Staring at the past

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Jim_Reeves_USAF_circa 1957

Jimmie Reeves (Sr.) USAF circa 1957

I was thinking, earlier, about writing an entry for my Alternating Currents blog, about Veterans Day. At first, I was contemplating a short piece about the veteran closest to me, my father, Jim Reeves (Sr.). As I thought about what I might write, and how I might talk about his time in the United States Air Force, it became increasingly difficult to find the “hook” I needed. Dad was in the Air Force for eight years, serving at bases in El Paso, Texas; Atwater, California; Tacoma, Washington; and South Korea. Serving after the Korean “police action”, but before the Vietnam war, the only “action” he saw was paperwork moving across his desk as he worked administrative duties in the Strategic Air Command’s efforts to counter the threat of the Soviet Union. How then to comment on his years of service without diminishing or inflating his contributions, or those of other veterans who sacrificed so much more than he did?

As I stared at this picture of my father, barely 19 years old, I started thinking how little I actually know about him.  An ever present part of my life until his death in 2006, I find it remarkable how poorly I know him as a person.

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It has occurred to me…

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It’s a shame there aren’t more (any) out gay deputies at my department. During a quiet spell tonight, I was thinking about the dispatch tradition I’ve been unable to uphold in my 18 years here.
In all those years, I’m pretty sure I’m the only (single) dispatcher that has not had some kind of gossip-worthy relationship with a deputy or officer.
I’m a bit bummed by that.
Oh well, guess it’s just not meant to be.

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Really, who could resist this face?