“Dull” as defined by Websters, could be boring, tedious or not sharp. A friend of mine, Tommy Tucker, celebrated his 85th birthday last month. If you also know Tommy, and have listened to some of his stories, you know one thing immediately that Tommy did not do was lead a dull life. He was born in Minot, North Dakota in 1926 and lived there with relatives until age 14, when he rode a train to Seattle, Washington to live with his mother. At age 17 he enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps and served in several campaigns during WWII. After being honorably discharged when WWII ended, he enlisted in the U.S. Navy Reserve and returned to Washington where he worked at several different jobs. During the Korean War he was called to active duty and assigned to a submarine without going to a submarine school. He served aboard the boat as a motor mechanic for one year, and then the war ended and once again he was honorably discharged and returned to Washington.

He began working as a salesman for a wholesale plumbing supplies company, and for several years was their top salesman. He then began buying failing businesses, building them back up and selling them for a profit. In 1984 he bought a plumbing business located in Deming, New Mexico and a small airplane was part of the business assets. Tommy told me that while he was on submarine duty he had become claustrophobic and his thinking was that if he learned to fly a plane he would overcome his phobia. In Bremerton, Washington he wanted to go to an aviation school to get his pilot’s license, but he didn’t care for the program which was offered, so he bought the land next to them, got a Cesna dealership and opened Bremerton Aviation Charter Services and School. One of his proudest achievements is that he is licensed to fly helicopters, seaplanes, float planes and fixed wing aircraft. Tommy has been a regular visitor to Rocky Point for 17 years, and 6 years ago, he purchased a home here and now divides his time between Rocky Point and Seattle, Washington. Tommy is a member of S.O.B.S (South of the Border Singles) and was recently rescued by the Mexican Navy when he jumped off the top deck of the local cruise boat “Fiesta Cruiser”  over to the Navy boat after the Fiesta ran aground.