Chapter Fifteen: 1982-1983
All my Ex's Lived in Texas
At this poinrt in our story and the book, I think it is very appropriate to say that as anyone goes through life on earth for many years, I'd be willing to bet that certainly some, if not most of us have never really thought and realize many of the events over those years that contributed to or actually changed that life, for better or worse, richer or poorer, in one way or another. Things just happened, and we never thought about most of it, perhaps all of it. In retirement, when the daily routine is greatly reduced and one has plenty more time on their hands to reflect , some might be very surprised about the changes in direction, the contributions, large or small that they were a part of.
That was and is the whole real reason for this book. I had the time, I went back, and yes, I was very surprised by many things that at the time seemed like just a part of a time, and era, a job, you name it. I saw a movie once that starred called "Mr. Destiny," that starred te English actor Michael Caine. The premise of the fil was that if ONE, even small thing, changed in your life, your whole life actually changed. I thought about that movies before I started this book and watched it again. It certainly really made me think and yes, was the probably the inspiration I needed for this book.
Now, in looking back at all those years and especially my years at SAC Headquarters, the realizationof those years and those yet to come is mind boggling.
The recall is one thing but the actual events looking back at it all in hindsight is really something else.
So here we are, born in 1944, joined the Air Force in 1964 just before age 20 and now we are creeping up on the last three major assignments in the next three chapters before retiring from the military in 1988 after 24 years of service.
So the next place we visit for a year, is the same place where it all began nearly 20 years before. Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas, and the hits as they say just kept on comming.
We moved into a really nice apartment complex on the outskirts of San Antonio with easy access to everything from the base to downtown and pretty much any other place we wanted to go.
I was assigned to the base Public Affairs office which as I mentioned is what w broadcasters do when we are on a tour of duty in the USA.
The big every weekday project was the Hometown News Release program where photos of the new recruits in their blue uniforms are matched with a fill in the blanks story lines for possible publication in their hometown papers.
Basically the smaller the town, the more likely these stories get used. It's all a part of the basic training routine. But there would be plenty of opportunities for other things on the private side of life. Again, after doing the basic tourist things like the San Antonio river walk, some of the restaurants, cafes and boat rides on the downtown canals, of course the Alamo, it was time to look into more part time work.
That didn't take too long. I managed to secure a week-end overnight program and shift at radio station KKYX which was a 50,000 watt powerhouse in the daytime, reduced to 10,000 watts when I was on at night.
That was OK. It was a country music station and in Texas, that had a built in audience no matter what time you were on. Things were going OK with both jobs.
One morning, the major in charge of the office came to my desk and said with a smile. What do you suppose you would say and do for your boss if he told you that a celebrity was about to visit the base, not for a few moments but for a few days?
Your job will be to escort her around.
My first reponse was, HER WHO?
That turned out to be the hottest country music singing star at the time, Sylvia.
He said you need to set up a daily program like a demonstration at the K-9 working dog school we have here, a tour of the base, and a lunch or two in the permanent party dining hall, a visit to at at least one basic training unit, that sort of thing. Use your imagination. Then, meet them at the San Antonio airport and gave me the flight information. They'll be here for three days and they will do a show for the base folks on the last of the three nights.
Between the hometown program and setting this up correctly, it was suddenly pretty busy.
Sylvia and as it turned out, her lead guitar player arrived as scheduled.
They took the tour of the base, we had a military K-9 working dog show for them, they ate with the troops, we kept them busy for maybe half of each day. I'd say we became fairly good friends.
At the time, I learned that she was pondering what her next single would be. So I invited her to visit my apartment, meet the wife and her mother my adopted daughter and maybe a neighbor or two and get a consensus. She thought tat was a good idea and then she and her escort, my friend and I would go out to dinner. It became a plan.
That's what happened.
We did pick the song and I think it reached like number 18 on the country charts as I recall. The show on the night of their visit was great. The office staff all chipped in and we bought her a dozen yellow roses for her trailer (the Yellow Rose of Texas) and of course I got to be the delivery guy.
I asked her if she would consider making a trip to Iceland. That was the assignment I wanted next and was looking like I just might just get it.
She said she would look into her touring schedule and other commitments, but sure if it could be worked out, she'd love to come. She was one celebrity that was totally down to earth and focused of each and every day.
You know, you often hear about many recording artists, TV and film stars being so full of themselves and can be very difficult to nearly impossible sometimes to work with, or even be around. Absolutely nothing could be further from the truth with this top of the charts celebrity. There were always a few difficult ones you'd encounter, more often their managers even worse. But Sylvia was a gem.
I got a call from the main assignments section at Randolph Air Force base, the sergeant actually that made the assignments in my field. I never met the man but we had talked on the phone several times.
He said that he had an opening at the Broadcast Management school part of which was held in Burbank, California, just a couple of miles from Hollywood. He said that after the school though, I would have to do a remote assignment, probably to Greenland. At that point I had almost concluded four years stateside and in my field it was half-past time for something like that.
I said to him sure, I get it, just please not to Keflavik, Iceland, (A little reverse phsycology mind you)
He said, well it could be as station manager at either Thule or Sondestrom which certainly are in Greenland.
In 1972, I had visited both but each for only a couple of hours, not a full year which what was in the offing. Within two weeks I had my orders to the Defense Information management school and they would try and get me the follow-on assignment before I left so I could plan accordingly.
The day before I checked out, they checked in,
I got the notice that the follow-on assignnment would be he Navy broadcasting station in Keflavik, Iceland after Hollywood. YES !!
I'm not sure which one pleased me more actually. We went out to Burbank and stayed in a Sheraton, hotel and each weekday we'd be taken to AFRTS in LA for instructions, briefings, and tours of the facility.
The the last thing on the program was an afternoon social
It was there I got to meet some very famous celebrity announcers. Among them (at the time) were Gene Price, Bob Kingsley (who actually did a tour in Iceland when he was in the military) Charlie Tuna, and the one and only Wolfman Jack. Among others. That was a very special afternoon to say the least. Then, the official graduation from the course.
I took just a few days leave, reported to McGuire AFB in New Jersey and then boarded the flight to Iceland. The airline charter they were using at the time was Arrow Air.
I mention that because that same plane a few months later crashed outside of Gander, Newfoundland. I must have flown on it half a dozen times before that happened.
When I arrived, I was met by my sponsor who had a sign that said, "Welcome to Hawaii, See Iceland first." Somebody forgot to tell him or he didn't know, I had been there, done that and was thrilled to be back. For me it was like coming home. My job this time was to be Radio station manager but later I found myself as the NCO Station manager for six weeks. The Navy assignments for a replacement chief petty officer at Keflavik somehow was held up for whatever reason in Washington. It was fine by me.