IEEE - Aerospace and Electronic Systems - January 2023 - 97

we still had the school record for the two-mile relay. Other
than my academic classes, I took vocational electronics and
electrical trades. In 1981, I won second place in electrical
trades contest at the state (Tennessee) level.
I rode bicycles and motorcycles as a kid. I ran a newspaper
route on Wednesday afternoons on my bicycle and sold
about 250 newspaper one a time each week. I would load
my bike with about 120 newspapers and sell them. Then, I
would return for a second load and sell them. I could make
about $25 in one afternoon in the 1970s. Big money back
then when minimum wage was about $2 an hour.
I worked with my dad a lot, and we built his house on
nights and weekends. It took two years. I remember installing
roofing shingles under a spotlight until about
10:00 pm. The neighbors adjusted to hearing hammering
and sawing until well after dark. I spent the summer ofmy
13th year wiring and plumbing houses with my stepfather.
I spent the summer of my 14th year building a house and
installing waterline pipe for my dad's construction company.
I spent the summer of my 15th year working for my
dad's company on a new elementary school in my hometown.
I held the grade pole for leveling footers, clearing
loose dirt from the footers, and grading gravel for concrete.
I spent the summer of my 16th year performing
commercial wiring in the elementary school. The president
of the electrical company had an electrical engineering
degree from Tennessee Tech. I worked for my
stepfather for the summer ofmy 17th year.
Peter: We would like to know a bit about your family too.
Can you tell us about them? I think your mom will read
this-please tell her that I still remember her biscuits and
sausage gravy. Any siblings? (I still do not believe that you
and the lady you call your sister are related. She seems nice.)
Dale: My grandfather and grandmother, my mom's
parents, were both schoolteachers. They were the only
ones in my family that went to college. My grandfather
was a strict disciplinarian as a school principal, and he
was known for that. Once upon a time, I complained about
my junior English teacher to him, and my grandfather told
me to learn my English saying that " a chain is only as
strong as its weakest link. " My grandfather always gave
me money for good grades. His encouragement on my
grades was really important to me at that time.
My grandfather, on my dad's side, was a carpenter and
farmer who made sweet (concord grape) red wine. Of course,
it was not legal, but everyone in town knew hemade it, and the
utilities workers liked to come to his house because he would
give them wine after they finished. I liked his sweet wine until
the day he gave me some " aged " wine.My dad was concerned
that, at age 5, I always wanted some ofGrandpa Blair's wine.
So, to discourage me he told me he only had " aged " wine. So,
he gave me a glass ofwhiskey, and that was not so tasty. From
that day forward, Grandpa Blair only had " aged " wine when I
was at his house. My grandmother Blair, Granny Blair, was
infamous in our family. Story was that she cut her sister's toe
offin an argument over who was going to chop wood and who
was going to carry and stack the wood.
Childhood baseball (Dale is bottom right) and basketball (Dale is number 21) team pictures.
JANUARY 2023
IEEE A&E SYSTEMS MAGAZINE
97

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IEEE - Aerospace and Electronic Systems - January 2023

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