I lke to say that I belong to the class of 1971 . That is when I was supposed to graduate . Only made it till Nov of 1970 when Mr Esteep and Mr Scheider escorted me out the front door . They gave me 10 $ for my books and sent me on my way . Being out of school led to trouble and I ended about being arrested in Grayling on a Misdemenaor and spent 29 days in jail . Used to run with a rough crowd . One day I was listening to Neil Young sing "everybody Knows this is Nowhere " I got the message . The only way I was going to get anywhere was to get out of the area . The US Army was happy to oblige as we were still in the middle of The Vietnam War . I was never sent into battle because I had joined the 82nd Airborne Division which I soon learned was mostly kept in the USA as our National 911 . Got to make 39 parachute jumps and came out ok .

My life changed when I got orders for the Panama Canal Zone . After Ft Bragg , the Zone was Paradise . I quickly learned Spanish and became a near native level speaker . After the Army Honorably Discharged me in 1976 , I went straight to College . Eastern had an Armed Forces open Admission Policy and I was in no questions asked . Luck smiled on me as I met the girl of my dreams on the first day of school and soon after got a full schloarship in Bilingual Education . We lived in married housing for 60 $ a month and those were the good old days .

I soon discovered after graduation that a BA Degree was not so much . After nearly 10 years of struggle to make it in our new home state of FL , I decided that Social Work was the right field for me . Many of you who know me will be suprized that I spent my career working in the school system , mostly trying to keep dleinquents from dropping out . In the end , I had good sucess . I get letters from former students now adults , that all made it to their own sucess and give me credit for yelling at them . My secret was that at their age , I was way worse . I owe all that I am to my wife and The Army . I just wanted to give a shoiut out to anyone who knew me way back when that I straightend out . I also take pride in being from Michigan which is way more beautiful than Fl . Working with Children and Families became my life's work . It was rewarding . I am now retired looking back at a sucessful career . Feel free to contact me at molamark#aol.com . Peace to you all : Mark C Razook Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW)