[smartads] This story seems to have been around for awhile, but its’ still a good story and may inspire others.
John Welch’s life was fading. Like a well-worn pair of Jeans, he was losing the color of his youth. Retired at 66 years of age, he just sat around his home.
Of course, it hadn’t always been like that. He’d had a good life. It just stalled.
He was 18 when he joined the US Air Force in 1952. An aircraft engine mechanic, he worked on World War II-era F-51 Mustang to F-15 Eagles. On the ground floor of Air Force air power development, he moved a lot and saw the world. He loved his job, the service and the lifestyle.
When he retired as a master sergeant in 1974, he went to work for an aircraft company. After 24 years there, he retired again. But living in Apple Valley, California was just plain boring. There was no excitement. He wanted thrills back in his life again.
“I was wasting my life,” he said. “Each day I tried to find something to do to keep busy.” Most days that didn’t happen.
Then, about three years ago, Welch received a letter from his old pal Ralph Milward, a retired Army warrant officer who lived in Angeles City, near the former US Air Force base at Clark Field in the Philippines.
Please read the rest of this wonderful story at the original location linked below
http://www.retire-asia.com/retire-phil.shtml
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