of 1977
East windsor, CT
Broad Brook Elementary SchoolClass of 1974
Broad brook, CT
Rob's Story
Howdy to all the folks back in EW,CT.
(I can be found on Facebook and have set up a few groups for East Windsor Schools. Please visit and join.)
Let's see....I last attended school in East Windsor in 8th grade, when my brothers and I were sent to school in Enfield.
I left East Windsor Dec 26 1980 and moved to Tulsa, Oklahoma. Got an apartment, got a job, got a loan, and put myself through Aircraft Mechanic School. I finished in May 1982 and moved back to East Windsor.
I had trouble landing a job in aviation due to the recession at that time so I worked at machine shop in East Hartford with my brother Scott and lived with my grandparents. By March 1983 I was bored to death with everything so one morning I woke up and went to see the Army recruiter, 3 days later I was gone.
I started as a private E-1 and went to AH-1 Cobra helicopter weapon systems school at Ft Eustis, VA. The Army found out I was a licensed Aircraft Mechanic so they kept me there as a weapon systems instructor. I was promoted to Private First Class within 6 months, Spec 4 within a year, and Sergeant E-5 within 2-1/2 years. I got married, have a daughter born in 1985.
I reenlisted for AH-64 Apache school in Mar 1986. By Dec 1986 I was separated, filed for divorce, fought for and got custody of my daughter--she was 21 months old. Spent the next 2 years as a single parent in the military working flight line maintenance for the Apache Test Pilot School and was assigned to Headquarters Post.
I was promoted to Staff Sergeant E-6 with 5 years time in service. In order to make ends meet (baby sitter and attorney fees), I took a part time job at Flight International in Newport News working on Learjets, 20 hours on my weekends, Saturdays and Sundays. I also took 2 months leave near the end of my military service in order to do contract work for MacDonnell Douglas Helicopter. I was employed at 3 jobs all at the same time.
I became involved with The Army Suggestion Program and recommended several improvements to the AH-64 Attack Helicopter (it was a very new piece of equipment at the time and had issues). All except one of my suggestions was accepted (I have a funny story to tell on the one they denied). All this and I was a single parent on a 60 plus hour work week. Needless to say, at the end of 6 years (my 2nd enlistment), I was totally burnt out, and being a single parent was conflicting with my career, so I didn't re-up.
I was pleasantly surprised when I received a Meritorious Service Medal upon my discharge. While in the Army the only times I ever saw enlisted personnel awarded an MSM was when they retired after 20 years service. At the time I could'nt understand why I received the award, but looking back now I understand how I earned it and think, "I SHOULD'VE gotten 2 of them!".
By March 1989 I worked full time at Patrick Henry Field in Newport News for a year and then I was offered a job in Richmond working for Martinair Inc on Corporate jets and turboprops. I have been there ever since July 1990.
I bought my first new car in 1992, a Ford Escort Wagon because it got great mileage, had a roof rack, plenty of cargo room for camping gear, and a car payment I could afford. (As of Aug 09 I still own the car. It's my primary transportation, ...Expand for more
has 360,000 miles on it, and still runs great.)
I eventually saved up enough to close on my first house in 1997. A small 3 bedroom ranch outside Mechanicsville. It was a quarter mile down a gravel road on 2 wooded acres. I had deer grazing 10 feet off my porch in the front yard on Saturday mornings, wild turkey squawking in the woods on Sunday afternoons, and after dusk I'd put the windows up and go to sleep listening to the Pur-will's calling each other over the chirping of the crickets and tree peepers.
It was real nice until Hurricane Isabel took down over 25 large oak trees. It made a mess. Insurance wouldn't cover the clean up and I couldn't give away the wood, although a co-worker said he'd come and take some if I'd cut it and split it for him. (I asked if he also wanted me to load it on the truck, drive to his house, and stack it for him too...)
So what did I do? I cut several oak trees into 8 foot sections and everyday after work for a month I split the trees with a sledge hammer and a couple wedges. Turned my hurricane mess into a nice 100 ft long split rail fence out front of the house by the road.
I sold that house in 2006 and bought a house with my girlfriend out in Rockville, VA. It's on a deadend road a mile back from the main road. 10-1/2 acres out in the horse-country-side west of Richmond. I traded my ranch in the woods with deer and turkey for a colonial with a view of soy/corn fields, horse farms, and a spring-fed creek that has a persistant, perennial beaver problem.
I have an 11 year old son from a previous relationship, he lives with his mother in Delaware and every 3rd weekend I drive to Bowie, Maryland to pick him up.
We have a good time. I have a canoe and when it's nice we put in on the upper James river in Goochland county and float down, swim and fish. We go ice skating in Short Pump- he's a pretty good skater. We got lots of Revolutionary and Civil War historical stuff to see and do around here, so it's easy with an 11 year old boy.
In the fall when the leaves change and the weather's cool, we sometimes put the bikes in the car and go riding through the hills of Hollywood cemetary, past the graves of JEB Stuart, other Civil War heroes, and the graves of 3 presidents-- John Tyler, Benjamin Harrison, and Jefferson Davis. We sometimes hook up the Jon boat and go croaker fishing near Yorktown. Norfolk is 90 miles east with a museum and battleship USS Wisconsin, Charlottesville is 50 miles west, Fredricksburg is 50 miles north and DC is a 2 hour drive. Petersburg is about 45 minutes south.
We recently got a 1996 Yamaha Virago 750 from a guy out in Lynchburg. It had 18,000 miles on it in mint condition. It's nice to pack some swim shorts in the saddlebags and go for a ride out in the countryside, stop and then go for a swim in the river. The water's very clean on the upper James. You can see the rocks and gravel on the bottom 6 feet down, smallmouth bass, gar, carp, catfish....it's become my recharging station on the weekends.
My daughter's grown up and lives in South Carolina. The rest of my family lives on Scantic Rd. I travel up a few times a year to visit.
Feel free to drop me a line. TToggir at AOL and say hi.
(Ask me about my animal lover neighbor and the beaver story.)
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