July 1971
At 16 years and 11 months old dad and I had an argument (one of many). A few days later before my 17th birthday he sat me down and laid out all the rules I was going to live by for my final year in HS. Horrible stuff like; a curfew, get good grades, do chores around the house, quit runnin with my no-good friends. He was not nice in the way that he told me about these new rules either.
After he explained all that, he said there was an alternative: I could get my GED and join the military at 17 if I didn’t like it. He really pissed me off.
The next day I marched down to the Navy recruiting office, got the papers, brought them home and showed them to him. He had to sign as I was under 18. I handed him the papers as he sat in his usual, well-worn spot at the kitchen table. He took the papers, looked them over for 10 seconds or so, grabbed his pen and looked up at me standing there.
He asked me one question: “Is this what you want to do?
I boldly said: “Yes!” with all the defiance I could muster. He wasn’t going to make ME live under his cruddy rules!
He briskly signed the papers and handed them back to me. Not another word was spoken. Within a couple weeks I was on a bus heading towards the Phx airport and boot camp in SD.
After about 6 months in I realized that I may have acted a little hasty,...but there I was. I spent four years on subs. Dad died suddenly several years after I got out.
It was about the best thing he ever did for me. Probably saved my life or at least kept me from goin to jail. I had time to grow up, learn some discipline and straighten out. I never thanked him for that
Thank you, dad, thank you.
Thank you for sharing that story.
Than you for sharing that heart warming story.