Memorial Day is a difficult holiday for me. The recent loss of my friend, Maribel, made it that much more difficult this year.
Geeking Out with Jeffrey Harlan
Category: Essays
On May 2, 2013, my friend Maribel Ramos disappeared under what police have called “very suspicious” circumstances. I met Maribel while a student at California State University, Fullerton; we were both members of the Student Veterans Association, and were actively involved in the Student Veteran community at the university. While I graduated from CSUF last year, Maribel was set to graduate later this month. She had just returned from a conference in Chicago, where she spoke about the challenges she had faced while making the transition from military to civilian life, and in returning to school in pursuit of a degree in Criminal Justice.
The past week has been simply amazing. Not only did I mark my debut as a GM for a new campaign of the Star Trek…
I suppose it’s inevitable that I would eventually come to study history at the university level. I’ve spent my entire life surrounded by historical places and events, and have even participated in a few; the study of history, for me, is almost an introspective effort: I’m examining myself as much as I am the subject I’m studying.
I tend to think of myself as a military brat, but it’s a little more complicated than that.
When I look back on my childhood, I was practically a nomad until I was ten years old. I’ve been told by others that my life would make for an interesting book. Perhaps they’re right.
My Grandpa Rodgers’ health had been declining for the past few years.
In 2008, about six months after I’d separated from the Air Force, he suffered a stroke. Since I’d moved back to California after my military career ended, visiting him at the hospital in Fontana was relatively easy. Seeing him in that state, however, was not.
2002 Part One: This One Time, in Boot Camp… Part Two: Fort Lost in the Woods 2003 Part One: Combat Stinkin’ Mobile Part Two:…
My final year in the Air Force–though I didn’t realize it would be at the time–started off slowly, but things would change soon enough.
My supervisor retired at the end of 2006, so another sergeant in the office took over his position. She rarely ever went over to the warehouse, spending most of her time at her desk in our flight’s office. As a result, I was, effectively, on my own in continuing to run and organize the warehouse, while my supervisor focused on other duties.
As my days in Las Vegas drew to a close, my coworkers arranged a going-away party for me… at Star Trek: The Experience.
Before leaving for the party, I checked my email, and discovered a message from the base education office. Apparently, the results of my last CLEP test had come in, fulfilling the final requirement for my Associate’s degree in Emergency Management. Effective June 1st, I was finally a college graduate.
As 2006 opened, my friends brought me along to a New Year’s party on the Strip, to help get my mind off everything that had happened over the past year.
The weekend, of course, brought new challenges to the brand new year. My dorm room shared a bathroom with the room next door, and my neighbor and I hosted a small party in my room. He, unfortunately, had too much to drink. When he insisted on trying to drive one of the girls back to her dorm, two blocks away, she and I both told him that he wouldn’t be driving anywhere that night, and took his keys away to make sure of it. His thinking process was clearly impaired, because his response was to dive headfirst off the second floor balcony at the end of the hallway where our dorm rooms were located.