1972 – Back to Long Island and on to Albany

1972 – Back to Long Island and on to Albany

Camping with Dottie

It was 1972 and this would be the first presidential election that I would be able to vote in. Richard Nixon was nearing the end of his first term of Presidency and early on it looked like Ed Muskie would be the Democratic nominee. Muskie was on top of the polls and looking like he might have a decent chance to unseat Nixon. But then the “Canuck Letter” came out, supposedly written by Muskie, containing unkind remarks towards Canadians followed by stories about his wife having a drinking problem and being a racist. Of course during the Watergate Investigations it was discovered that these accusations were false and were spread as part of Nixon's “dirty tricks” unit, but that was a little too late. George McGovern would end up being the Democratic nominee. He was a long shot to begin with and then with the Eagleton mess it made the Nixon re-election a slam dunk. At this point I was pretty discouraged with politics and to avoid feeling frustrated all the time I pretty much ignore them as much as I could. I had become disillusioned with the way the system was working and was beginning to see that there really was not all that much difference between the two major parties as it seemed that neither had any real intention of making any significant changes. They all seemed to care mostly about themselves and for those who were already on top. Democrat or Republican, the same cat just wearing a different colored collar. Yes, I was quite cynical but it was the way I felt and I still feel that way to a large degree.

For the last three years my life had been focused on just getting through and out of the military. I was now out. It was time to get on with my life. Many people have trouble adjusting to being out. They've been in a situation where everything was pretty much decided for them. Where they lived, their job, which they could hardly lose even if they wanted to, the way they dressed, and even the way they behaved was all dictated. There really was minimal worry about making decisions about one's life. That adjustment was not really a problem for me. I resented all those things and was ready to fully embrace my new freedom. It was true that I had not really thought much about what it would be like or exactly what I was going to do, but I was raring to go! One thing I carried over from the military was drugs. I was smoking a lot of pot in the Air Force and I continued to do so after as well. I continued to try other drugs but I did kind of quit doing LSD. LSD turned out to be the one drug I never did again, although my life isn't over so you never know. Nancy Reagan would later head up an anti drug campaign using the slogan “Just Say No”. But, this was prior to Nancy's thought provoking campaign. This was a time of saying “Yes Please”, and I usually did.

I felt like I got my life back but at the same time I felt I had lost three years. I had a feeling of being behind and I needed to catch up. I wanted to do lots of things and do them fast. Internally I was constantly in hurry-up mode. I was eager to go back to school. I had never really liked school but after three years of being discouraged from thinking on my own I was ready to get back into the academic community where thinking for yourself was not only encouraged but rewarded. My big adjustment turned out to be just accepting that those three years of military service were a legitimate part of my life. Something I failed to do for many years. For a long time I hardly ever said anything about being in the service. I would avoid mentioning it except maybe to another ex-serviceman with similar views.

My first Reserve weekend was supposed to be June but they told me not to worry about it and just to plan on starting in July. For the July weekend I drove up from Long Island. I had intended to get a motel room for Saturday night but there were beds there so I stayed the night right there. This Reserve Unit was associated with a working Air Base that was maintained by government contractors during the week so we were able to do all our service right on that base. This meant no travel to some remote location to do our annual two weeks, and even better, you could do your two weeks whenever you wanted. It was really very convenient. At the Reserve Unit I was liked and even valued. I got credit for having done active service which most of them hadn't and was treated with some measure of respect, something I had not experienced during my three years of active duty. They even promoted me to Staff Sergeant. Of course it could be that I am much more likable in small doses...

Back on Long Island, Dottie and I had moved back in with our parents for the summer. After we had had our own place this was not ideal. We got away a couple of times camping in upstate New York with Dottie's best friend from High School, Lorie and her husband Ernie. Ernie was also a Vietnam vet, a real vet, one who saw combat. He shared my disillusionment with our government. Dottie and I managed to find other ways to spend nights together too. I remember my Mom asking me one time what I did when I stayed out all night. I looked at her and asked “Do you really want to know?”. She looked at me and quickly replied “No”. I had reached the point where I held nothing back from my parents. If they asked me a question about what I was doing or not doing I would tell them the complete truth. Whether they asked about drugs, girls, or anything else, I told them whatever they wanted to know. My Mom soon discovered that there were things she would rather not know. It was a don't ask if you don't really want to know arrangement.

We decided to move up to the Albany area. Dottie wanted to go to graduate school and had been accepted in the Public Administration program at SUNY Albany. I decided to go to a community college until I could transfer to a four year school in a more desirable location, like out West. I applied to Hudson Valley Community College (HVCC) in Troy, NY. Since I had gone into the Air Force from New York I was still considered a resident and so the fees were low. I applied for aid and got a $500 student loan and a work-study job.

Dottie had a summer job on Long Island as a lifeguard. I don't remember exactly what I did. I had a few temp jobs, but whatever it was I did I soon decided that I would just head up to the Albany area early and find a place to live. I found an available apartment in Watervliet. Watervliet is just north of Albany, across the Hudson River (west) from Troy, and a few miles east of Schenectady. It was an older home that was converted into three or four apartments. The backyard was an all gravel parking lot. The house was on a main road with a steep grade. It sat a little more than halfway up the grade with a driveway on the side that also had a steep grade leading to the back parking lot. It proved to be quite challenging to get up it in the winter with the snow and ice. I rented the downstairs back one bedroom apartment. It did not have cockroaches or mice so it was quite upscale from the kind of apartments I was used to. The woman who owned the building was both religious and conservative. When I told her there would be two of us and that Dottie would be moving up to live with me she assumed Dottie was my wife and I quite willingly let her assume it. I moved my stuff in right away.

There was still a month or so before school started. I tried to find some work and looked around for some sort of job. There wasn't much, but Kirby Vacuum was looking for people. They provided training and then would send you out to sell vacuum cleaners door to door. Being my only option, I gave it a try. Maybe I could do it part time while attending school. I started their training program. which consisted of memorizing a script that you would do/perform for each potential customer, assuming you got in the door. The second day of training I realized this was not me. Heck, I am not particularly good at doing anything exactly the same way over and over much less a sales spiel. I also remembered that I had previously discovered I was no salesman. On day two I quit at lunch time. I gave up searching for a job and decided to wait for the work-study job I would get when school started.

Dottie's summer lifeguard job ended Labor Day and she moved up right after. I was out of the military, and living with my girlfriend. I was enrolled in college and for the first time in my life I was actually looking forward to going to school. I was living my life!