When I was a Basic at Lackland in 1968, I was sent to pull KP duty at Madina Base three times. Madina was where the officers went to recieve their OCS training, and was a annex a few miles from Lackland. At Madina I met a shocking person. This Senior Master Sargent was 6'6" and a solid 300#, not fat, just a big solid man. He was the Mess Sgt for Madina. He was a person I remembered all my career.
Two years ago Mina had physical problems and was unable to fly. She was living in Florida, and I was there visiting my buddy Larry. Mina asked if I could help her drive to Texas to visit her folks since her father was in bad health. Thirty minutes and two near misses I took over the driving and I did all the driving from that point on. Mina has a depth perception problem. Upon arriving and meeting Mina's folks I realized this was the Mess Sgt I had met back in 1968, at Madina Base. He and I sat and talked many hours about our military careers. The family said that was the most he had talked to anyone in a long time. I met Zelda at that time also. Blond, Tall, Slender, Leggy, attractive woman, that did not look her mid 70s at all.
I went to visit last year too. I was surprised at the degree he had gone downhill in that year. And at that time he was not all there mentally, everyone suspected it was the drugs he was on.
