STARTING FROM SCRATCH - CHAPTER 1

 

In the days after graduation I went into high gear preparing for our wedding day. I made arrangements with Debbie's grandmother Grace to rent her upstairs apartment. This would turn out to be the first of many mistakes that I have made in my life. One could also argue that getting married at 18 was a mistake but God has blessed me in that department. I moved from the house on McKennie to our apartment at 2001 Russell Street next to the Shelby Park golf course clubhouse. There was a steep hill on the golf course near our apartment and that hill provided many happy memories when we used it for sledding when it snowed in years past. Didi and I were arguing when I left home because she didn't like Debbie and she thought that Debbie had taken advantage of me. Didi would refer to her as "that little split tailed girl" which never made much sense to me since all girls share that same physical trait. I invited Gus to stay with me until the day of the wedding. Didi, like everyone else that ever met my wife would soon grow to adore her.

At that time a blood test was required in order to get a marriage license and we got one at the Lentz medical center near Centennial Park. The next step in the process was applying at the Davidson County courthouse for a marriage license. On Friday, June 14th 1968, we all piled into Debbie's grandmother Grace's car and she drove us to Springfield Tennessee. Debbie was just 17 so she had to have her mother's permission to get married. There were the four of us. Debbie's mom Margaret, Grace, myself and Debbie. I have since discovered that Mrs. Phillips was against the marriage because of our age but she also considered me to be a (Horny Toad), which I was, and was afraid that if she didn't give her consent Debbie would just end up getting pregnant. Her mom shouldn't have worried because I was so ignorant about sex I don't think that I would have ever had the courage to go there and Debbie was in the same boat. My ideal of marriage at the time was to be a virgin and I wanted to marry a virgin. Debbie's mom was even younger than Debbie when she got married and if I remember right I reminded her of that. Which is probably not the best way to start off on a good foot with your soon to be mother-in-law.

When we arrived at the courthouse it was old and smelly and there were some undesirable looking people there. As our luck would have it the clerk would not allow us to be married because of a technicality. We didn't know it beforehand but there was a five day waiting period from the date of the marriage license and we had a few more days to wait. Debbie was happy because she didn't want to get married in such a crappy place. Personally, I didn't care because I just wanted to get married but in retrospect I am glad that we didn't get married there. We decided to plan a church wedding the following Friday at Shelby Avenue Baptist Church. The same church Debbie had attended all of her life. Her pastor, Dr. Richard Lucas, married us on Friday, June 21st 1968. Debbie's bridesmaid was her best friend Carolyn Robinson and my best man was a friend that I graduated with named Larry James. Gus would have been my best man if he hadn't been working. Those in attendance were Grace Brown, Debbie's mom, her sister Judy, my sister Donna and Didi. Because we had been fighting I didn't invite Didi to the wedding and I have regretted that to this day but I was being an immature butt head. She came anyway and I am glad for that. Didi loved her boys and I owe her so much for the sacrifices that she made for us. She treated Mark and I as if we were her own children.

I can remember looking over at Debbie and thinking how lucky that I was as we were driving out of the parking lot of the church. The guessing game was over now and hopefully we would be together forever. If you can believe it I planned to work on our wedding day which was another big mistake because you only get one shot at marrying the love of your life. I was paranoid about saving money and felt like I couldn't afford to miss any time off from work. The Air Force had notified me that I was to be inducted on August 5th and this was June 21st and I was broke. I used what little money I had to rent our apartment and I wouldn't be making a lot of money as a new Airman. After a couple of hours of wedded bliss I drove into work. Donna had written (Just Married) and other newlywed slogans all over my car. My co-workers laughed as I drove my car into work like that. Fortunately, I was off that weekend and on Saturday Debbie's family gave us a small wedding reception with a wedding cake and a few presents. Over time Debbie's grandmother mistakenly came to believe that we were dancing upstairs in our apartment and she would take a broom handle and rap it on the ceiling yelling at us to be quiet.

After a few weeks I threw caution to the wind and decided to take Debbie on a weekend honeymoon to Atlanta's Six Flags theme park. I figured that this would be our last chance to be together for a while so we spent all day at the park on Saturday and on Sunday we drove up to Lookout Mountain in Chattanooga. There we spent the day at Rock City and Point Park. Bright and early on August 5th 1968 I reported to the Armed Forces Induction Center that was on Union Street in Nashville. All day long I stood in line, in my underwear waiting for the numerous medical tests that were required. It was hurry up and wait all day and I followed the doctors orders, "Turn your head and cough", "Bend over and spread your cheeks", Afterwards we were told to dress and wait with everybody else in a big room. An Army sergeant ordered us to raise our hands and repeat after him. We all swore allegiance to our respective branch of service, our country, and we swore to protect and defend the Constitution. Over an almost 21 year career in the active Air Force, the Tennessee Air National Guard, and the U.S. Army Reserve I have taken that same oath at least 4 times. Each branch of the military was represented that day that I took my first oath in Nashville but there were only two of us going into the Air Force. I was chosen as group leader and given the responsibility of safeguarding the records of the other man and my own records.

We hopped into a taxi that took us straight to the Nashville airport where Debbie, Didi, Uncle Doug, and Aunt Catherine were there to see me off. I was very nervous about flying and this was going to be my first time on an airplane. When I asked how often I would have to fly the recruiter told me that I wouldn't have to fly that much. He lied. People ask me why I would join the Air Force if I was afraid to fly. My usual response is that I was hoping that it would keep me out of the rice paddies in Vietnam and I figured that it was the best branch of service for a married man. It probably made as much sense as someone who can't swim joining the Navy. I can take pride in the fact that I always faced up to my fears and flew when it was required of me. If given the option of an an alternative form of travel I always chose the alternative. Over my twenty years in the Air Force I made four overseas trips, on both military and civilian aircraft, and have flown all over Turkey, Greece, western Europe, and over most of the United States. When I arrived at the airport Debbie surprised me with a wedding band that I am still wearing to this day. After a long goodbye kiss I boarded an American Airlines 727 for Dallas Texas.