As My Mind Wanders Back

About the Book

This personal story of an aging grandfather who, in his waning years and declining health, wants his nine year old grandson to know how he lived as a young boy and later know of his wandering ways in his adult life. The grandfather tells of growing up on a farm in rural northwest Alabama, joining the U.S. Marine Corps after high school and serving as a Morse Code Intercept Operator in Adak, Alaska, San Miguel, Philippines and aboard the aircraft carrier U.S.S.Oriskany. After military service the grandfather worked for the U.S. Postal Service in Birmingham, Alabama and then in Maitland and Longwood, Florida. He later obtained his accounting degree and began a career with the U.S. Defense Department auditing defence contractors in Florida, New York and other northeastern States. During his move to Rochester, the grandfather reconnected with, and married his childhood sweetheart and gained two stepchildren. After five years in the cold and snow, the family relocated back to northwest Alabama. Tragedy struck when the stepson’s life ended. The stepdaughter became the grandfather’s adopted daughter and only child. After her undergraduate studies at the University of Alabama, Birmingham, she served in the Peace Corps in Ukraine, obtained her graduate degree from Georgetown University, married and gave the grandfather his only grandson. The daughter then obtained her law degree from Harvard Law School and joined a law firm in Philadelphia. Miles apart and with minimal connection, the grandfather longs to tell his life story to his grandson.

About the Author

Ronald Tubbs grew up on a farm in a rural town of northwest Alabama. After his high school education, he served four years in the U.S. Marine Corps. He was trained as a Morse Code Intercept Operator and was stationed in Adak, Alaska, San Miguel, Philippines, and aboard the aircraft carrier U.S.S. Oriskany. After military service, he worked with the U.S. Postal Service in Birmingham, Alabama and in Maitland and Longwood, Florida. He then completed his undergraduate degree in accounting at the University of Central Florida. Upon graduating, he began his career as an auditor with the Defense Contract Audit Agency (DCAA) in Clearwater, Florida with subsequent relocations to Hafr Al Batin, Saudi Arabia, Rochester, New York and a final move to Huntsville, Alabama. He retired as Branch Manager of the DCAA Huntsville Branch Office. Ron lives in Hazel Green, Alabama with his wife, Becky.