After my 4 year hitch was up I got out of the Navy at 23 years old in 1968. Adjusting back to civilian life after the military can be difficult transition at any time. I entered smack in the middle of the hippie counter culture revolution.As I was away, I didn't experience the gradual change, so it was a shock to see the widespread drug use and ,what I thought at the time, unpatriotic attitudes toward their own country. But I was determined to begin my life after the navy interruption, get a good paying job, find a good wife and settle down with a family
It was hard to get close to these groovy, hippie women because I had nothing to talk about with them. I soon discovered, if you wanted to turn them off right away,tell them you were in the military.The immediate reaction was disgust and what an asshole you must be.So, the last 4 years of my life had to be a secret, otherwise I would be spending lonely Saturday nights with some of the other vets, that were having a tough time, getting drunk and talking about the military. Looking back I am glad I did it. I talk to friends of mine now that didn't serve and I feel that they regret not doing what men have been doing for thousands of years, protecting their homes and family. As women have the responsibility to bare children, a man's responsibility is to protect them.
I was trained as a aviation electrician in the navy and thought I could get a good job with the airlines. I applied but they said I would have to go back to school and get a degree to qualify for the position I sought. My competition in the job market were either 18 year old recent high school graduates or at my age with a college degree. I could not wait to begin my life for another 4 years so I took a job with Prudential Life Insurance Co. as a sales agent. I hated it, but I got married to a girl I met in a bar and needed to have a good paying job. She came from a very pampered background and me being socially backward, I blame the navy, made for a explosive combination. One year later, we were divorced. It took me awhile to recover from this failure. I was the first person in my extended family to get a divorce.
A couple of years after the divorce, I recovered sufficiently to be dating a beautiful Latin girl I met on the subway. She was usually on the car that I entered and after we flirted a few times, I asked her out.We were both from different backgrounds but the subway threw us together and we fell in love. Her name was Doris and she didn't want to get married as she felt she was too young and coming from a large family, didn't want kids until she was at least 25. I loved her so I would wait.
One day at the sales office,I was talking to a co-worker, Aaron Kollar, about how much we hated the job.He said I should be an actor as I was able to make people laugh and I could tell a good story. I said"What do you do, fill out an application like any other job". He said "go to acting school and let the GI bill pay for it". Something clicked inside my head, go to school and become an actor and let the government pay for it. It sounded logical. I always thought I could act if given the chance. As an only child, I developed a vivid imagination and I was a very good mimic.
It was 1973 and I had been out of the navy for 5 years and in a rut.Who knows if Doris will ever marry me and I hated the sales job, I was ready for something new in my life .Aaron and I looked in the Yellow pages for an acting school that was VA approved. We found one and I signed up and paid tuition to a place called "The New York Academy of Theatrical Arts" in lower Manhattan.
I went to the office to sign up and this woman that I had to see ,was sitting behind a desk with paper and books piled 3 feet high.What a mess, I thought, how could she find anything in that heap.This did not instill much confidence in me for the quality of the school but I filled out the application and paid for the first 3 months.
Even though I would be reimbursed by the VA, I felt I had done a stupid thing. After all , I was pushing 30 years old and should be thinking about my future, instead of wasting my VA grant on such a irresponsible venture.
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