The 1970's

The 1970’s were good for me.  I miss them—Like all things in decades, though, the 70’s really started for me later in the decade, not January 1^st 1970.  I think it’s always like that.  The 60’s didn’t really start until around 1964—you know what I mean….

In late 1971, I returned to civilian life a after my 3 years in the service of my country—within a few days, I was employed as a master craftsman at Maherajah Water Ski in Healdsburg, California.  I know that I was a master craftsman because the pin-up calendar proclaimed that master craftsmen crafted Maherajah water skis—so I must have been one.  My actual job was to apply Verathane to the edges of the wooden slabs as needed, and screw in the metal blade at the rear of the ski.  Being “craftsman-like” was important in the 70’s.  That alone might explain the popularity of the Sears & Roebuck (BTW, whatever became of Roebuck anyhow??) catalog.

A couple of months later, I was hired by the Sonoma County Sheriff to work in the service of my County.  Thus ending forever my tenure as a master craftsman.

I bought my first house in the 70’s.  Being a military veteran, I had available both the GI Bill (which guaranteed me a loan but not a rate) and the California benefit—a Cal-Vet loan—which guaranteed a rate, but didn’t loan enough to actually buy a house.  Decisions, decisions.   The first house I had actually did require the tending of a master craftsman, but, like I’ve said, all it had was me.  Same thing applies to the house my wife and I are tethered to now.

I’m still a little uncertain how we survived the decade without cell phones and broadband Internet.  Or Velcro, for the most part.  These things seem just so mandatory these days.

Survive we did.  And I have a dandy little kit-bag full of golden memories from that era.  Not the least of which was that for a very brief period, I was a Master Craftsman.