Yearbook photo

Yearbook name: Charles Arthur Bullen (Chuck)

My Life after Marshall

Eight years after leaving Marshall, I finally got a job. During that time, I spent a year at Stanford, a year at College of Marin, a couple of years avoiding the draft, five years living in a farmhouse in Cotati with like-minded souls, during which time I attended Sonoma State, graduating in 1974. Then after a year living in Hawaii I finally ran out of ways to survive without a job. It’s not that I didn’t have jobs, I did… just not frequently or seriously. And they had nothing to do with my eventual career.

So, I ran off to sea. I spent three years on a research ship, working in the engine room. Then, armed with my degree in Physics from Sonoma State, I got into the Radio Officer’s apprenticeship program, graduated, and moved up a few decks to a room with a view. Much better. I did that for the next twenty years, traveling to some pretty far flung ports in the Far East, South and Central America, Europe, the Middle East and Alaska. Lots of sea-stories, mostly better told in person.

I met my first wife on the research ship. Two years later we had our first son, Evan, who was born in Telluride where Patti lived. We decided to look for a home and found one in Port Townsend, Washington. Five years later our second son, Jamie was born. A few years later, we divorced.

I met JoAnne, the love of my life, in Port Townsend. We’ve known one another for thirty-five years now, been partners for twenty, and married for fourteen. She loves my kids and they love her. Evan is a senior accountant at Filson, an outdoor outfitter. He and his wife Teressa have two children; Ava, almost six and Clarke, almost three. Jamie is a senior lab tech at Beryllium, a protein research firm. He transferred from the Seattle area to Boston last winter, lives with his girlfriend Tiffany and his cat Boda.

After retiring from radio-officering, I started doing computer/communications work for Sealand, one of the companies for whom I had sailed. I’ve been a contracted consultant for them and a few other companies ever since. Well, I haven’t really worked for the last three years. I have a couple of employees who actually do the work these days. I manage. JoAnne worked for our company for 10 years, retiring in 2012.

Four years ago, JoAnne and I moved to Auburn, California to be closer to her sister and her mother. My family is still in Port Townsend, so we travel back and forth a lot. We have a home in Port Ludlow which is a “cool” place to be when it gets too hot in Auburn.

I think I might REALLY retire soon.

p.s. this will be my first trip to Falls Church since 1966.

Photos

Chuck and JoAnne