About this Beekeeper
The story behind NapleBees…...From Vietnam War to Apiary
My generation’s war
Working to put myself through undergraduate and graduate colleges, within weeks of earning my master’s degree in electrical engineering (MSEE), my draft lottery number (36) put me on the fast track call up for US Army service during the Vietnam War era. Years later, I returned to Naples, Florida, and went to work as an electronics engineer for a local company. That led to eventually going in to my own electronic related businesses.
Through it all, before, during, and after my Army service, I kept jumping. I became a USPA-certified skydiving instructor (D-4466), a licensed Senior Rigger, and a private pilot and an aircraft owner.
Skydiving
With nearly 2,000 jumps logged, I spent many days as an instructor teaching first-jump courses. The photo above was taken high over Immokalee Airport in Florida. One of those first-jump students became the love of my life for the rest of my days. She is the lady in the photoshopped American Gothic portrait on the NapleBees honey bottle label.
The Bees Arrive
In early 2014 the beekeeping addiction began when a single hive took up residence in my Naples backyard. That is the very spot where my apiary of 20-plus hives now stands.
Random Destiny
When I think about it, the Vietnam era “random destiny” of a winning lottery number sent me on some of life’s most trying adventures. That event was the proverbial “fork in the road” change in my life long before beekeeping. But it also led, eventually, to a quietly satisfying hobby: of a multiple hive apiary right in my Naples home backyard.
Flag day jumping from UH-1H and Loach Helicopters…. That young U.S. Army SP4 on the right and a future beekeeper is somewhere near the restricted airspace surrounding the U.S. Army Aberdeen Proving Grounds. That flag above, which long ago flew in Vietnam and, although a little tattered now, is shown below and is proudly displayed at the home of the NaplesBees apiary. Click on the pictures for larger views.
The Random Destiny of the Vietnam War Draft Lottery set this future beekeeper on a life changing course as it did for many. The below book best describes some of the stories of an arbitrary luck of the draw in this nation’s last military draft that ultimately affected many young men and their futures ….some results that were for the bad ….but also a few results that were for the good.
 Click on picture for book details |
At last Inauguration day, |
Visit:
VietnamWarDraftLottery.com
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