chapters
Days. Dates. Anniversaries and memories. Things happen every year on their day, don't they! Christmas Day, New Years Day, birthday (mine is September 14, but today is Nick's 38th birthday, happy birthday, Grandson!). January 24 (my sister Gina's birthday) is also the date in 2011 that I graduated into +Time at Cleveland Clinic.
But today! February 1, 1978: forty-five years ago this morning, I retired from the U S Navy. That's me, Commander Weller, U S Navy, returning the salute of six Navy commander sideboys, friends and colleagues, as I'm piped ashore into my first day of life as Commander, U S Navy (Retired).
As told here now and then, I've liked to perceive my life in twenty-year chapters. Twenty years growing up. Twenty years as a Navy officer, during which we lived in Rhode Island, Georgia, Virginia, Florida, Michigan, Japan, WashingtonDC, California, Ohio, and Pennsylvania. A six year transition 1978 to 1984 when I loved living and working in WashingtonDC, traveling some 85% of every year, teaching as adjunct professor at the Univ of West Florida, studying in theological seminary in Pennsylvania and Virginia. In 1983 I was ordained into a double-twenty, forty-year chapter as an Episcopal priest, serving five parishes and one school:
Mount Calvary, Camp Hill, Pennsylvania
Trinity, Apalachicola
Holy Nativity, Panama City
Holy Nativity Episcopal School, Panama City
Grace, Panama City Beach
St Thomas-by-the-Sea, Laguna Beach.
Looking back, those twenty years growing up, I expected and intended to go to seminary and into life as an Episcopal priest, but as a college sophomore, wise fool, I changed my mind and decided once and for all not to do that. Graduating from UF in 1957, I went off to U S Navy Officer Candidate School and was commissioned a new Ensign
with no idea whatsoever of staying in the Navy, but I was so happy my first tour of sea duty that I moved, the Navy word is augmented, from U S Naval Reserve to Regular Navy into a career.
My first dozen Navy years I loved tremendously - - challenging, responsible, fun tours of duty, MBA at the University of Michigan, through my 1968-1969 year at the U S Naval War College. But from there I went back to sea, and the evening of November 1, 1969, the day my ship deployed for eight months in WestPac during the Vietnam War, I was most extremely miserably unhappy leaving Linda, Malinda and Joe behind in San Diego. There was nothing I could do about it, because I was, like the Roman centurion who came to Jesus, under orders. So this is memory Time, eh? I remember thinking, "It's too far back to jump overboard and swim back to San Diego. I've got twelve years in the Navy and it would be a waste to resign now. I'll stay to retirement, but I'm getting out of this C.S. outfit as soon as I turn twenty years."
When I retired from the Navy, my mother said, "We always thought that when you retired from the Navy you'd finally go to seminary." I said, "No, Mama, I'm not doing that." During my transition years, the kind and perceptive folks at our Pennsylvania parish started pressing me, "Did you ever think about going to seminary and becoming an Episcopal priest?" and I'd answer, "Yes, I thought about that and many years ago decided NOT to." My transition life I was loving, traveling, driving new Cadillacs. But parishioners and our rector would not leave me alone.
I've told this story before: one morning in 1980 the rector of our parish asked me to come in for a visit. He confronted me with, "How many new Cadillacs are enough? How much longer are you going to ignore God's call on your life?" I threw up my hands and said, "Oh what the Hell: I give up." He turned, picked up his telephone and rang the bishop, and I entered the process. I started theological seminary on my forty-fifth birthday, September 14, 1980: my sense of happy, satisfied relief on that day was beyond words.
It has been, and continues to be, my life. Vocationally, this is my favorite chapter.
RSF&PTL
T CDR Rev Fr Retired