Al Etheridge:

While I sat on the bench as a third string player on the Princess Anne junior varsity football team, I spent most of my time watching the cheerleaders, one of whom was Connie Wilkins, whom I subsequently described to my mother as my intended future wife. Unfortunately, as I now recall it, Connie dumped me for more fruitful pursuits.

A year or so later, I began dating Pam Derrickson whom I subsequently married during our senior year at the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg. After graduating from the University of Virginia Law School, I entered the Marine Corps as an officer and was soon assigned to the headquarters in Washington, DC, to respond to Congressional inquiries about individual Marines and varied events in Vietnam, including atrocities.

While in DC, Pam and I had two sons, Dan and Mike. Both now work in LA in the movie/television industry, Dan as a producer and Mike as an assistant director.

After an affluent and adventuresome 19 years, including my winning the 1987 Worrell 1000 catamaran race, Pam and I ended up in southwest Florida in the Ft. Myers/Naples area, and soon thereafter divorced, prompted by recent financial and personal problems.

Broke and discouraged, I “dropped” out and moved to Key West in an old car partially filled with all of my worldly possessions. I spent six fantastic years in Key West, enjoying all types of personal adventures, including living on a houseboat for two periods of time. Beyond that, I can only say that what happens in Key West stays in Key West.

In 2000, my life changed dramatically when I returned to our 40^th reunion, and hooked up again with Connie (See her notes.). Connie is the ultimate joy of my life. Having developed health problems during my younger years, capped off by my Key West lifestyle, Connie and I work hard through diet and exercise to insure that we will have many more years together.

One of the major contributions Connie has made to my life was her encouraging me to become a substitute teacher/aide in special ed classrooms for pre-school children. These wonderful kids have enriched my life beyond belief.