Chapter 12
I had been pestering the army for further information about my reserve obligations ever since I returned from Germany. No matter who I called, I got the same blank response of, "Wait for you papers in the mail." It was a Monday when they finally arrived. The papers stated that I have been medically discharged from the army with an honorable discharge. The papers went on to list what was available to me and how to get assistance from the various agencies that were now available to me. Nothing about reserves of sniper school. One door had closed quietly behind me. I knew I would miss the army, and now I had to face the future with out them.
As that door closed another opened. My old neighbor had started sending short letters to me. Something she remembered that she thought I would like to know. Mostly short stories about my father and myself. I suppose they could be called vignettes into my past. I enjoyed them and tried to recall that memory, but it was not there: pity. In mid March she sent me a newspaper cutting informing the local Wilmington readers that there will be a gathering of the Wilmington High School graduating class of 1995. The gathering will be held at the gymnasium on June 7, 2008. I marked it down on my calendar, I planned to be there.
I still had not done any yearbook chasing. I had the names and I could look up telephone numbers through the Internet, it was a matter of time. I was running out of time to sit down and do it. Between work on the ranch, research into cattle and horse genetics, trying to work out where to start showing the cows, and a myriad of other details kept me busy. On top of all that I was loved rodeoing a bit too much. The love had turned to passion and I looked forward to steer wrestling starting first thing Monday morning and was not satisfied until Saturday night when I got to do it. Calf roping was starting to get a little thin. I still had not roped my first calf, and I was not going to quit until I got at least one.