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THE WORLD FROM MY EYES AT 20 Twenty? Gosh, I can barely remember a pickle-
ball score from five minutes ago! Well I’ll try.
When I was 20 all looked to me to be just fine The year was 1978. I was still living at home in
Flemington, NJ, and I’d just finished my sopho-
An age when I thought the world was mine! more year at Trenton State College. My major
was business with an emphasis on accounting,
A four year degree earned in just three and I minored in data processing.
At age 20 - how smart I must be! The college had a computer which took up a large
room in the basement of one of the buildings.
An August wedding was planned for me There were no PCs, tablets, Apple watches, etc.
Fortran and Cobol were the languages we learned
Once my fiancé got his Master’s degree. to create computer programs. Keypunch machines
were used to type out line instructions on cards.
Copying a design from a picture I’d seen It was tedious work if you were a poor typist. It
was also tedious looking for errors if your pro-
Made my own dress - every little seam. gram didn’t work! Long hours were spent in that
computer room. I’m amazed how far technology
In my eyes the world was there just for me has advanced. Kids today have it so easy, I think.
APRIL ANSON
I could accomplish whatever I did see. Dee Dee Vickers
Now 53 years later, I no longer live in a dream,
and realize the world is not as rosy as it did seem.
I have some regrets, but they have paled with time,
and today, my life again seems to be just fine!
DEE DEE VICKERS
In December 1952, the month before my 20th birthday, I was a
B-29 gunner flying over North Korea. I would eventually make a
total of 25 missions. The following month (January 1953) I turned
twenty. I was an Air Refueling Operator on KB-29 Air Refueling
Tankers out of Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Tucson, Arizona.
Discharged October 23, 1953, I returned to college at Penn State,
where I met Carole Bauer in English Comp 1A - my very first class.
We spent many hours after class over coffee and cinnamon buns,
were “pinned” in 1955 and got engaged on Christmas in 1957. We
married in December 1958 and now it’s 2016 and she’s still talking
to me (sometimes!).
P.S. I received an A in that English Comp course and another A in
my next English Comp class – the first and only A’s I ever received!
Two A’s and a girlfriend for life – quite a trifecta!
BUD FARRELL
Bud Farrell (atop plane, far left) performs a preflight inspection. Arnold Hall
My 20th year was an eventful one. Ruth and I left
our home town of Duncan, Oklahoma, I joined the
Navy and our first child was born. After boot camp
and five months in school, I was a Navy Corpsman
and we moved from San Diego to Marine Corps
Base Camp Pendleton in Oceanside, California. I
would be attached to the Marines for the balance
of my time in the Navy, spending my last year
in Okinawa as Assistant Administrative Chief,
Division Surgeon’s Office, 3rd Marine Division.
Four years later, I graduated with a BSEE and
we continued our adventures. Last June was our
tenth year in Sun City Texas and December 22,
2015 was our 64th wedding anniversary.
ARNOLD HALL
ONLINE: SCTEXAS.ORG APRIL 2016 SUNRAYS | 47
