yes, i was in the navy…

see if you can find waldo!

my induction day at the u.s. naval academy in annapolis, maryland was on july 9th, 1991. i was 17 years old.

my reason for going was pretty simple: i had been accepted. in high school i had considered a bunch of different colleges, and talked to some folks my parent’s age about where they’d gone to school. one guy i respected quite a bit told me he had applied to annapolis, been accepted, but never went, and that he had regretted not giving it a shot. that made a big impression on me.

the application process to a service academy is rigorous. i had to get a full medical physical, take a physical fitness test, go talk to some congressmen and convince them that i was worthy, fill out a lengthy application form, etc. it basically takes almost a year, and is a commitment in and of itself.

so when brown university made a big mistake and declined having such a pillar of the intellectual community as myself attend, i decided it was time to join the fucking navy.

as it stood i was there for about two and half years and learned a LOT of stuff before i was discharged for busting my skull (which is another story). i have no regrets, either about going there or coming home.

i uploaded a few more pictures here.