John Gibson

As you know, I went to Antioch College in Ohio full time for a year.  As I'm not noted for being patient (ask my dear wife!) I left full time school and went out into the world to DO something.
 
Wife Christy and I married young, I was twenty two and she was seventeen, purchased a house and I went to work at Eastern Air Lines where I remained for twelve years, first in Philadelphia and later in Miami and Fort Lauderdale.  EAL had very generous pass privileges and we travelled a great deal.  Her mother and stepfather lived in the Bahamas and we were there often.  Our two children, Heather and David, were seasoned travelers early on.

One of the most exciting and frightening events in my life began as a three day cruise from Lyford Cay on Christy's stepdad's elderly Alden ketch to Morgan's Bluff on Andros Island.  Trip over was very pleasant indeed and Christy's older brother, stepdad and I enjoyed a great dinner on the beach.  The return trip was against the wind all the way and during late afternoon a tremendous storm developed.  Seas were probably fifteen feet and we had only the jib partially raised to maintain direction and a sea anchor out off the stern to slow our progress. We truly didn't know if the boat and its occupants would survive the night.  We did and roared into the bay at Lyford Cay around noon the next day.

My parents had moved to Ouray, Colorado in the early seventies and opened an art gallery, frame shop and gift shop selling fine Indian jewelry and Navajo rugs.  They asked us to join them to join them in the operation of the shop.  By 1976 the handwriting was on the wall for Eastern Air Lines so we sold our house, packed up and moved to Ouray.  What a beautiful place!  A tiny mountain town nestled in the San Juan Mountains of western Colorado at 7,700 feet elevation.  Things went well for awhile but it became obvious that, while I could supervise an airline ticket counter that was a quarter of a mile long I couldn't sweep the floor properly!  So we parted company and I went mining!

Ouray was gold country in the 1800's and some of the early mines were still operating.  I went to work in the Camp Bird Mine as a nipper (Miner's helper). Ultimately I became a mine electrician thinking that that was an occupation that could be taken elsewhere.  The Camp Bird shut down and I moved to the Sunnyside Mine in Silverton.  Thirty five miles south over Red Mountain Pass.  A rather dangerous road over an eleven thousand foot pass but absolutely the most beautiful commute in the world!  Especially with the winter snow on the ground on a moonlight night. 

Working underground was a fascinating job.  I became supervisor of the underground electrical department of twenty six men and one woman.  She was the light bulb changer underground!  All good things must come to and end and metals prices no longer would support the operation of gold and silver mines so I was once again looking for a new job. 

We eventually moved back to Florida as Christy's family was here.  We found a waterfront house that was nearly finished and have been in it for twenty four years! I was the electrical supervisor for Yoder Brothers commercial plant nursery for eight years until they began firing long term employees and hiring new staff for less money.  Sound familiar?  The nursery pumped and treated one million gallons of river water a day for irrigation and I procured a drinking water plant operator's license which allows me to operate public drinking water plants. 

I was hired by the county we reside in here in Fort Myers and operated four of the six plants Lee County owns and retired two years ago from managing three of them. 

And now I don't know how I had time to work!  Volunteer one day a week at a no kill animal shelter and of course a dog followed me home.  So now we have two 80 pound golden retrievers, a cat that followed me home from one of the water plants and a parrot!  What a menagerie in a small house!

So there you have it!  Life has been quite an experience for us!  We've been lucky enough to visit places and do things that most people have no idea of. We've cruised to Hawaii twice and to Alaska once.  Alaska reminds us a lot of Ouray and we plan to return for a longer period of time at some point.  
Well, are you sorry you asked for it now??  What a tome you opened! Please give my very best regards to everyone.  I wish I could be there but it isn't meant to be.