@Larra aboslutely, not being MO or SMO (as I was) will make for a much better quality of life as we age, with less health issues, more housing options and easier caregiving. I think of DS as a gift to our future selves and the next generation who will assist us when we are elderly.
@Razbry, I'm about 25 miles due north of Chicago (by the Botanic Garden and Ravinia), so we are close. I'm doing okay; just came back from a whirlwind family visit covering Western MA, Boston, CT, DC and eastern shore of MD; heading to NOLA in two weeks for my next round of scans.
@southernlady I'm so sorry for your loss and grateful to your dad for his service.
@DianaCox Below is all I really know about my dad's service, excerpted from a summary Liam wrote in 4th grade "interview a Veteran" assignment. He was fortunate not to see combat as his training was completed just as the war ended.
In 1952, when my grandfather graduated from college, the United States was at war with Korea, so he volunteered for service. He was accepted into a special program in the U.S. Air Force where he was trained to be a NATO pilot along with allies from Europe. He left his home in Massachusetts and started his service in preflight training at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas. Next, he took primary flight training at the base in Hondo, Texas. Then he moved to Foster Air Force Base in Victoria, Texas for advanced flight training. Eventually, he was sent to Donaldson Air Force Base in Greenville, South Carolina. Luckily, the war ended while he was in training and before he was scheduled to be sent into battle overseas.
The time in the Air Force was hard for my grandfather. In the Air Force, he was tired because he worked very hard and he didn’t get much sleep. He had to wake up at 3:45 in the morning. He had to march and do things certain ways, He didn’t have his freedom and wasn’t allowed to make decisions for himself. He had to follow orders. If a soldier doesn’t follow orders from anyone who is of a higher rank he can go to jail. Once my grandpa went into town with a group of cadets when they weren’t supposed to leave the base and they all got punished by having to march around a room. Also, when he first started learning to fly, he would get motion sickness and would throw up in his pilot’s cap. He had some scary experiences trying to learn how to land a plane at night and nearly running out of gas.
Still, he is glad he served. He is happy that he supported his country, learned self discipline, navigation, and meteorology. He really enjoyed learning to fly and especially doing acrobatics with the plane. He also is happy to have made friends and to have learned from instructors he respected who had served in World War II. Also, because he served, he was able to go to law school under a program called the G.I. Bill which pays for education for soldiers.
To my grandpa, America means freedom and opportunity. He sees it as maybe the only place in the world where you can come from another country or grow up poor and you can become exceptionally successful with hard work. Growing up, he had always wanted to serve his country, by being a good citizen, not by being in the military, but war changes things, so he volunteered. He believes in the officers code that he learned, “Honor in all things, duty well-performed and country before self.” I am proud of him and love him very much.
Aren't dads the best?!!!
