notice on the front of the TV, just above the on-off button. l did everything l was to do, but before l could stick the notice l was grabbed from behind by the elderly couple, one on each side, in firm control of both my arms. They quickly
dragged me back to their still-opened front door, across the landing and let me go from the top of the stairs. l did manage to go back up the stairs and bang on
their locked door (l had to try it). The next guy to be sent there was accompanied by a Prince George's County Sheriff's Deputy.
The first payday at C.l.C. made it possible to buy more materials for another few paintings and l did knock out about that many within the next month. A little later, l learned about another sales/service position that gave my income a considerable boost. lt was Home Optical. They offered complete optical services
in the customer's home. First, we picked the customer up from home and drove them to their optometrist's office for an exam and the resulting prescription. We
will help them choose their frames. Then we will send your prescription and choice of frames to our occulist who will grind the lenses and put them in their frames. Then we'll deliver them to you and fit them to your ears and nose.
In the first 3 months out of the Army, things went fairly well. Ron was able to use my help re-posessing cars about ten times a month, l re-posessed a gang
of stuff for C.l.C. and they supplied me with the new 59 Plymouth on schedule
as well as supplying a lot of good training in the art of conducting smooth, suc-
cessful re-posessions. ln the fourth month l had progressed some in that art and
felt comfortable applying what l'd been taught. By then,Home Optical was doing
well too, considering how little time l was able to invest in it once l got rolling in
re-posession. And Painting:Near the end, l realised that time to work the phone
for Home Optical most often came from time that could have been used to paint. l really liked doing everything that l was doing, but if l could, l would just
paint. By the middle of the fourth month out-of-Army l had completed and sold
three more paintings,all non-objective, all 3'x4', all at the same coffee house, in
the same week, all purchased by the same person and at the great bargain price
of $575.
Also in the middle of that same month (June '79) Herman and his fiance,
Tatiana were married. All of the house-mates served as ushers. Tatiana grew
up in Chapel Hill, N.C. where her dad was Pastor of the Episcopal Church.
Right, total downtown church wedding. lt remains the most beautiful wedding
l have witnessed. l took the '59 Plymouth carrying myself and three other
ushers. The following Monday at our regular morning conference l gave Bob
my check that represented the cash l had collected on Friday and used over the the weekend. He refused thecheck and sent me out to cash it and bring him the cash. When l returnedwith the cash, he handed me a notice of dismissal and a check for what C.l.C.owed me at that point.
owed me at that point
Friday, December 25, 2015
Employed 9 Part 2
The reader may have noticed that only eight paintings were noted while nine were counted. the painting l neglected was the 3'x3' square. lt was from a photo of many photos taken of the moonless, clear night sky over the Nevada desert, not far from Midas. lt was among two rolls of pix that Dulce and l shot with her
new Nikon of different parts of the sky. l had an 8"x10" print made of it, then cropped it to an 8"x8", then painted it's image (somewhat expanded) onto the 3'x3' canvas. lt had been my favorite of all the pix we shot that nite. And since
Dulce shot the pix, l named it's painted counterpart "Spacey Dulce". Of that batch of nine paintings, l liked it so much l decided to keep it for my own, and only sold it when l left D.C. because it would have been very difficult to get it across the country in a car loaded with five guys and their stuff.
D.C. is a great town for culture. All of the monuments, memorials, museums and art galleries are free of admission charges, even the White House tours.
Dick Dewitt (my landlord in Alaska) taught me to make frames and stretch canvas over them, to mix paints to achieve specific colors and to use brushes
and palate knives to apply the paint, but l got no instruction about what to paint
(subject) or how (technique). For ideas and inspiration and just pure joy,l often
visited the National Gallery of Art. lt is a huge complex complex displaying
hundreds of paintings of of all genres. l don't think l added much to my ideas for subjects, but l did pick up some knowledge relative to technique. Not so much as to how l could do it, but from seeing onthe actual paintings, the result of the masters' grasp and execution of it, increased my appreciation of their work as
well as my enthusiasm to paint.
lf it hadn't taken so long to sell those eight paintings, l might have had some money in pocket when the last of the eight was sold. No materials, no paintings
no sales. Good thing my rent is covered, but being employed,immediately
became necessary. Our house-mate Ron, who had reached the end of his Army service some weeks earlier than l had, took a job with GMAC (General Motors
Acceptance Corp.) as a field rep. He mostly re-posessed the cars of folks behind on their payments. Quite often, when none of his co-workers was able to help
with a re-posession, l was able to help, and also make a few bucks. But when l talked to Ron about the possibility of me working for GMAC, he said that they had no openings, but he referred me to his friend Bob Nagly, who was a supervisor at Commerce lnvestment Company, a consumer finance company
owned by Union Bank.
Bob and l hit it off rightaway.He was very happy to give his stamp of approval to a new veteran who, thanks to Walter Baring, had left the Army honorably only
a few months earlier. When he learned that the language school he was very much impressed and l'm all "Oh yeah, bring a Russian linguist for the NSA was
a great, if clandestine way to serve". Bob had been on active duty in the Army
lnfantry and afterward, the D.C. National Guard, to which he still belonged. l
completed the application as we talked.When l accepted his offer($100./wk,a
new plymouth company car and a few other benefits)he apologized for having
to provide me with an older car (57 Plymouth) but a new 59 Plymouth would
replace it within a week.
C.l.C. did not finance cars. But boats? You bet. Anything from a dinghy to an
ocean-going yacht. Yes,too to motorcycles,scooters,kitchen and laundry appliances, TVs and more Tvs. AM/FM radio-record player consoles were very
popular then too, as l recall.
My very first day at work for C.l.C. was notable. An elderly couple had fallen behind on their TV payments. Specific instructions for handling the visit was to knock on the door, introduce myself as an agent of C.C.C., then go directly to
the TV and stick the "Property of Commerce lnvestement Company
new Nikon of different parts of the sky. l had an 8"x10" print made of it, then cropped it to an 8"x8", then painted it's image (somewhat expanded) onto the 3'x3' canvas. lt had been my favorite of all the pix we shot that nite. And since
Dulce shot the pix, l named it's painted counterpart "Spacey Dulce". Of that batch of nine paintings, l liked it so much l decided to keep it for my own, and only sold it when l left D.C. because it would have been very difficult to get it across the country in a car loaded with five guys and their stuff.
D.C. is a great town for culture. All of the monuments, memorials, museums and art galleries are free of admission charges, even the White House tours.
Dick Dewitt (my landlord in Alaska) taught me to make frames and stretch canvas over them, to mix paints to achieve specific colors and to use brushes
and palate knives to apply the paint, but l got no instruction about what to paint
(subject) or how (technique). For ideas and inspiration and just pure joy,l often
visited the National Gallery of Art. lt is a huge complex complex displaying
hundreds of paintings of of all genres. l don't think l added much to my ideas for subjects, but l did pick up some knowledge relative to technique. Not so much as to how l could do it, but from seeing onthe actual paintings, the result of the masters' grasp and execution of it, increased my appreciation of their work as
well as my enthusiasm to paint.
lf it hadn't taken so long to sell those eight paintings, l might have had some money in pocket when the last of the eight was sold. No materials, no paintings
no sales. Good thing my rent is covered, but being employed,immediately
became necessary. Our house-mate Ron, who had reached the end of his Army service some weeks earlier than l had, took a job with GMAC (General Motors
Acceptance Corp.) as a field rep. He mostly re-posessed the cars of folks behind on their payments. Quite often, when none of his co-workers was able to help
with a re-posession, l was able to help, and also make a few bucks. But when l talked to Ron about the possibility of me working for GMAC, he said that they had no openings, but he referred me to his friend Bob Nagly, who was a supervisor at Commerce lnvestment Company, a consumer finance company
owned by Union Bank.
Bob and l hit it off rightaway.He was very happy to give his stamp of approval to a new veteran who, thanks to Walter Baring, had left the Army honorably only
a few months earlier. When he learned that the language school he was very much impressed and l'm all "Oh yeah, bring a Russian linguist for the NSA was
a great, if clandestine way to serve". Bob had been on active duty in the Army
lnfantry and afterward, the D.C. National Guard, to which he still belonged. l
completed the application as we talked.When l accepted his offer($100./wk,a
new plymouth company car and a few other benefits)he apologized for having
to provide me with an older car (57 Plymouth) but a new 59 Plymouth would
replace it within a week.
C.l.C. did not finance cars. But boats? You bet. Anything from a dinghy to an
ocean-going yacht. Yes,too to motorcycles,scooters,kitchen and laundry appliances, TVs and more Tvs. AM/FM radio-record player consoles were very
popular then too, as l recall.
My very first day at work for C.l.C. was notable. An elderly couple had fallen behind on their TV payments. Specific instructions for handling the visit was to knock on the door, introduce myself as an agent of C.C.C., then go directly to
the TV and stick the "Property of Commerce lnvestement Company
Sunday, December 13, 2015
l reported to HQ Company at the stroke of 9 AM, as ordered. SGT Vaughn, with-
out so much as a "hello" to me, told Jamey to drive me to Mustering Out. Jamey didn't have much to say to me either except to make sure l knew l had
screwed up.
My regular release day was Feb. 5. My name had failed to appear on the bulletin board on Feb 2, when it should have. The meeting with Rep. Baring was in the early PM the same day. My orders did not require me to wait at Mustering Out until my ETS, but required that l be released on the same day that l had arrived there.So, at about 1:30 PM on Feb.3,1959, The Army and l
officially parted company. For good or ill.
With the good of that day, came some not-so-good: When my house mates
heard about my visit with Rep. Baring, an impromptu party came together despite it's being Monday. Everyone had ideas of things l might do while
processing out that might help me be remembered. Goldstein offered to
trade cars with me for the day. Being seen driving that big beautiful Caddy
might give somebody the idea that my ship had come in (overnite) Maybe
the Army had stood in the way of my success and things changed for me the moment l left it. A lot more stupid ideas were advanced (some very funny).
All easily rejected. Except the Caddy.Not that it was likely that anyone would
even so much as notice who was driving it, but l enjoyed driving it and l
believed it might get me laid; it worked for Goldstein. Pretty funny story, l'll
try to get back to it.
Almost as soon as l got on the Baltimore-Washington Expressway l was passed by a Greyhound Bus. The next glance at my mirrors saw them full of flashing red lights. l had just over $600. cash on me at the time,most of it
mustering out money. The cop told me to follow him to a magistrate's house
a few miles down the road. l was fined $750. (And, l swear l was BELOW the
speed limit) He took the $600 l had and set me up to pay the balance over
the next three months.
Well, l wasn't ready to have such an arguably celebratable day go south.
When l returned home, l let everybody know how much l enjoyed flashing
that big, beautiful boat, as l saw the 6th Cav and then all of Fort Meade
disappear from the rear mirrors. l said nothing to anyone about the speeding ticket, that night or even to now as l write about it. We all had a great nite.
l thought about the speeding ticket for a long time. At one point l thought
that someone in HQ Company had given a description of me and of Goldstein's
Caddy to a Highway Patrolman friend who could do the dirty work.
At mustering out, l was given a pile of papers including the sought-after
champion: form DD214.It describes the soldier's history in service and
certifies the length and honorability of that service. Because l enlisted before
l was of draft age, l was told that l would need to visit the draft board within
a few days after my release from active duty and register for the draft.Having
served more than 28 and 1/2 months active duty l would be required to be a reserve soldier but in the inactive reserve, not the active reserve.All the forms
come in a sealed manila envelope with orders to deliver it, as is, to the draft board.
About two days out, l visit the draft board. What a hoot: l told the lady "serving" me, that until mustering out, l had no idea l might be draftable in
the future. l wanted to know what my chances of actually being drafted actually were, considering that l had honorably served 35 9/10 months.Going
into the Army, l was told that 28 1/2 months of active service would totally
fulfill one's military obligation. "l was hoping that l wouldn't have to come
back. Ever. She had opened the jacket when l gave it to her but had placed it such that l was unable to see the forms. On hearing what l had hoped for, she
moved the pile of forms to where l could clearly see them. She picked up each form (six or seven in all) and held them so l could easily read the text.
On every page, the letters P I appear in red ink eight or nine inches high.
These pages are 8 1/2 X l l. "Pl, that's not my initials,LP is what you want".
"We weren't trying for your initials. "PI" is the initials of "Political Influence"
and that means that we'll be drafting women and children before we get back
to you".
How can an intended insult bring the recipient of it such sheer joy ?Immediately! On the down side though, it did occur to me that she,being obviously out of patience with me (let's say angry)she might very well remember me and the next time they need soldiers she could "mistakenly" send me her very first draft notice
About two years later, (mid 1961) l actually received notice that my reserve unit was soon to be activated. Were it not for the fact that my living situation
did not allow for re-location, l could have had to return to duty, then. We'll
re-visit that situation when our story reaches mid 61.
Whatever the future might bring l was very much going to enjoy life as a
civillian. The first week out, it was enough, heavenly really, to lie in bed for an hour after waking, then some breakfast while watching some of Dave
Garroway's Today Show. Then, put some paint on the stretched canvas
prepared earlier. l hoped to knock out a half-dozen or so paintings before
the materials l had were exhausted. Arrangements were made to display
paintings in some of the business establishments (coffee houses, cocktail
lounges, dinner houses---a hell of a selling job in it'self) in the Virginia, DC
Maryland area. A 30% commission was paid the businesses.
That first batch was good: The materials were sufficient to complete the
3'x4' that l had stretched first, five more 3'x4's and two 3'x5's. Those nine
paintings sold within 70 days(one wondered)and brought me $2,520 in 1959 dollars after commissions and other expenses.
.
out so much as a "hello" to me, told Jamey to drive me to Mustering Out. Jamey didn't have much to say to me either except to make sure l knew l had
screwed up.
My regular release day was Feb. 5. My name had failed to appear on the bulletin board on Feb 2, when it should have. The meeting with Rep. Baring was in the early PM the same day. My orders did not require me to wait at Mustering Out until my ETS, but required that l be released on the same day that l had arrived there.So, at about 1:30 PM on Feb.3,1959, The Army and l
officially parted company. For good or ill.
With the good of that day, came some not-so-good: When my house mates
heard about my visit with Rep. Baring, an impromptu party came together despite it's being Monday. Everyone had ideas of things l might do while
processing out that might help me be remembered. Goldstein offered to
trade cars with me for the day. Being seen driving that big beautiful Caddy
might give somebody the idea that my ship had come in (overnite) Maybe
the Army had stood in the way of my success and things changed for me the moment l left it. A lot more stupid ideas were advanced (some very funny).
All easily rejected. Except the Caddy.Not that it was likely that anyone would
even so much as notice who was driving it, but l enjoyed driving it and l
believed it might get me laid; it worked for Goldstein. Pretty funny story, l'll
try to get back to it.
Almost as soon as l got on the Baltimore-Washington Expressway l was passed by a Greyhound Bus. The next glance at my mirrors saw them full of flashing red lights. l had just over $600. cash on me at the time,most of it
mustering out money. The cop told me to follow him to a magistrate's house
a few miles down the road. l was fined $750. (And, l swear l was BELOW the
speed limit) He took the $600 l had and set me up to pay the balance over
the next three months.
Well, l wasn't ready to have such an arguably celebratable day go south.
When l returned home, l let everybody know how much l enjoyed flashing
that big, beautiful boat, as l saw the 6th Cav and then all of Fort Meade
disappear from the rear mirrors. l said nothing to anyone about the speeding ticket, that night or even to now as l write about it. We all had a great nite.
l thought about the speeding ticket for a long time. At one point l thought
that someone in HQ Company had given a description of me and of Goldstein's
Caddy to a Highway Patrolman friend who could do the dirty work.
At mustering out, l was given a pile of papers including the sought-after
champion: form DD214.It describes the soldier's history in service and
certifies the length and honorability of that service. Because l enlisted before
l was of draft age, l was told that l would need to visit the draft board within
a few days after my release from active duty and register for the draft.Having
served more than 28 and 1/2 months active duty l would be required to be a reserve soldier but in the inactive reserve, not the active reserve.All the forms
come in a sealed manila envelope with orders to deliver it, as is, to the draft board.
About two days out, l visit the draft board. What a hoot: l told the lady "serving" me, that until mustering out, l had no idea l might be draftable in
the future. l wanted to know what my chances of actually being drafted actually were, considering that l had honorably served 35 9/10 months.Going
into the Army, l was told that 28 1/2 months of active service would totally
fulfill one's military obligation. "l was hoping that l wouldn't have to come
back. Ever. She had opened the jacket when l gave it to her but had placed it such that l was unable to see the forms. On hearing what l had hoped for, she
moved the pile of forms to where l could clearly see them. She picked up each form (six or seven in all) and held them so l could easily read the text.
On every page, the letters P I appear in red ink eight or nine inches high.
These pages are 8 1/2 X l l. "Pl, that's not my initials,LP is what you want".
"We weren't trying for your initials. "PI" is the initials of "Political Influence"
and that means that we'll be drafting women and children before we get back
to you".
How can an intended insult bring the recipient of it such sheer joy ?Immediately! On the down side though, it did occur to me that she,being obviously out of patience with me (let's say angry)she might very well remember me and the next time they need soldiers she could "mistakenly" send me her very first draft notice
About two years later, (mid 1961) l actually received notice that my reserve unit was soon to be activated. Were it not for the fact that my living situation
did not allow for re-location, l could have had to return to duty, then. We'll
re-visit that situation when our story reaches mid 61.
Whatever the future might bring l was very much going to enjoy life as a
civillian. The first week out, it was enough, heavenly really, to lie in bed for an hour after waking, then some breakfast while watching some of Dave
Garroway's Today Show. Then, put some paint on the stretched canvas
prepared earlier. l hoped to knock out a half-dozen or so paintings before
the materials l had were exhausted. Arrangements were made to display
paintings in some of the business establishments (coffee houses, cocktail
lounges, dinner houses---a hell of a selling job in it'self) in the Virginia, DC
Maryland area. A 30% commission was paid the businesses.
That first batch was good: The materials were sufficient to complete the
3'x4' that l had stretched first, five more 3'x4's and two 3'x5's. Those nine
paintings sold within 70 days(one wondered)and brought me $2,520 in 1959 dollars after commissions and other expenses.
.
Monday, December 7, 2015
Employed 8 Part 6
"Captain Myer, how could you have known that little Opel belonged to Herman Shultz, how do you know him?
"Well, we met at the golf course at Fort Meade, uhm about ,well almost a year
ago. A few days before Thanksgiving 57. And the car: My dad was part of the occupation of Germany after The War (WWII). When l reached driving age, my
dad, passed his three-year-old Opel on to me and got himself a new one. They were very reliable and fuel efficient AND though they're made in Germany, they-re made BY General Motors. Essentially an american car built to the standards required by German engineering. So, once Herman let me know he was looking for something light and economical to replace his 52
Buick, l probably had more to do with his purchase than the Salesman did."
With the hope that my visitors would be impressed, l showed them into the house thru the basement's outside entrance at the side of the house. lt was somewhat smaller than the front entrance, but made of the same materials
in the same design. The front entrance with stoop of seven steps carried one
from ground level, up four feet to the first floor, while the side entrance
carried arrivals to four feet below ground level, to the basement floor. Silver-
hued framework holding bevel-edged glass gave the rntries a very finished look. The basement, having as many square feet as each of the other floors,
seemed huge owing to having many less walls than the floors above. Even
with the regulation, full-size pool table,the table-tennis court and the over-sized chairs l had brought from upstairs, not to mention various chairs and tables(one expandable old dining table l got at St. Vincent dePaul for about
five bux). We still had a lot of open floor space but we had done such a good job of putting it all together (every one of us had pitched in) the place had the look of something out of an issue of House Beautiful. Like a dang bunch
of artists.
As my two visitors (the billet inspection team) got their first look at the base-
ment, Lt Goodale blurted "wow". "Really" said Capt.Myer, (without irony). l
thought "OK, two points!".
After that little outburst, they seemed to tighten up just a bit. They looked into every room in the house and they were even admitted to the garage on
their request. The whole place passsed without demerit or so much as a single suggestion for improvement. l excused myself for a moment to find Herman.
he was nowhere in the house. As l returned to the group, just before l entered the room, that they were then inspecting, l heard the Lt. say "l'd sure like to
live in a house like this". Since there was, at that time, a possibility that Roy
might soon be leaving us at the end of the current month, l was tempted to
tentatively off er the Lt that possibillity. but thought better of it. Besides, is iteven legal for the Exec. of the company in which l am the no-stripe soldier to
share a domicile with me?
l walked the officers out to their staff car, apologized for Herman's absence
and thanked the Captain for taking the time to see for himself what the condition of our home truly was. l'm pretty sure they didn't think l was being sarcastic.
"Well, Private you'll get a written statement as to the house's suitability, but
for now, let's just say you passed"
Thank You, Captain, come back any time. Hopefully, your visit will be graced by Herman's presence.
"Excuse me Private, do any of you, living here, know how to work that pool table", asked Lt Goodale, with a big smile.
"Oh, one or two of us can do it pretty good, especially if wagering is happening".
As they left, l'm thinking "Wow, me and the top command structure of
Headquarters Company are about to be buddies. Wait 'til Herman hears about this. Such a situation could make my early-out happen sooner. For sure! l decided to go into the Company's office the nest day so l could spend a little
time schmoozing with my old/new buddies. At least get started on it,right?
Have l mentioned before, how l seem to get so far-removed from my surrounding reality; so lost in my own fantasization of that reality that what's real is not real to me.
So, l'm in HQ Company office, hangin' with the Capt.' Lt. and Sgt Vaughn.
(More accurately,just sorta dancing between their desks, spewing my blather)
At about 11:15 AM, two military policemen walk into the office and ask for me.
Every one in the room seemed to have their backs to me and the MPs as the three of us go out the door.
The Charges: Forging of documents to be used to secure early release from active duty.
After that there was a lot of waiting. My offence was not offencive enough to
require me to stay in the brig until the Courts Martial was scheduled. l did
wait several months for it, but most time, day or night l spent at home
Time rolls by and, day after day; no news.Finally, my Estimated Termination
of Service date is three days away. But, my name doesn't appear that day on the Mustering Out Notice as it should. l had hoped that my ETS would be
reached before the Courts Martial was ready and figured they would have to
let me go Honorably.
Not happening. they plan to keep me for as long as it takes .
l requested permission to visit my Congressman, at the time, Nevada's only
representative in the House, the Honorable Walter S. Baring. A a kid l had
put up campaign posters for him at election times. He and my dad were good friends. As a prominent businessman in our town, my dad was on a first-name
basis with most of our elected officials
l spent about an hour. l talked first to the Congressman's Aid. Then l repeated the whole story of my Army experience for the Aid and the Congresasman and then, after we were joined by an Army General (introduced as the Congressional liaison to the Army) l told my story the third time. The Aid sai that l had told the same story all three times, and though l didn't quite under-
stand the logic, that convinced everyone that l had told the truth. And l
deserved to be honorably, tomorrow morning.
Before l left for home, the Aid told me that he would call me when my
Company Commander agreed with their decision. l had been home about a half hour when the Aid called to say its a done deal the next morning at 9.
c
.
"Well, we met at the golf course at Fort Meade, uhm about ,well almost a year
ago. A few days before Thanksgiving 57. And the car: My dad was part of the occupation of Germany after The War (WWII). When l reached driving age, my
dad, passed his three-year-old Opel on to me and got himself a new one. They were very reliable and fuel efficient AND though they're made in Germany, they-re made BY General Motors. Essentially an american car built to the standards required by German engineering. So, once Herman let me know he was looking for something light and economical to replace his 52
Buick, l probably had more to do with his purchase than the Salesman did."
With the hope that my visitors would be impressed, l showed them into the house thru the basement's outside entrance at the side of the house. lt was somewhat smaller than the front entrance, but made of the same materials
in the same design. The front entrance with stoop of seven steps carried one
from ground level, up four feet to the first floor, while the side entrance
carried arrivals to four feet below ground level, to the basement floor. Silver-
hued framework holding bevel-edged glass gave the rntries a very finished look. The basement, having as many square feet as each of the other floors,
seemed huge owing to having many less walls than the floors above. Even
with the regulation, full-size pool table,the table-tennis court and the over-sized chairs l had brought from upstairs, not to mention various chairs and tables(one expandable old dining table l got at St. Vincent dePaul for about
five bux). We still had a lot of open floor space but we had done such a good job of putting it all together (every one of us had pitched in) the place had the look of something out of an issue of House Beautiful. Like a dang bunch
of artists.
As my two visitors (the billet inspection team) got their first look at the base-
ment, Lt Goodale blurted "wow". "Really" said Capt.Myer, (without irony). l
thought "OK, two points!".
After that little outburst, they seemed to tighten up just a bit. They looked into every room in the house and they were even admitted to the garage on
their request. The whole place passsed without demerit or so much as a single suggestion for improvement. l excused myself for a moment to find Herman.
he was nowhere in the house. As l returned to the group, just before l entered the room, that they were then inspecting, l heard the Lt. say "l'd sure like to
live in a house like this". Since there was, at that time, a possibility that Roy
might soon be leaving us at the end of the current month, l was tempted to
tentatively off er the Lt that possibillity. but thought better of it. Besides, is iteven legal for the Exec. of the company in which l am the no-stripe soldier to
share a domicile with me?
l walked the officers out to their staff car, apologized for Herman's absence
and thanked the Captain for taking the time to see for himself what the condition of our home truly was. l'm pretty sure they didn't think l was being sarcastic.
"Well, Private you'll get a written statement as to the house's suitability, but
for now, let's just say you passed"
Thank You, Captain, come back any time. Hopefully, your visit will be graced by Herman's presence.
"Excuse me Private, do any of you, living here, know how to work that pool table", asked Lt Goodale, with a big smile.
"Oh, one or two of us can do it pretty good, especially if wagering is happening".
As they left, l'm thinking "Wow, me and the top command structure of
Headquarters Company are about to be buddies. Wait 'til Herman hears about this. Such a situation could make my early-out happen sooner. For sure! l decided to go into the Company's office the nest day so l could spend a little
time schmoozing with my old/new buddies. At least get started on it,right?
Have l mentioned before, how l seem to get so far-removed from my surrounding reality; so lost in my own fantasization of that reality that what's real is not real to me.
So, l'm in HQ Company office, hangin' with the Capt.' Lt. and Sgt Vaughn.
(More accurately,just sorta dancing between their desks, spewing my blather)
At about 11:15 AM, two military policemen walk into the office and ask for me.
Every one in the room seemed to have their backs to me and the MPs as the three of us go out the door.
The Charges: Forging of documents to be used to secure early release from active duty.
After that there was a lot of waiting. My offence was not offencive enough to
require me to stay in the brig until the Courts Martial was scheduled. l did
wait several months for it, but most time, day or night l spent at home
Time rolls by and, day after day; no news.Finally, my Estimated Termination
of Service date is three days away. But, my name doesn't appear that day on the Mustering Out Notice as it should. l had hoped that my ETS would be
reached before the Courts Martial was ready and figured they would have to
let me go Honorably.
Not happening. they plan to keep me for as long as it takes .
l requested permission to visit my Congressman, at the time, Nevada's only
representative in the House, the Honorable Walter S. Baring. A a kid l had
put up campaign posters for him at election times. He and my dad were good friends. As a prominent businessman in our town, my dad was on a first-name
basis with most of our elected officials
l spent about an hour. l talked first to the Congressman's Aid. Then l repeated the whole story of my Army experience for the Aid and the Congresasman and then, after we were joined by an Army General (introduced as the Congressional liaison to the Army) l told my story the third time. The Aid sai that l had told the same story all three times, and though l didn't quite under-
stand the logic, that convinced everyone that l had told the truth. And l
deserved to be honorably, tomorrow morning.
Before l left for home, the Aid told me that he would call me when my
Company Commander agreed with their decision. l had been home about a half hour when the Aid called to say its a done deal the next morning at 9.
c
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