Sometimes you’re lucky enough to get a “wake-up” call when your life is a little off track. Mine came early in life when I was burning both ends of the candle in my last two years in Brooklyn College.
I mentioned in my previous post that I had some crazy hours. Up at 6am. Two-hour commute to school. 8 hours at college. 4 hours at Post Office job. Home about 1130pm. Study as required. Sleep til 6. Averaging two to three hours per night. Oops.
The Post Office generously gave us 6 hours off with pay for every pint of blood we gave on blood drives. I gave quite often. One afternoon in 1960, I went to donate a pint for a blood drive. They asked if I was there to give or receive. I was anemic, as shown by their pre donation blood test. That was my wake-up call.
The next day I saw my family doctor (They were that available in 1960.). He took his own blood sample. He asked me how much sleep I was getting. I told him about 2 or 3 hours on most nights.
He then asked, “ How old are you”? I answered, “20”. He asked, startlingly, “You wanna make it to 21?” “ You’re severely anemic and must start getting more sleep. Cut back on work hours or you’ll collapse and be in the hospital.” A second wake-up call.
For the rest of that school year I dropped every class I could and still have enough to graduate in June, 1961. I also cut back on ROTC extra stuff I was doing. That’s what I truly enjoyed, but I liked surviving better.
My final 6 months of school til June, ‘61 were far less stressful. With some good vitamins, a healthy diet and good sleep, I was able to get back on track, pass my entry physical, earn my degree and commission and enter active Air Force duty in August, 1961. Enuf