When I retired from the Air Force in 1971, after twenty years of service, I thought I was closing one chapter and opening another. Real estate seemed like the right fit — civilian, practical, and full of possibility. As it happened, the local community college, Trident Technical College, North Charleston, SC, is just a short walk from our home, and I’d already taken a handful of night courses while in uniform. Those credits transferred neatly, and with the GI Bill in hand, I enrolled and chose Accounting.