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Roy A. Johnston
I grew up 5 miles from the Rio Grande river in south Texas; a little town called Weslaco. My dad survived the June 6, 1944 landing on Omaha Beach, Normandy and made it home a little over a year lat...ver maisI grew up 5 miles from the Rio Grande river in south Texas; a little town called Weslaco. My dad survived the June 6, 1944 landing on Omaha Beach, Normandy and made it home a little over a year later. My mother returned home from the U.S. Naval Station in Honolulu soon after. They met in Elk City, Oklahoma and moved to Oklahoma City to work at Will Roger's Field, where I was born. So, I am a baby boomer. We moved to Weslaco a few years later where my dad opened a plumbing business and my mom worked as a secretary. I completed my primary and secondary education in Weslaco. I was one of 40 gringos in the graduating class of 200. Thus, technically I was in the minority, but, in those days racial tensions were imperceptible to a person my age. I have spent my whole life struggling to understand racial hatred. I grew up with people from Mexican decent, they were my friends and still are. I am interested in the person not their skin color.I earned a B.S. in Botany from Oklahoma State University in 1973. Six months earlier, I was called up by the selective service to take a physical and be inducted into the armed services for possible deployment to Vietnam. I drew number 63 in the 1969 draft and was able to defer the draft with a college 2-S deferment. Providence smiled on me, however; I failed the physical and was able to complete my B.S. I was invited to join the Masters graduate program in the Agronomy department, and completed the M.S. with emphasis on plant cytogenetics in 1975. My first peer reviewed research journal article was published that same year. In 1980, I completed the Ph.D. in Agronomy (emphasis on plant genetics and cereal chemistry), at North Dakota State University and joined the Agronomy faculty at Oklahoma State in May 1980.My years on faculty were productive, my network expanded and 4 years later I was enticed away from the Ivory Tower to work in private industry. I spent the next 32 years in Agriculture and Food Ingredients business.I am fanatical about the pursuit of truth. When it comes to politics, my first questions is; "Is it good for America." I am not affiliated with any political party. If you feel this way, you will enjoy my writing. My passions, other than writing, are mountain climbing, swimming, botany, geology, philosophy and my wife, children and grandchildren.ver menos