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Surplus: The Long Arm of Vietnam - A Companion to Seven in a Jeep
The Long Arm of Vietnam is a companion to Ed Gaydos's debut memoir, Seven in a A Memoir of the Vietnam War.Surplus continues Ed Gaydos's story after he returned from the Vietnam War in 1971. These are the lessons that shaped his life as a person, a father and a successful executive.
76 pages, Kindle Edition
First published July 24, 2013
2 people want to read
About the author
Ed Gaydos
7 books22 followersThe first fantasy that I acted upon of what I wanted to be in life, after a cowboy, was to become a priest. Seven years in the seminary confirmed that I could live a life of poverty and obedience without breaking a sweat. Chastity I could see was going to be a problem. I left the seminary hoping to date hundreds of girls, have guilt free sex with most of them, get married and have kids. Half of that fantasy came true – the second half.
Kathleen came into my life nine months before Vietnam, when I needed her most. She was the loveliest creature I had ever met, and like an angel she nursed me back to sanity after Vietnam.
When our second daughter was born I realized one of my old wishes had come true to the letter, only not in the way I had imagined: I was now living with three women. The only other guy in the house was the cat, and we hated each other.
After Vietnam the graduate degrees piled up: masters in philosophy, masters in counseling psychology, Ph.D. in industrial psychology. My grandmother’s relatives from Lebanon said every Sunday, in the direct way you could get away with if you were from the old country, “Are you ever going to get a real job?”
I got lucky. I talked my way into Anheuser-Busch in St. Louis and stayed for 21 years. Then I did seven at Limited Brands and retired a Senior Vice President. Victoria’s Secret was one of the many brands owned by Limited. I love telling people, “I went from beer to bras. Is this a great country, or what?”
The best part of my retirement is I do not have to do anything I don’t want to do. So I’ve held onto the fun stuff. I coach young executives how not to make the mistakes I did. I serve on the boards of three organizations I admire. I consult to companies on picking people for international assignments. On occasion I help boards of directors improve how they operate.
And I am writing. Not the stiff corporate reports I churned out by the pound, but something my children and grandchildren would find entertaining. I began with Vietnam because it was a defining experience for me and shaped much of my approach to life. In the course of writing Seven in a Jeep I talked to other veterans who served in my artillery battery. Their stories are often jaw dropping and will appear in the upcoming Adventures of the Bravo Bulls.
Kathleen came into my life nine months before Vietnam, when I needed her most. She was the loveliest creature I had ever met, and like an angel she nursed me back to sanity after Vietnam.
When our second daughter was born I realized one of my old wishes had come true to the letter, only not in the way I had imagined: I was now living with three women. The only other guy in the house was the cat, and we hated each other.
After Vietnam the graduate degrees piled up: masters in philosophy, masters in counseling psychology, Ph.D. in industrial psychology. My grandmother’s relatives from Lebanon said every Sunday, in the direct way you could get away with if you were from the old country, “Are you ever going to get a real job?”
I got lucky. I talked my way into Anheuser-Busch in St. Louis and stayed for 21 years. Then I did seven at Limited Brands and retired a Senior Vice President. Victoria’s Secret was one of the many brands owned by Limited. I love telling people, “I went from beer to bras. Is this a great country, or what?”
The best part of my retirement is I do not have to do anything I don’t want to do. So I’ve held onto the fun stuff. I coach young executives how not to make the mistakes I did. I serve on the boards of three organizations I admire. I consult to companies on picking people for international assignments. On occasion I help boards of directors improve how they operate.
And I am writing. Not the stiff corporate reports I churned out by the pound, but something my children and grandchildren would find entertaining. I began with Vietnam because it was a defining experience for me and shaped much of my approach to life. In the course of writing Seven in a Jeep I talked to other veterans who served in my artillery battery. Their stories are often jaw dropping and will appear in the upcoming Adventures of the Bravo Bulls.
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