I was born in Houston, TX in 1953. We traveled around the country a lot when I was a child, so I lost my southern accent by the time I had reached high school.
I attended Paradise Valley High School in Phoenix (graduated 1972), with a 4 year scholastic scholarship to the University of Arizona in Tucson. Sue got a 4 year scholarship to ASU in Tempe. I was so sick of school after high school, that I said, "I don't want your scholarship, I want to join the Navy and see the world!" Sue’s mother was very happy about my choice.
I joined the Navy in 1973 and served aboard the USS Blueridge (LCC19) until 1975. I was an operations specialist (radar tied to the computer, air traffic control, etc). I am a Vietnam Vet. Our ship was the one that newsreels show helicopters being pushed off the rear of the ship. What a story.
After the Navy, I attended ASU with a major in marketing. I went three years, and quit due to boredom. I have over 120 credit hours, but I never did get my degree.
I married my high school sweetheart (Sue Yuschik) in Oct 1979. We met in High School making a movie for the boy scouts called “Cinderella Mod”. She played Cindy, and I played Harry A. Prince. Her fairy godmother turned a Coors can into a corvette, and she dropped one of her combat boots at the dance. In the end, we had a kiss scene. The night before that scene, we went to an amusement park (Legend City). I asked her if we could practice the kiss scene, and she said, “Why don’t we just hold hands, instead.” We are still holding hands today.
We have twin sons (Ryan and Dan) born in April 1983. We also have a lovely daughter (Lisa) born in Jan 1990.
Daniel married Leigh Ayn Brocato in 2005. They had our first grandson (Calvin) in 2007. Calvin is the first grandson for both families, and he gets a lot of attention. Unfortunately, with them living in Vegas, we don't get to hug him as much as we would like to. Sue watches airfare prices almost daily to look for good fares to Las Vegas. As far as in-laws, we couldn't have asked for better ones than Larry and Victoria Brocato. Sometimes when we visit Las Vegas, we stay at their place. They are the perfect hosts. We both love to go to garage sales on the weekend, and then over to Starbucks for coffee. Leigh-Ayn is due again in October 2010.
Ryan married a lovely young lady named Mimi. She had two precious children from a previous marraige, and they both get along great with Ryan (Kaylie(SP) and Luc). We just found out that she is pregnant.
Both our boys live and work in Las Vegas. They are IT professionals at Vegas.com.
Lisa still lives in Denver. She works as a cashier at home depot. Lisa tells her customers, "Please don't ask me where anything is, I'm just here to check you out, and look cute". She is currently dating Mikey, a fellow Home depot employee. I think she plans on attending college in the spring of 2009, but her plans change daily. Over New Years, she dropped a bomb on us. The second worst thing a parent frets about (after death of their child). She has become another statistic as an unwed Mom to be. Sue and I were devastated initially, but we have both come to realize that life throws you many curves. All you can do is learn to roll with the punches, and move on. Baby DASH is a very cute and precocious one year old. Mikey is his father, and they are discussing marriage.
Sue and I went from no grand-kids to six in about two years.
I have worked for the US Postal Service for over 31 years, as a real estate specialist. I purchase land for new post offices nationwide. I a currently ELIGIBLE to retire. If the economy doesn't get any better soon, then I plan on continuing to work.
I play the guitar, write music, and I love playing music from the 70's (James Taylor, Simon & Garfunkel, Harry Chapin, etc).
I am also an amateur real estate investor. After purchasing about 12 homes, the poor real estate market caught up with us, and so we are now down to just two homes.
Sue and I are active in the church, and spend time volunteering. We also like to travel, cruise, and just spend time together. Every Friday we go on an "$8.00 dollar date" (the early movie @ $2.00 each, and two items from the Wendy's dollar menu). Dinner and movie for two for $8.00. What a deal. Sue says that if I wasn't already married, I probably wouldn't be. The intent of the date is just to spend more time together.
Monday, January 19, 2009
Sunday, January 11, 2009
Funny, But True Stories of My Life
On this page, I have added a few stories that actually happened in my life. At first they caused me to get upset or stand against the winds blowing in my life. When I finally learned to laugh at myself, and bend with the wind, I discovered an entirely new outlook on life.
I hope that they will inspire you to smile, and learn to bend with the winds that blow in your own life.
Garry Mattox
I hope that they will inspire you to smile, and learn to bend with the winds that blow in your own life.
Garry Mattox
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The Great "Liberty" Sting
As a young enlisted man in the Navy, I was fortunate enough to travel the world. Each new port that we visited allowed us to experience another unknown culture and people. As ambassadors of the United States while overseas, the Navy expected us to portray a positive image to our overseas neighbors. Our hair, clothes, shoes, and the way we acted were under daily scrutiny. Sailors cannot leave the ship for liberty if any of these elements did not satisfy the "Officer of the Deck."
When the ship docked in Singapore, the excitement about visiting this strange and beautiful land was everywhere. As I was about to leave the ship, the officer of the deck said, "Go get a haircut before you leave!" I told him that the barber had already left the ship. He told me that if I did not get a haircut, that I could not leave the ship.
Frustrated, I concocted a grand plan to fool the officer into letting me off the ship. I knew that many people were leaving the ship at the same time, and that the officer was very busy. I shined my shoes up like glass and made my way back to the quarterdeck and the Officer.
"Are my shoes shiny enough for you now, sir?", I said.
"Sure, sure, go on liberty," he responded.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The "Plum-Tooth" Fairy
Losing his first baby tooth was very traumatic for my young son. The tales of a "Tooth-Fairy" bringing money for baby teeth so intrigued him that he would constantly wiggle the tooth back and forth hoping to dislodge it. His mother told him to eat a piece of fruit with the hopes that the tooth might come out while biting it. As he began eating a plum, a very disgusted expression came over his face. The plum was extremely sour. His mother told him, "Don’t throw it away, give it to your dad. He loves sour plums."
As I proceeded to eat the plum, I heard a loud cry from my son. He had realized that his tooth had come out and that he had lost it. We all searched for the tooth but to no avail. We assured him that the tooth fairy would know that his tooth had fallen out and that she would leave him some money for it anyway.
Later, as my wife and I pondered the mystery of the lost tooth, we understood what had happened. When my son bit into the sour plum, his tooth had come out and lodged in the fruit. When he gave the plum to me, I ate it, and unknowingly, the tooth still lodged inside...
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The Great "Food Dye" Fiasco
A freshly fallen snow is a great enticement for young people. However, making snow angels and snowmen was getting boring. My wife suggested that the kids take an empty hairspray bottle, fill it with water and yellow food dye, and spray paint pictures in the snow. My son decided to give it a try. By mistake, he took a full bottle of hairspray and mixed in yellow food dye for painting. The kids painted and played in the snow for hours. However, when they finished playing outside, they forgot to throw the bottle with the yellow dye away.
My wife unknowingly picked the hairspray bottle up off the stairs and put it back in the bathroom cabinet. The next morning as I was preparing for work, I showered, shaved, and combed my hair. As my hair is very thin, I typically add a little hair spray to keep it in place all day. I reached for the hairspray under the sink and sprayed it generously all over my head.
To my amazement, when I looked in the mirror, the top of my head was bright canary yellow. My eyes got so big that I looked like two cooked eggs. I rushed out of the room and showed my wife, expecting sympathy. She laughed so hard at my predicament, that I finally started laughing as well. Luckily, when I jumped back in the shower and re-shampooed my hair, the dye came off my head. Yellow is not my best color...
As a young enlisted man in the Navy, I was fortunate enough to travel the world. Each new port that we visited allowed us to experience another unknown culture and people. As ambassadors of the United States while overseas, the Navy expected us to portray a positive image to our overseas neighbors. Our hair, clothes, shoes, and the way we acted were under daily scrutiny. Sailors cannot leave the ship for liberty if any of these elements did not satisfy the "Officer of the Deck."
When the ship docked in Singapore, the excitement about visiting this strange and beautiful land was everywhere. As I was about to leave the ship, the officer of the deck said, "Go get a haircut before you leave!" I told him that the barber had already left the ship. He told me that if I did not get a haircut, that I could not leave the ship.
Frustrated, I concocted a grand plan to fool the officer into letting me off the ship. I knew that many people were leaving the ship at the same time, and that the officer was very busy. I shined my shoes up like glass and made my way back to the quarterdeck and the Officer.
"Are my shoes shiny enough for you now, sir?", I said.
"Sure, sure, go on liberty," he responded.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The "Plum-Tooth" Fairy
Losing his first baby tooth was very traumatic for my young son. The tales of a "Tooth-Fairy" bringing money for baby teeth so intrigued him that he would constantly wiggle the tooth back and forth hoping to dislodge it. His mother told him to eat a piece of fruit with the hopes that the tooth might come out while biting it. As he began eating a plum, a very disgusted expression came over his face. The plum was extremely sour. His mother told him, "Don’t throw it away, give it to your dad. He loves sour plums."
As I proceeded to eat the plum, I heard a loud cry from my son. He had realized that his tooth had come out and that he had lost it. We all searched for the tooth but to no avail. We assured him that the tooth fairy would know that his tooth had fallen out and that she would leave him some money for it anyway.
Later, as my wife and I pondered the mystery of the lost tooth, we understood what had happened. When my son bit into the sour plum, his tooth had come out and lodged in the fruit. When he gave the plum to me, I ate it, and unknowingly, the tooth still lodged inside...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Great "Food Dye" Fiasco
A freshly fallen snow is a great enticement for young people. However, making snow angels and snowmen was getting boring. My wife suggested that the kids take an empty hairspray bottle, fill it with water and yellow food dye, and spray paint pictures in the snow. My son decided to give it a try. By mistake, he took a full bottle of hairspray and mixed in yellow food dye for painting. The kids painted and played in the snow for hours. However, when they finished playing outside, they forgot to throw the bottle with the yellow dye away.
My wife unknowingly picked the hairspray bottle up off the stairs and put it back in the bathroom cabinet. The next morning as I was preparing for work, I showered, shaved, and combed my hair. As my hair is very thin, I typically add a little hair spray to keep it in place all day. I reached for the hairspray under the sink and sprayed it generously all over my head.
To my amazement, when I looked in the mirror, the top of my head was bright canary yellow. My eyes got so big that I looked like two cooked eggs. I rushed out of the room and showed my wife, expecting sympathy. She laughed so hard at my predicament, that I finally started laughing as well. Luckily, when I jumped back in the shower and re-shampooed my hair, the dye came off my head. Yellow is not my best color...
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