The greatest secret of my life. On July 9, 1970 I woke up and everything had changed...and it wasn't just because of where I found myself. Fifty years ago, this morning, I woke up to my first day at the Recruit Training Center in San Diego California. That was the morning that I had expected to be thrown out of the Navy, and to have returned home in disgrace and embarrassment.. The greatest secret of my life. I was really eager to join the Navy since I was about thirteen; a sailor is what I wanted to be when I grew up. My mother was a realist, and often gently reminded me of why that might not work out. I had a secret back then which affected my self-esteem and made me somewhat withdrawn and invisible in high school: I thought that the Navy would change all of that. But I was pretty wrapped up in some specific magical thinking. So I joined up, went to San Diego, and that first night I turned in for what I thought was going to be my last night in the Navy...and that I woul