Who Am I? How Did I Get Here?

I often wonder how I got to where I am today. There are many answers, each one dependent upon how you interpret the question.

I live in Sebring, FL. The journey here began on Long Island in New York, traveled to North Miami Beach, FL, to Orlando, to Hallandale, to Merritt Island, to the 4 years in the US Navy, and then a brief stay in Los Angeles, to Florida again, back to California (this time San Diego), back to Florida, back to California, to Virginia, to Florida (Jacksonville), to West Palm Beach and, finally, to Sebring.

I am retired. The journey entailed some 34 years with the Bell System, including 25 years with AT&T post breakup, until they downsized enough to make it worth my while to retire, gracefully, and find a quiet place to live.

I am conservative. I was apolitical until my teens when I felt quite liberal (or "progressive" as it is trying to be called now) and stayed that way until I was in my 30s and I began to question those liberal values, until I began to realize they didn't fit well with me anymore. Eventually, I became quite set in my conservative positions.

I am divorced because I really shouldn't have married that woman in the first place.

I am remarried because I met the woman I should have married instead of the first wife.

There are many things which I am now that have much to do with the experiences I have had in life. I am a pretty honest person now though I was not always. The times I was not honest changed me. Allowed me to become more honest. I am cynical. Well, I suppose I was more or less cynical throughout my life except when I was very young. Being the youngest of three, it is difficult to keep that innocence which precludes cynicism.

Where are you? How did you get there?