navy bootcamp surprise;1956

they say it's a small world sometimes;unknown to me,while on my way on the navy bus to Bainbridge,Md, I discovered besides me there were 4 other future sailors also from Erie,Pa that I knew but didn't know they had the same "plans" of enlisting in the NAVY;Phil Clark'Mr. Bloom;jack Howell;myself; and one other that the name escapes me for now;happy birthday;will the navy barracks be able to control "us"??????FUN for 13 weeks; along with a lot of "hard" training from a bunch of gung-ho people;an unfortunate "accident" interupted our training when a bootcamp liberty accident killed 2 people and injured a third from my company;SAD; company comander,company clerk;and a third person; SAD; graduated company 13 weeks later on time;NAVY here we come.....

"Corvettes of Erie"...1959

belonged to several car clubs;"Wheels of Erie";"Corvettes of Erie" and the "Chessmen of Erie"; having tons of fun with all of them......noteably,in "Corvettes of Erie",I was the secretary of the club and really started to get into racing then with my 1957 "baby"; then in "Chessmen of Erie" I was also the secretary of the club participating in racing my 1959 "hand-built" "tri-power" Pontiac,winning many more trophies,and also turning in the class results of the day to the local newspaper; racing got into my blood, and was hard to retire from......

helicopter tour;las vegas,nevada

this was an 8 hour tour ,complete with a champaigne picnic lunch atop the Grand Canyon; and toured over Hoover Dam also;you would'nt beleive the "view" when the helicopter just "clears" the mountain top and "drops" back down; FANTASTIC thrill....vegas also has a rollercoaster named the "canyon blaster",,,,ALSO, FUN......vegas is a FUN city;but NOT to live there because of the extremes in the weather; local residents are not too much fun, either.....

karate;1967;erie,pa..

this was a very "stimulating" experience for me; there is NO better "conditioning" available;it builds strength ,confidence,and mental toughness; then you can do anything....

high school;1951-1955

Cathedral Prep School; was very exciting for me; having learned a very good education;received "honor cards" ; and having participated in cross country and wrestling("uncrowned" 95 lb champion); "long sad story,there"......received nice writeup in senior yearbook;THANKS; "Gary excells on the green,and on the mat,and in magic;Gary enjoys life in all its phases;Mr.Gannon,,,,,,,........followed by enlisting in the U.S.NAVY in 1956...followed by MANY YEARS,part time in gathering college credits at GANNON COLLEGE(now GANNON UNIVERSITY)A SCHOOL PROUDLY FOUNDED BY MY GREAT-UNCLE;the late ARCHBISHOP JOHN MARK GANNON;ERIE,PENNA;studying accounting,business,business law pschycology,art,music,etc and being ONE semester short of GRADUATING(MOM reminded me of THIS SEVERAL times;and rightly SO...actually ENJOYED college; but was taking on TOO many projects..

"boot camp";Bainbridge,Md;1956

"memorable experience"; biggest change in my life; my own mother did NOT recognize me at "graduation" just 13 weeks later; "picnicked" at Polly & Ed Hansen in NY.....and on to boot camp leave in Erie,Penna and then to US NAVAL AIR STATION IN JACKSONVILLE,FLORIDA; the "fun" BEGINS; boot camp training was "intense" and "complete" in all aspects of naval life,etc; training was "identical" to that of OCS training(complete with "underwater" capsule shoot); just like in "Officer And A Gentleman" with Richard Gere........interesting.....

drag racing

reflecting on my long and "storied" career in AHRA quarter-mile drag racing;racing in many classes and a lot of "stock"eliminator;and "little" eliminator;with my 3 "stock" cars;1957 Corvette;1959 "tri-power" Pontiac;and 1965 Corvette;with my "favorite" being my "hand-built" "tri-power" Pontiac; helping me win 42 trophies, in several fun-filled years at Presque Isle Timing Association in Wattsburg,Penna;with owners Buck Ackerman and Don Jensen...