Page 87 - Winterling's Chasing the Wind

canned dinners since the money from the GI bill didn’t leave enough to eat in
restaurants more than once a day, even though a meal in those days cost only 50 cents.

Our baby was due on May 18, and the FSU Commencement Ceremony was to be held
on June 1. Unfortunately, our first son, George Franklin, did not arrive until May 29. In
those days, the mother and baby would still be in the Jacksonville’s Baptist Hospital
until June 2; consequently, I had to receive my diploma without her being present. On
June 1, I rode to Tallahassee with her brother, Henry Laverne Carter, and his wife,
Janet, to Tallahassee to attend the Ceremony. Afterwards, we stopped at an Italian
restaurant on US 90 east of Tallahassee for a delicious Spaghetti dinner.

CHAPTER 25 - Brief Weather Bureau Career
Three months prior to graduation, I had mailed my application to the U.S. Weather
Bureau. I waited three weeks while living with my in-laws in the quiet neighborhood of
Murray Hill in Jacksonville. Finally, one day the doorbell rang. When I opened the
door, Roger Plaster introduced himself, informing me that he was
Meteorologist-in-Charge, of the Jacksonville Weather Bureau office at Imeson airport.
Roger was to become instrumental in directing my training in observation and
recording of weather data, aviation forecasting, pilot briefing, and the technique of
releasing a weather balloon to monitor wind, temperature, and humidity as it traveled
aloft. His efforts on my behalf were supplemented by many others including World
War II veterans Bill Hillig and Ken Dieter, technical expert, Harold Quattlebaum, who
taught me to use a weather recorder called the triple-register, and Bob Shearston who
could dramatically describe his many hurricane experiences on Swan Island in the
Caribbean. Over the years I also benefited from networking with notable broadcast
meteorologists and hurricane forecasters, Neil Frank and Bryan Norcross.

Many opportunities opened up for me in the Weather Bureau. I quickly advanced from
Observer and Public Service forecaster to Aviation forecaster, and finally Quality
Control Officer for a new program that trained Federal Aviation Agency (FAA)
employees. It was my responsibility to administer tests to certify Flight Service Station
employees that would provide weather briefings at various airports over eastern
Georgia and South Carolina. I declined an offer to become a computer programmer at
the Weather Bureau Headquarters in Washington. I was more interested in Florida and
tropical weather.
79