The Ultimate Pursuit. Carl D. Smith

me in front of all those kids. I just sat there, waited for class to be over and never went back again. I was devastated at what had happened on my first day in band class. As I thought about being in that marching band, I decided that it was not for me.

      After all, this was high school and I was just trying to find myself. I did not want to do what everyone else thought I should do. That was impossible; I found myself being the president of the Art Club, and not really wanting it. I felt I could probably outplay any trumpeter the band had, but had not even played one time with them. What was going on? Is this what growing up was all about? I remember thinking this was going to take some time. It was not as easy as it looked. Allowing the band instructor to discourage me on the first day was a mistake. I should not have allowed that altercation with him to rob me of my talent and enjoyment that year.

      My father tried to force me to play football, but I did not want to do that either. I liked to ride my motorcycle, feel the wind in my face, explore new places, and enjoy the freedom of it all. I really did not want to be yelled at to march in a perfect line, playing what someone else told me to play, etc. The motorcycle won out. I loved it because when I was riding there was no accountability. It gave me the perfect opportunity to drink, get high and smoke cigarettes.

      Shortly after is when I joined the U.S. Navy. I ventured out into the big world where a lot of things changed in my life. I went from being a 17-year-old kid to a man overseas in a time of war. I did a lot of growing up in those few months.

      In my youth, there were things like: My first real girlfriend’s father who was a Naval pilot was shot down over Vietnam and killed shortly before he was scheduled to come home. That was shocking to me. Her family moved away and I never saw her again. Then another girlfriend I had in the first couple years of high school had a horrible event happen to her. Her parents argued a lot. The father hired a hit man and her mother was horribly murdered. He was sentenced to life in prison, and again, the rest of the family moved away, and I never heard from that girlfriend again either.

      Parties were every weekend events when I was in high school. The Rock n’ Roll era was alive and pumping. The parties which included alcohol, weed and sometimes other drugs seemed like a natural part of life, especially given all that was happening.