I am one of the first in my family to attend and graduate from college. My first Bachelor of Science degree was from California Baptist University in Riverside, California with a major in Business Administration with emphasis in Accounting and Management.
During that time, I was already a member of the United States Army Reserves where I had joined in June 1976, done both basic and advanced individual training at Fort Jackson, South Carolina. When I moved to Perris, California. I had transferred to United States Air Force Reserves and was sent to Lackland Air Force Base where I was trained to be a Security Policeman and in Air Ground Base defense. I was at March Air Force Base in Riverside, which was under the Strategic Air Command at that time.
After graduation from California Baptist, I moved to Texas where I also transferred to the Air National Guard at Hensley Field in Dallas doing Security Police work and later back to Air Force Reserve at Carswell Air Force Base. I took the Officer Battery Test for both the Air Force and the Army. I was denied entry to attend Officer Training School at Lackland even though they claimed I scored the highest they had ever seen. The Oklahoma Army National Guard on the other hand, promised me entry into Officer Candidate School. I transferred to the Oklahoma Army National Guard and graduated from OCS in 1981. I was then sent to Fort Benning to Infantry School where I was then recognized upon graduation as an infantry officer.
I later attended and earned my second Bachelor of Science Degree from Auburn University at Montgomery in Computer Information Systems since computers caught my interest.
Throughout the years with multiple deployments, I finally retired and was also medically retired on January 29, 2013, out of Fort Bragg, North Carolina with the rank of Lieutenant Colonel Special Operation Forces Civil Affairs with over thirty-six years of being in the military.
My first influence with Masonry was from the deacon of my church Paul Wright. He was a Mason out of Perris, California. He left a very favorable impression on me while I was still in High School. I later learned about Shriners and their support of the Shriners Hospitals for Children. But also learned to become a member of the Shrine, you first had to become a Mason.
After living in the Smoky Mountains of Franklin, North Carolina I finally joined the Masons at Junaluskee Masonic Lodge # 145 where I went through the Entered Apprentice, Fellowcraft and Master Mason.
One of the conditions of becoming a Mason, you cannot be an atheist. It is not a religion but helps to strengthen a man in his Christian walk-in life with all the charities they support. The Blue Lodge, which is the local Masonic lodge does scholarships for deserving students who apply, support the Masonic orphanage in North Carolina, bring poinsettias to the widows of Masons during Christmas time, and even did work for those who were disabled and for widows on yard work. You build good close ties with other Masons in the lodge.
I later got involved in York Rite Masonry. There are three bodies in the York Rite. They are Royal Arch Masons, Council also known as Cryptic Masons and Commandery. Their charities are with children with visual impairments, medical research where most people owas the inserting the catheter in the femoral artery next to the groin to go to the heart. The York Rite research came up with using the radial artery in the wrist instead where healing was much faster and less painful. In some states York Rite also have scholarships available or students who apply and wish to further their academic education. Members of the clergy may also apply where York Rite will fund their trips to the holy lands where the clergy can learn more and see the land that they do their sermons on. They only must pay the expenses from their home to the departing airport.
I finally held the position of High Priest in 2019 which is equivalent to being president of the Royal Arch Masons in Franklin.
I also got involved with Scottish Rite Masonry in Franklin. It first started out as a club under the Valley of Asheville. There were some growing and learning pains along the way which is true with any new organization. I finally became the Venerable Master in 2019 where I flew to Washington D.C. to obtain the Charter where Franklin transformed from being a club to becoming the Valley of Franklin, Lodge of Perfection. As a Lodge of Perfection, it only covers memberships up to the 14th degree, then you have dual membership with the Valley of Asheville which covers the members to their 32nd degree.
The Scottish Rite charities include 1) Rite Care that works with children who have both hearing and speech impediments. 2) Multiple scholarships for students who apply and want to further their academic education in colleges and Universities. 3) Junior and Senior ROTC programs where theses students receive a ribbon and certificates. 4) Disaster Relief for those affected with natural disasters such as floods, hurricanes etc.
On November 20th, 2021, I will be invested into the Knight Commander of the Court of Honor or K.C.C.H. for short which is receiving the red hat that distinguished one from the black hat. The step above that is called the Honorary Inspector General or white hat which is the 33rd degree Mason.
These degrees in York Rite and Scottish Rite are educational degrees or honorary degrees, as all Masons will say, there is no degree higher than that of a Master Mason which is the third degree.
I am also a member of Smoky Mountain Shrine Club which is under Oasis Shrine Temple in North Carolina.
The main charity which is also advertised on televisions and radio stations are Shriners Hospitals for Children. These hospitals treat children with orthopedic, burns and cleft palate regardless of the children’s family’s ability to pay. I was President of Smoky Mountain Shrine Club in 2016.
My other interest includes horseback riding where you see a picture of me with my Tennessee Walking Horse I named Star.
Since Covid-19 pandemic hit the United States and globally, I started picking up interest in CSS and Javascript.
CSS stands for Cascading Style Sheets that is used in web development that mainly handles the styling of a particular website you are working on. The old way from 20 years ago, you had to hard code web pages mainly in the html code. Now, it has changed with the introduction of css to center certain text, pictures etc. Javascript is a cousin to Java. Both Java and Javascript are Object Oriented Programming. Java is programming code used in microchips for refrigerators, automobiles etc. Javascript is script coding that handles and runs the program used in web development.
To make it challenging and fun along the way is trying to program games that works on the Internet. First game is Blackjack which involve using div containers in html, while simultaneously switching to css to style it the way I want it to look. Javascript programming would be the last step.
For those that do not know, the game is trying to get as close to 21 as possible without going over. If you go over, you lose. The cards count as they are with the face cards such as the Jack, Queen and King counting as 10. The Ace card is a little challenging as it can count as 1 or 10. That also involves using arrays in programming. Using only 13 cards makes this supposedly a simple interesting challenge and some headaches, but still be fun.
You press the hit button for the cards, then stand if your score is high, hit stand for dealer then deal button for score.
| Wins | Losses | Draws |
|---|---|---|
| 0 | 0 | 0 |