Monday, February 16, 2015

United States Air Force - Young & Dumb

This is a new set of posts writing embarrassing things I did during my years of service. One of the dumbest things I did... well let me start from the beginning.

I had lived on the (Altus AFB) base about six months. I had never been inspected the whole time I was there. I was in a real funk during this time. I didn't have money, didn't know how to budget my money very well, and was actually starving.

I had purchased a MGB from a guy down on his luck. He let me pay him in monthly payments of $200. The total cost was $1800 I think. Before I drove it off, a policeman in the small town of Lone Oak pulls up and tells me how many times he has pulled this guy over for speeding and never wants to see the car on the road in his town again. I agree and drive away.

I drove it from Lake Tawakoni, TX to the base (about 250 miles) and it ran like a champ. It was a convertible and very low to the ground. Picture a young boy driving an old car (I don't remember the year but the picture is close to what it looked like) that looked to be in great shape. Heads turned and people liked the car. It was one of the more fun drives I had over a long stretch of road.

A couple days after getting back to the base, I drove the car to the Command Post. About 300 feet from there, smoke billowed out from under the hood and inside the car. I thought it was on fire but didn't see any flames. I could smell that electrical burning smell (I didn't know what it was back then). The whole wiring mechanism burned to a crisp while the car coasted to a stop.

I ended up letting my friend take the car and he got it running again but I couldn't afford to keep paying on it. I asked my friend to let me take it back to the guy I bought it from. He didn't like the idea but neither of us could afford to pay it off. So I drove it back to the guy's house and left it in his yard with a note apologizing for not completing the purchase. He was probably ecstatic to see the car again.

So, I was in a funk. Depressed at not having any money and no car. Upset that I had payed money on the car and nothing to show for it. In my dorm room, I didn't have a trash can. I kept a trash bag and usually threw my trash away. Well, I had used my last bag and didn't have money to purchase more. I was eating peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and my sink where I made them was sticky and trash was in a pile on the floor. It was bad and I cringe everytime I think about this. While at work, my dorm got inspected by the first sergeant and when I got back, they were there and he was giving the sergeant in charge of the dorm a good ass chewing. He asked me why it was like that and I told him I didn't have a trashcan. He told the sergeant to get me a trashcan and some bags and to get the room cleaned up. He said he would be back in a few days and it better look spotless! After that, I got over my funk real fast. I cleaned that dorm room up and always kept it that way.

Sometimes you just need a good kick in the ass to get your attitude adjusted for you. All I had to do was go ask for a trashcan and some bags and the whole ordeal could have been avoided. Instead I got in trouble, and worse, the sergeant got in trouble too.