The Plunge. . .

I took the plunge into the smart phone world.  The old flip phone could not be traded in or any credit for same obtained.  It is just a relic now sitting in its box slowly discharging into oblivion.  The new phone, well it is the same as Judie'sphone, a Samsung Galaxy 5.

It is a heavy little device, I guess it is packed with all kinds of goodies inside including a hefty battery to run all of its innards.  My phone number remained the same as did the contact list and that is about it.  All the rest is learning curve of new stuff.  It is not here on purpose, but I do know it.  Unlike Judie, it is not taped on the back of the phone case.

I have reached the level of frustration already that leads to the trash can.  The small but adequate starter hand book is irksome.  I know the authors have done a great job of telling you how to do things but alas it is in their parlance.  Sometimes a password is a user name, sometimes a user name is a password.  They mean well, it is just a matter of how they communicate.  And they do not always get it right - at least in my parlance. 

Whatever happened to the old adage, "the customer is always right."  It seems in their way is the customer is always stupid or dumb.  No expansion of what they want or mean in their guidance.  It is their way or no way.  But I am the guy putting up the money, so I should have some say so in the deal.  Uhuh, no way, Jose!  They ain't got time to do this so it may work for everybody.  I think sometimes it is written for a teenager only. 

Oh, well, I did manage to make a phone call.  That seemed to work okay.  We did get the WiFi connected, so I can read email now.  The clock works but then it worked on the flip phone too.  Nothing new there.  Tiny Querty key board crops up when you need it, got to be careful when tapping in letters.  Typing or as it is known now days, key boarding is faster in my opinion.  But I will get used to it, I am sure of that.

More frustration ahead, but a great leap into the future.  Pissing and moaning all the way.

Where Is Keith Irwin . . .

Where is Keith Irwin? 

Keith was a fraternity brother and a room mate for most of my college life.  We lived off campus along with Dwight Paulsen.  I can not find Keith Irwin anywhere in these United States.

But I have done more than one search of Keith Irwin to turn up empty.  He graduated from LSU in 1962 and went off to USAF flying school.  He did not make it.  He was washed out primarily because he could not keep his stomach under control.  There may have been other reasons too but he let us know about the stomach stuff.

I lost track of him like we all do as we go off to do our careers.  I too went into the USAF along with Yvie Poret and Woody Bergeron.  Unlike Keith, we all had successful careers.  Yvie retired as a Lt Col, I ran into him at HQ Systems Command a few weeks before he retired.  Did a whole career with only being away from home or his wife and family for some 20 or so days.  Me I spent years away from my family.  Yvie lives in Baton Rouge and enjoys hunting and fishing now days.

Woody also retired as a Lt Col, a war hero and POW survivor.  He was actually on the ground in North Viet Nam for few days and was recovered.  His techniques for escape and evasion were adopted by the USAF.  He had been a Navigator in the back seat of an F-4 when shot down by a missile.  He was able to get a slot in pilot training.  I ran into to him at Davis Monthan AFB on his way to be upgraded to an A-10 pilot.  Pretty sure Woody retired from Delta and lives around Atlanta should he still be alive.

So three of us, non-rated, had a successful career in the USAF.  None of us had gone through advance ROTC, we went in during the Viet Nam war for various reasons and came out career men.  The general population of Air Force troops call us "lifers."  Pretty sure Keith is or was not a lifer.

But no Keith.  I found several of the brothers, knew of a couple that have died.   Dwight is probably the most successful of us all now living on the North shore of Lake Ponchartrian in a family compound.  Dwight was a Mechanical Engineer with a Masters Degree in Business.   He ended up involved with off shore oil drilling and was a principle in the company.

Others have been successful too.  I shall not name them.  Lawyers and engineers for the most part.

But I can not find Keith.  I thought I found him in Colorado but got no answer back to my letters. Then I found a Keith Irwin in Louisiana but it turns out not to be the Keith Irwin.  So the search ends up cold.  I have no way to access Social Security Numbers (SSN), indeed I do not know Keith's SSN at all.

I hope he is safe somewhere.  I hope he was not a casualty of war and that he has a family and lives on.  We are getting old now, pressing 75 years so he may not be with us anymore.

Geaux Tigers!