Glad that meeting is over and I can start lunch and get back to my story.
Did I mention that I slept with my wife the first night I met her??
Well, I should back track a little I guess.
You have to realize, I graduated with 92 other White Type Farmers
from a little hyphenated, white type farmer High School. The hyphenation was needed otherwise I'd have only graduated with
60 other WTFs. All because my folks house resided exactly one mile outside the City Limits. Yes, I am a victim of Busing,,,
Growing up I had heard of Asians (no offense Tweeze
and Mexicans (had no upbringing that explained what Latino meant
) but, I'd never seen any (except in the library
). There was of course the only other race that Central Illinois spit out back in those days (of which my very first, self-declared girlfriend in the first grade was, to the everlasting amusement of my parents).
We moved out of town when I was in the fourth grade. I sometimes wonder if my "color blindness" didn't contribute to my parents decision to move...
That was also well before I'd heard the phrase "Once you go Black,,,".
So, I was thrown right, smack, dab into the middle of WTF.
In HS I was a bit out of the "Norm". I wasn't a Stoner with Pot smoke flying outta the wing glass of my '66 Chevelle. I was
EQUALLY NOT a Farming Hick with a tricked out 69 Fleetside complete with a polished wood bed and the requisite empty bottle of Jack rattling around back there.
I had a 73 Datsun (Jap Car) pickup initially so, try hanging with the Fleetside Boys (Bonus points if you have a Step Side or a Duelly) with that! It's like trying to hang with the 66 Chevelle Boys driving a Chevy Chevette.
I had enough Farmer in my blood and worked the land enough with my Sharecropping Grandparents that I could hang with the best of the WTFs but, since I didn't live on the South Forty milking cows I was like a spare electron.
I had friends in town who started a New Wave Band (what the hell happened to the Old Wave?). I was a bit of a punk that listened to The Clash, X, Rush, Zep, U2, The Cars and was mildly proficient in Molly Hatchet so I could at least speak WTF.
I also read a ton of Sci Fi/Fantasy and played D&D. Anathema to Skoal dippers.
All in all, a
Born Natural to enlist in the USN (Dad and Uncle Dave both served proudly) and be thrown out into the big blue ending up stationed across the bay from SF which I'm sure is the Yang to the Cent. Illinois Yin.
So,,,, being a Central Illinois Boy who was thrown into the middle of the SF scene in the 80's, it was both a COMPLETE SHOCK AND AWE and an amusement park all rolled into one.