My wife, Janis, has "encouraged" me to write some details about myself, and maybe write about my family. Seems I have a few amusing stories about myself and my family. I am too young to be writing memoirs, but have rambled a bit.

Briefly, I am 50 years old, born in Gadsden, AL and raised in the United States (all over, my father kept searching for his place).

I remember most of the 60's and 70's. Started college in Little Rock, AR when I was discharged in 1970. I have been programming computers since 1971 and wanted to work in Europe where my oldest daughter was about to give birth the my first grandchild, but the Air Force would not accept my application for a job in Frankfort, Germany back in 1994 because I had no degree. Finally got a degree last year from Regents College, The University of the State of New York.

Made the transition from mainframes to personal computers while working at NASA. Am now into industrial automation. Mostly data communications, process control and material handling.

I have two brothers and a sister: Michael England, Maj. Jeffery England, and Kaye Heard. Mike is 18 months younger than I. We were 1 year apart in school. We had the same friends and got into all kinds of trouble together. Mike is still anything but boring. Next is the sister, Kaye. She is known as "perfect child" by my much younger brother Jeff. He may be a very straight-laced Air Force officer, but he does like jumping out of airplanes and blowing things up.

Janis and I met and married in 1992. Both of us have two daughters from previous marriages. Her oldest daughter, Heather Kloster, is 7 days older than my youngest daughter, Meaghan England. In 1997 Meaghan graduated from Auburn and Heather graduated from Gadsden State. Janis' youngest, Robin Kloster, is about to move to Miami where she will be doing Web pages for a new company. Her mother is not amused, but it is better than having her accept the job offer from San Francisco. My oldest, Jennifer Buckalew, graduated from Auburn in 1993 a few weeks after she and Michael Buckalew got married.

Heather and her fiancé, another Mike, did not accept my offer of two weeks in the Bahamas if they would just elope. Their wedding is in April.

Jeni and Mike have been in Bad Aibling, Germany since Mike graduated from Military Police school in 1993. They will return with my granddaughter, Caitlyn Buckalew, in February.

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