Bob wrote in news:32445f78-e4dd-4a5d-99f0-4379ff79aac9
@p10g2000prf.googlegroups.com:

Why, cause momy and daddy
have always been there pushing.


My parents were simple country people who never understood anything I did
that included "wires and things" since I was about 8. My dad didn't try
too hard to direct my life as long as I kept his TV running to distract
him. That TV was JOB ONE in my shop.

I diverted his attention away from his unused "shop" in the garage long
enough to move his stuff to a corner and build the ham radio station onto
his cleaned off work bench. It was about 7 months before he needed to use
his workbench for something I've forgotten before he noticed...(c;

I left the keys to his shop on the table the day I was forced to join the
Navy to avoid being drafted for cannon fodder in Vietnam. He was at work
when they wisked me away to be sworn in before the postman brought my
mother my draft notice. I made it.

Once gone, they pretty much dumped all my "wires and things" into the trash
truck. I was furious when I got home on Navy leave....

About the only other thing he said to me was how bad my grades were in the
boring central school system in the town, except for science and to a
lesser extent math. Rote memorization of history dates Mr Scarry was
fascinated with seemed worthless when you had been talking to the
DXpedition on some South Pacific island, on 6 bands, until 3AM, filling out
the QSL cards to send them at breakfast just before school. To all but 3
teachers in high school, once I got there, ham radio or electronics was as
foreign to them as speaking Martian....(c; They expected me to learn THEIR
favorite subject, but were under no pressure, like I was, to learn MINE!

Skip is approaching Lon-gylund on Spot right now. Click up the Hybrid view
and you can see all the SAND BARS on the bottom.....