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In August 1973, I moved back to Barnhart and found a job working as an engineman for FWA, Inc. The job was seven days a week with an extra half-day every 10 to 14 days. I worked continuously and never had any time to myself as I was either working, driving to work, or sleeping. I was earning about $13 an hour but never had any time to spend it. So, in November I took a holiday. I traveled all over West Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, and southern California. At Big Bend I spent a night sleeping under the stars along the Rio Grande. I spent Thanksgiving Day in a small town in New Mexico waiting for my car to be fixed. I slept in a sleeping bag on the Grand Canyon and woke up covered in snow. When I got to Los Angeles, near UCLA, a man who asked if I was willing to take a psychology exam stopped me. I agreed and was told that I was susceptible to drunks, alcohol abuse, etc., and all of this was based on questions like "What is your favorite color?" As I found out, some people in California are nut cases and these people, the Scientologists, fit that mold well. When I got finally back to Barnhart, I found out that Luann had been in a car wreck and my driller wanted me to work again. I went back to work on the evening tower but quickly bored of it. On 10 December 1973, I was in the Armed Forces Recruiting office in San Angelo. I had taken Butch there because he had decided that he wanted to go back into the Navy. While the recruiter was talking to him, I talked to the Army recruiter. He said that I could get a $1600 bonus if I successfully completed boot camp and went into the infantry or artillery. The Air Force recruiter said he didn't need me while the Marine recruiter said I wasn't the type of person the Marines needed. The Navy recruiter, on the other hand, bought me a coke and said that he could get me just about anything I wanted. So, without much thought about the consequences, I signed a contract at the AFEES in San Antonio on 15 December 1973. I was supposed to go to Orlando in February but got a call in January from my recruiter asking if I would report on the 28th. The recruiter needed one more that month to make his quota. The driller who I was working for at the time, felt that I should tell them I changed my mind. Of course, he only said that because he was short-handed and needed me on his crew! Needless to say, I agreed to help the recruiter make his goal and flew out of San Antonio on the 27th arriving in Orlando at 0200 on the 28th.
Taken from the manuscript "Out of the Deep", by Robert L. Goehring. Published 1995, 1998.
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