Memoirs Of A Flyboy Pt.1

Memoirs of a Flyboy: My Life in the U.S Air Force and Beyond
By Christopher A. Eaddy, #crewLove

This is a love story so unreal only my comrades in arms will really get it.  First of all, let start by saying my twenty-five years in the greatest fighting service on this earth was a learning experience filled with highs and lows. I have seen the weird, the hilarious, and good of people this earth has to offer. It should also be stated that the names of the characters have been changed to protect their happy homes!

When a person decides to join any of the armed forces it is usually one of the following reasons; to escape an existence that was not fulfilling, they have outgrown their parents’ home, or running away from someone or something that they believe will disappear over time. This is not a scientific fact, it is just evidence I gathered from conversations during my travels. It is amazing what a person will divulge after a little weed and booze!

Growing up in Englewood, New Jersey, I have seen my share of despair, happiness, and every emotion in between. Today, Englewood is a suburb of New York City, however, when my friends and I were raising havoc back in the 70’s, was just a racially-diverse of four wards in Bergen County. Wards, for the unfamiliar are sections of one city that normally divides families by social classes. The First Ward, included the affluent section adeptly named Englewood Cliffs, where most of my Jewish and White friends resided. Today, Englewood Cliffs boast residents like jazz musicians George Benson, Dizzy Gillespie, comedians, Joe Piscopo, and Eddie Murphy. I never knew that my friends were substantially wealthy then me.

Growing up I never thought anything diabolical about the fact that most my favorite play mates disappeared after the school bell rang. Somehow they would magically appear the next day on the school yard and everything went back to normal. It was an enlightening experience to have been exposed to all the beauty and sometimes ugliness that New Jersey had to offer. First, let me say, I never had a racial incident while growing up in Englewood. My White friends and I knew there was a difference but it was one of those unspoken things that we were glad to keep silence. After school I had a crew of black friends that I am as tight with today as I was forty years ago. During school hours, it was a socialization heaven after school hours; we went back to neutral corners. My very first neighborhood friend, Jack, introduced me to many of the childhood malice that in later years make me realize that I had to get out of Englewood!

To be continued....