Mark D Jones

In Search of the Meaning of Life (An Autobiography) Mark D Jones

This is the Second Book of my 'Air Force Years' and Fourteenth Book overall in my serialized autobiography entitled 'In Search of the Meaning of Life (An Autobiography).' My aim in telling the story of my life in the Air Force is not a typical military memoir, but instead a journal of my personal challenges and accomplishments within the backdrop of my goal of flying jets. My goal had been to fly the F-4 Phantom from the very beginning and fortunately I'd overcome a number of failures, setbacks and roadblocks to finally get that opportunity at F-4D 'Replacement Training Unit' (RTU), at Homestead AFB, Florida, in the fall of 1982. This chapter of my life specifically shows how I pursued my literary dreams without having any clear understanding of where they would lead me and how I began writing my first novel entitled 'Jonathan's Amazing Adventures: Jonathan's Dream (An Adventure Novel)' literally by accident. It was during a 'freeform writing exercise' that I'd come up with, when the first two paragraphs of Jonathan's Dream literally sprang from the page without my realizing I'd just begun writing my first novel. The goal of this book is to show you my personal challenges of learning to fly the F-4 Phantom and all the associated adventures of my life, up to the point of beginning my first novel and jump starting my literary career. While I had ambitions to one day become a published author, I had no idea of how or when that would ever be possible, as I thought I'd need to attract the attention of a publisher who could make it happen for me. Now, some 37 years later, technology has made it possible to self-publish my own books and stories, taking me on a very long and circuitous literary journey to bring these stories to you, the reader - enjoy! Book Fourteen paints a portrait of my life flying Phantoms in West Germany and beyond, and it's an honor and privilege for me to tell this story I've lived. Mine was an era that seems far removed from the world we live in today, but not really that far removed. A time when life existed before cell phones and the Internet, when analog gave way to digital technology and when global navigation first became possible. So while not a history book per se, it is a record of how things were, and the dreams and adventures of a young boy who grew up in Flint, MI, hoping to one day to fly jets, live a life of adventure and see the world - and did. If I could make my hopes and dreams come true, then you certainly can, too! Carpe Diem, seize the day! Cheers! Mark