A Page About My (NEWLY RETIRED!!!) Hubbie, Paul kinda like an I LOVE ME PAGE, but an I LOVE HIM PAGE, instead!

Let me tell you a little about my husband, Paul Spencer. He's originally from upstate NY. He spent most of his childhood in Plattsburgh, which is a beautiful area in the Adirondacks. He was an active duty Marine for almost 29 years, and finally retired shortly after returning safely from Iraq! He was an ammo tech, before getting into EOD (Explosive Ordnance Disposal). He was a Sgt. when we met, and when we got married. He has been to Okinawa, twice, on unaccompanied tours (he missed both kids' first years, too). He was promoted to Warrant Officer in 1988, and went to TBS in Quantico, VA. Finally, he returned Quantico, VA; full circle. And received his final promotion of his career, to CWO5, Feb of 2005!!! After a twilight tour deployment to Al Anbar Iraq, in 2006/2007, he is finally retiring, and we will at last get to enjoy the good life together!!!

He was promoted to CWO4 on Dec. 15, 1998, at MCAS Iwakuni! Back then, I attempted a Wetdown and Promotion Page! Take a look at a Marine Corps tradition...

Paul enjoys woodworking; so much so, in fact, that he's planning to make things in all of his "spare time" now that he has retired from the military, hopefully making a few dollars from his work but without taking all the fun out of it! He has built several nice items for our home (and has several other projects in mind), but hasn't had enough time to REALLY get into it, until now. He is the proud owner of a Shopsmith (2 really), and has taken some woodworking seminars on how to use it. He's looking forward to the day he will have the time and space to actually USE his fun toys! The new house in VA has more room than he's had so far, and plenty of honey-do's to keep him busy! Meantime, he's expanding his tool collection, and trying to expand his claim on the basement space ;-)

He also loves to fish! He enjoys trout fishing, especially in his home state of New York, but any fresh water fishing in rivers, streams and even lakes makes him happy. He purchased his first fly-fishing rod, and hopes to eventually become a seasoned fly-fisherman! He's always enjoyed bowling, and we've gone bowling as a family often over the years, but he'd never been on a league... until Japan! He bowled in a men's league there, and subbed occasionally on other leagues. He now has his own bowling ball, bag and shoes. He and John were bowling on a three-man team with another EOD guy, until shortly before we left Iwakuni. These days we still bowl once in a while as a fun family outing, and he's been on a league here at Quantico. Now that we are "empty nesters", our "family outings" just involve the two of us, at least for bowling, and motorcycling and such!!! Of course, we love to take Dharma, wherever she might enjoy going! Speaking of motorcycles...

Somewhere along the line, a monster was created... Paul got a motorcycle while we were in CA. It gave him "Biker Fever". He didn't bring THAT bike along, when we moved to Japan, but shortly after we got there he got another (much smaller) bike to get him to work. That one was a Honda. It was way too small for him, but it was transportation and it gave him his biker-fix. Once back in the states, Mr. "Big Money" got himself a real nice rice-burner! He invested in a 1997 Yamaha Royal Star, for the commute to Camp Pendelton, from Orange Co., as well as the occasional tour! He commuted for 5 long years, an hour each way on CA freeways.... thankfully that is over, though he still owns that particular bike. However we upgraded to a 2002 Midnight Venture, also a Yamaha... a BEAUTIFUL bike, and way more comfy of a ride for me! We recently went on our longest trip with it so far, a trip with my cousin and her hubby, from CA. They rode out on their Harley, met us in VA, and we all rode up to RI... from there we went on a weeklong cruise, then we rode our bike home and they continued on their trip, making their way back west! That was a fun and memorable trip! We also plan to get involved with the Patriot Guard Riders, locally.

While I like USING a computer, I'm not into programming the thing (in fact this HTML stuff was a HUGE step for me). Paul, on the other hand, amazes me the way he gets into stuff, and actually seems to know what he's doing. It's a good thing, too; he's saved us several times, when I would have just thrown the darn computer in the trash heap, and bought a new one! (So, this is a GOOD thing, right?) There have been a few times when his 'learn as you go' methods have backfired, but overall, it HAS been a good thing!

Links to other sites on the Web

USMC Leadership Principles Though hosted on a Marine Wives' site rather than an official Marine site, this is an EXCELLENT version of the Leadership Principles for Marines.
MCI Online Online access to MCI courses for Marines of all ranks
Frag BBS Several BBS's for EOD types
Wood Online
Harley Davidson Ok, he's happy with his rice-burner, but I still don't think he'd turn down a Harley, if the money fell in his lap!!!
Plan an Adirondack get-away!
Computer Life Magazine
Fishing on the Rappahannock River, VA Local info for Paul :-)
Bowling Index Online bowling instructions, tips and links to more!

© 1999 spottedblaster@mac.com

This page hosted by Get your own Free Home Page