The “Give Me an Age” Meme

[aadler]

 
I got this from slaymesoftly a while back, and this is my reply.

– – –

Age I was given: 20
I lived in: the hometown of one of the richest men in the United States. I never met him, but my brother once almost ran over him in a parking lot. (Accident. Honest.)
I drove: a 1965 Chevy II
I was in a relationship with: a teenaged waitress at a local root beer place. (It wasn’t actually a relationship, but it was the closest thing I had at the time.) We dated some, I wanted to get to know her better, she apparently decided she’d learned enough to know she didn’t want that.
I feared: … I can’t really say. At that point, I’m not sure I had enough self-awareness to be afraid of anything.
I worked at: my first year of college. (I’d delayed entry for a year while I paid for an auto wreck. Not my fault, but there was still a bill to be paid and it was mine to pay.)
I wanted to be: a writer. It was fairly late in my life before I ever wanted to be anything except a writer.

Now I am: 59
I live in: a place just off the highway up in some small, rustic mountains next to a town with a population of less than 400.
I am in a relationship with: the woman who married me, divorced me, and then remarried me ten years later. Someone about whom I used to say, “Imagine spending a third of your life with someone for whom the phrases ‘psychotic bitch’ and ‘the finest person I’ve ever known’ were equally applicable.”
I drive: a 2008 (or is it 2006?) Ford Escort. Two-door, dark gray-brown.
I work at: … not yet. Spent three years hunting work after I got back from my most recent Iraq deployment, and am about to start another line of work, but there are still some things to be nailed down so I’m not announcing it till I’m actually doing it. (Check back in another week.)
I fear: failure. Then anything happening to my kids, or my wife, or the other members of my family, in that order of importance.
I want to be: still a writer. But mainly, successful at something.

– – –

If anyone wants to play, I’ll give a number. (But you’ll need to tell me your actual age so I don’t assign something impossible. ☺)

Comments

[slaymesoftly.livejournal.com]

So, I don't feel so bad about still not knowing what I want to be when I grow up. :) So, when did you join the military?

[aadler]

In two phases. I did ten years in the Air National Guard (starting when I was 27), then got out when the Gulf War took place and I didn’t get to go. Then, a year after the Twin Towers came down, I could see on the news that we were getting ready to go back into Iraq, and I realized that this was an option still open to me. I was nearly 49 by that point, but my prior time-in-service meant I was eligible for re-enlistment. (And decided on the Army because I wanted to go out and have some real fun.)

Now I’m coming to the end of that, and I’ll miss it, but I always knew I was on a time limit, so that’s just how it is.

[slaymesoftly.livejournal.com]

Men are strange... :)

I came thisclose to emailing you about weapons for the fic I did for that fundraiser. But you would have been in China, so it's just as well I decided to vague it up.

[velvetwhip.livejournal.com]

Thinking about your marriage/remarriage makes me think "If at first you don't succeed..."


Gabrielle

[aadler]

Well, we got lucky. And we both grew a lot during the time apart. And, we did months of pre-marital counseling the second time through, to make sure there were no unknown problems lurking.

A lot of the original problems are still there and we’re still dealing with them, and other things have cropped up since, and we’ve had to adapt and adjust. It hasn’t been any tiptoe through the tulips … but we’re still hanging on, and the plan is that we’ll continue doing just that.

[velvetwhip.livejournal.com]

I honestly think that's fabulous.


Gabrielle

[velvetwhip.livejournal.com]

Hey! Just wanted to make sure you knew that you won an award over at absence_oflight! You can pick up your banner and read the Judge's comments here: http://absence-oflight.livejournal.com/12023.html

I am absolutely delighted! Congratulations!


Gabrielle