Memories. Ahhh Yes, Memories of My Life

Another Prompt From A Group Of Prompts For The JAFBG

What is something people get wrong about your occupation, gender, community, ethnicity, sexuality, religion, medical condition, etc. that you would like to clarify?

         This is nothing major, nor a real eye-opener for anyone who knows me. But doing what I will write about here gives people the wrong impression about me at times.

         I quit using most four-letter words when I left the Navy. I figured (hoped) I would be getting into a career, work shoulder to shoulder with people completely unlike my Submarine shipmates, and thought they would probably not cuss like a sailor. So I made a conscious efforft to not cuss.

         In the early days of my retirement from the Navy, I struggled to find a job with decent pay. I worked in a restaurant, worked in retail sales, drove a taxi-cab, went to school at night just to draw GI Bill Benefits (at the time, $700 a month, more than I made each payday) and have extra income for the family. It was 1993, imagine having 6 children, the youngest is 3 months, the oldest is 13. You make $8.00 an hour, working 40 hour weeks, and have a retirement income from the Government of $1300 a month. So yeah, we struggled.

         I worked at a Red Lobster as an Alley Coordinator (kitchen, arranging food on plates/trays to be taken to tables), and one day I cussed, using a word that starts with S. (I remember this incident distinctly)

         A young female server was nearby, and gasped, "Jim, what did you say?"

         I responded, "Nothing, nothing important."

         She came back at me and said, "No, you cussed!" I couldn't believe it, I'd just spent 20 years in the Submarine Service, and she was surprised that I would cuss? We talked about things a little bit, and at one point she said, "You have to understand Jim, you not cussing made me think you were a priest or something." That's when I realized I'd been successful in removing four-letter words from my vocabulary. This same thing has occurred on at least 3 more occasions since then.

         But heck, if you know me, you know that's far from being true. I started writing in 1995 or so. My first efforts were centered around Erotica/Porn; there were reasons for writing that genre that I will not go into here. Let's just say I was unhappy with my life, the direction it was heading, how I was living. That's all behind me now. No, I have not changed to become a Saintly person, nor am I a eunuch or anything like that. I'm just me, someone who has finally embraced his golden years, accepts himself for who he was all those years ago, and who he is in today's world. What I find a bit humorous in all of this entry, is that I 'quit using four letter words' in 1993. Yet in working at Motorola, I probably say one or two more often than any of my co-workers! So no, they're not really gone, just on the back-burner if you will.

         Along with all this, I've had to learn to not be too judgemental about those who freely use F bombs and more all the time (another JAFBG prompt). That was easier said than done.

         That's all for now. Aren't you glad? Till next time, y'all be good, take care of yourselves, and love those who love you. And of course, keep on writing!