It’s never been a fairytale kinda story, but it is the kind of story where you could never quite guess just where the next chapter was going to go.  Andy was the second child born to a young hard-working couple.  Sadly, tragedy had touched the couple early with the death of their first born child just days following her birth.  Andy only knew of her through the telling of her short life, but that didn’t stop him from thinking about her.  It’s the sort of thing you always find yourself wondering about as a kid, you know, a multitude of what ifs grounded in fantasy.  

His father was a hard-working man whose formal schooling had ended earlier than most.  Not that that simple fact had made a difference in his education, mostly, it just meant he hadn’t had a teacher standing over him while he learned the ways of the world.  You see, just because he wasn’t in school, didn’t mean he didn’t learn.  That ability was what we used to call common sense, and his dad had plenty of it.  His mother, on the other hand, enjoyed school, but it was a different time and nuns didn’t approve of teen pregnancies.  So, the summer between eleventh and twelfth grades signaled the end of her high school years, and it would be a long time before she returned to claim her high school education.  Instead, she placed a premium on educating her children; helping them with homework, reading to them at night, and guiding them through their projects.

The family continued to grow, adding a daughter, though life wasn’t getting any easier.  His father went into business for himself and his mother worked tiring hours late at night so she could help, during the day, with the family business; carpeting, shampooing, and just about anything else having to do with what’s beneath our feet.  Even Andy and his sister helped during summer breaks; raking carpet, picking up scraps, carrying tools, or just being a gopher.  They were hard days, but also good days.  Life was much simpler.  People were more understanding.  And, the family was nearly always together.

That is, until his parents made the decision to separate.  It’s not an easy thing for a sixth grader to understand.  But it’s easy to think you coulda done something different to make it not so.  It was a marker in his life, carrying significance long in the realization.  That’s not to say that there weren’t early signs that his parent’s decision had an affect on him.  High marks in his studies became harder to come by and he withdrew from play with his friends.  It was as though, in this little boy’s mind, he was sorting out every problem in the universe.  That’s how it feels when everything you know becomes everything you never thought.  But, he couldn’t quite get his mind around it, and he, well, he couldn’t let it go, and he would struggle through the next two years, lost, but always looking for the way out.

A change of scenery provided a needed lift when he was enrolled in a Jesuit High School for ninth grade.  The effect wasn’t immediate but it was noticeable and as he traversed the next four years, he discovered as much about himself as he found out about the world.  He discovered that it’s ok to not know why some things happen.  And, that no matter what happens in the world, there’s always home, and if you’re lucky, and he was, there’s always someone who loves you.  His was a rising ship, coming off the bottom to finally break surface in his senior year.  During those four short years, he had gained more than most and he was ready to make the move forward.

But another reality stood in his path.  During the school years and throughout the summers, he had worked as a janitor to pay for his tuition.  Money was still tight and there wasn’t any available for college.  So while his friends spoke of decisions on which university to attend, which state they wanted to be in, and what they were going to do over the summer, he thought of his next move.  High school had been hugely successful for him.  It had restored his confidence and it had revealed a resilience and tenacity to accomplish that which he set out to do.  So, as his classmates entered colleges and universities in the fall, he enlisted into the service of his country.  It was an easy decision.  

His first duty station was the Aircraft Carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN-71) and he was in awe from the first day he saw her.  The military did for him what it has done for so many others, shaped a better American.