A Baby Boomer's Scrapbook

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Arizona Adventure

My psychological makeup was not suited to military life and I had to get out when my time was up...  Fortunately, since I was anxious to get out anyway, the Air Force offered a 90 day early out option and, instead of serving until February of 1970, I was able to leave the Service in December of 1969.

I thought quite a bit about returning to Michigan but when friend Tom Wingett said he was planning to move to Phoenix, Arizona, I made plans to move there with him.

Just before I got out, Kerri and I had moved in with Kerri's mom and dad so that Kerri and Scott could stay in Cheyenne until I found work in Arizona. 

At my discharge, I moved Kerri and Scott back in to live with Kerri's Mom until he could get a job and a house in Phoenix. I had to sell our Firebird in Cheyenne in order to do that but had my motorcycle to use while I looked for work...

Tom quickly got a job as a computer time share salesman and after living in a Motel 6 for awhile,

I found a job as a mapmaker (Cartographer) in January and was able to rent a house in south Phoenix and move Kerri and Scott to be with me in April. It was a very small house in a not so good part of town but my job didn't pay as much as he made in the Air Force and the $65 rent was all we could afford at the time. For awhile, our only transportation was my 250 Suzuki motorcycle until June when we were able to save enough for a down payment on a '65 VW.

          House at 3638 S. 12th Street...

The house we rented was in a poor, somewhat rural, neighborhood in South Phoenix about 5 miles from the downtown office where I worked.  It was a small, 400-500 square foot, no bedroom house with a living and bedroom area on one side and the kitchen and bathroom on the other.