Greetings, I am your host, Raymond Thomas Thetford, Junior. I am Lord Tygger.

I was born along the Mississippi river in the year of the Water Tiger, approximately the 16th of Gemini. I say it in this fashion, not to be pretentious, but to show my fondness for astrological and metaphysical events surrounding us all. One of the things that I have accepted in my life is that we are all connected and rather than try and pigeon hole everything, some things you just have to accept and observe.

I have been many things in the last 47 years. As a teenager, I worked in a paint store, a grocery store, a fast-food restaurant and odd jobs working with my uncles.

After my teen years, I was lost for a focus and decided I was going to ma a Marine Corps officer, attending college and receiving my commission after graduating. Now, this all was other peoples thoughts of where I should go (that mind set comes into play later) and so to say, not really dedicated to that particular path. That left me in the Marine Corps Reserve for the next four years and attending the University of Southern Mississippi, not too terribly sure of what degree I was seeking.

Interestingly, as I went off to basic, I was a fan of Robert Heinlein and had just read “Starship Troopers” just before arriving at Parris Island. So, even though I was mentally prepared for the trial ahead, when it came time to the physical trials, I was particularly clueless and cried like a baby when I was told to drop and give up the pushups. It is rather pathetic the noises I emitted at that time, but I do not shy from embarrassment. I have grown a lot since then, it was twenty-seven years ago, after all.

How er it were, I came back home after fourteen weeks of training (I had broken my arm in training and decided they would have to kick me off the island or I would graduate a Marine) to live with my Mom, sister and brother in Mississippi. Back at college I was meeting several new acquaintances, who would become lifelong friends as well as struggling to come into my own as a Man. There is a lot to be said about that, but those are my thoughts and if you want to know, you can ask, I am quite open on the subject.

So, my time at USM was fraught with confusion and a lack of truly understanding where I was in all the jumble of events. I stayed at the university for about 3-4 semesters (never doing very well and actually skipping way too many classes), and finally gave up my college ideals. Still in the Marine Corps Reserve for the duration of the contract, I drifted in and out of society, still trying to figure out where I was going. I had started out in the same unit as a close friend of mine, the Force Recon reserve unit in Mobile, AL. Seeing this unit as a bit much, I transferred to the Gulfport reserve unit, closer to “home”. They were an Amphibious Tractor unit and I fought to be reclassified as an admin clerk. Got sent to training as Camp Lejeune, NC and stayed there for the last three years of my contract. Well, stayed at that reserve unit. As for home space, well I floated from Atlanta GA, to Hattiesburg, MS and on Jackson, MS for a bit.

So, its 1986 and I am working at the Jackson planetarium when I begin to get the itch to move on again, but where to go? Who to be? I was tired of being in ground combat with the Marines. I had been moved to AmTrac crewman from my admin post, but they never really had a use for admin reservists, anyway. So I talked to the recruiters about moving into the active duty military. The Marines wanted me to stay in the combat forces. Neyt. The same for the Army, but at least those two branches would let me keep my rank. Now the Navy, I aced their little tests and they started pressing me to look at a position in their nuclear power sections, but staying for months at a time under the water in a sub did not appeal to me. Of course the recruiter’s gleem as getting a smart victim put me off, too. Okay, how about the Air Force. Different tact there. This recruiter looked me in the eye and said, “Well, you were in admin, you know the score. Let’s look at what is here for you.” Smart man, eh? I think I would have bought a used car, too. At least he was talking to me and not down to me. No offence, Gunny Piszak, but I was not doing so well in the Marines.

Okay, so I decided to join the Air Force, and accept a job under “general electronics”. At least I would be in a technical field. Slight problem though, I did not have enough consecutive active duty time built up, so I would need to go back to basic and do it all over again. Well hello briar patch! I’ll do it.

Well there are quite a few stories I could tell, but suffice it to say, I made it through basic training, again and landed back in Biloxi, MS at Keesler AFB learning how to be an Airborne Warning and Control Radar maintenance technician. At least Biloxi was my old stomping grounds. Heck, I was reacquainting myself with old Marine buddies. It was a fun ten months.

After my training in Mississippi, I landed in Oklahoma City for the first time, in October of 1987, nearly a year after I had started my initial Air Force training. Whew, what a ride. At least after finding my way to Oklahoma, I managed to acquaint myself with another couple of life long friends. (Hi, Randy! Hi, Cindy!)

My Air Force career was more of the same that I say while I was a Marine. Never quite sure who I was or where I was going, I managed to trip across a few good positions and training, however, I never made it past E-4, Sergeant and subsequently was let go from the Air Force as part of a force reduction in 1994.

I think it is interesting that a high school friend of mine was dead set on joining the Air Force and retiring after 30 years in – he actually joined and became dissatisfied with the Air Force after three years. Me? I knew I would never wind up in the military, and yet I enlisted and stayed for 13 years of service.

Okay, back in Oklahoma I am out of the Air Force and the first job I get with the phone company, installing home phone lines. That lasted a few months as I was climbing a telephone poll in someone’s back yard, 30 feet in the air. Its one-hundred and fifteen degrees outside and there are two dogs barking at me. Yeah, I just could not see me doing this for the new twenty years.

From there I got hired by a local computer shop as a computer repair guy. This job did not last long and I wound up working for America Online. Oh, boy. I worked there for four years and married someone I met there. Trouble is, she and I were both fired five days before our wedding, but then AOL was on the ropes with their purchase of Time/Warner and they were firing all manners of senior consultants at that time, so I don’t feel so bad.

The married years we are going to skip over. A few good things did happen, though. I went back to college and I got divorced. Yeah, we are going to leave it at that and move on.

Well this brings me to the last three years. Hmmm, what can be said? Here’s to the future!