A BIT ABOUT BOB INABINETTE : I was born in Moss Point, Mississippi in 1931, the middle child of 10 children. Like many children of the South in those times, I grew up poor. At age 15, with a 7th grade education, I left home from Vancleave, MS. I worked in a sawmill to make money for traveling to Independence, MO. There I worked for Western Union for several months delivering telegrams to pay my room and board. In December 1947, at age 16 I joined the US Air Force. In July 1948 I arrived in Japan where I spent 27 months. I attained the level of Cpl. and Crew Chief of radar operations in a Tactical Control Center in Niigata, Japan which was my final duty station.
Upon my discharge in February 1951 I worked as an x-ray technician on an oil pipeline in South Texas for several months and then moved to Southern California. I completed my high school education in one year and then went to National Schools in LA for 18 months for electronics training. During this two and a half years of schooling I worked a swing shift job mostly as a fry cook. The last six months I worked at North American Aviation assembling components for the Navajo missile which paid a lot more than frying hamburgers.
From 1954 I worked in environmental testing of aircraft and missile components mostly for the Atlas missile and the Minuteman guidance system. My specialty was dynamic testing including shock and vibration as a Test Engineer and Supervisor of several laboratories. In 1960 I accepted a position as a Sales Engineer specializing in the sales of environmental test equipment. I was selling the equipment that I had previously used in the laboratory.
By 1971 the aerospace industry was declining and most of the equipment that I was selling was funded by the government. The government was buying "low bid" which meant the cheapest equipment that probably wouldn't do the job. I took pride in my sales ability and wasn't going to be an "order taker."
I moved into a new field as Vice President of Sales and Marketing for Truck and Auto Supply in Anaheim, CA where I spent four and a half years increasing their sales by 150%.
In November 1975 I married my present wife Norma. Norma was a professor at Cal-State Fullerton and retired in June 2000. Norma was my rock through the loss of two of my daughters from my first marriage, Brenda age 16 and Melissa age 29. The only thing worse than losing a child, is losing two. My only remaining girl, Melody lives in Indiana along with her two sons. I never had a son.
In 1976 I purchased my own company, Arlo Truck Parts and Electric in Anaheim, CA increasing gross income from $16,000 a month to $100,000 per month during the 10 years of ownership in addition to increasing inventory from near zero to over $125,000.00. My daughter, Melissa was my next in command and when she died, I sold my business. At that time I also co-owned Road Pro Warehouse, Inc. which specialized in heavy duty truck parts storage and distribution.
As a young man I often thought of being in law enforcement but it wasn't in the cards. Just after I turned 50 I was still running Arlo and I went through the Orange County Reserve Police Academy at Chapman College. (The oldest person in my academy class, under me, was born while I was going through basic training in the Air Force.) I went on evenings and weekends for fourteen weeks and was then "hired" by Fullerton PD where I worked without pay for six years.
While still living in Southern CA we had 27 acres of oranges in Strathmore, CA. After building our first house we purchased a liquor store in Springville, CA which was managed by Norma's sister, Joyce. We put in sporting goods and with a FFL I sold a few firearms. I called it Springville Liquor and Other Sporting Goods. We now only own our property here and a 2.5 acre lot in Joshua Tree which we haven't seen in 10 years. I guess it's still there as I pay the taxes.
Living in Southern California for most of my adult life, I retired to a small village of Springville tucked in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada Mountains in central California. We built our first house here in 1986 and our dream house we planned together for 25 years in 2000. It sits on 4.8 acres on the Middle Fork of the Tule River and we can see the river from our living room. We recently purchased an adjacent 6 acres that gives us more river frontage. Norma and I feel like we live in heaven with our 3 dogs, Cassie, Brandi and Gus along with our five cats who are all neutered or spayed.
I have been very active in community service over the years. I served as the City of Chino country area representative, a reserve police officer for the City of Fullerton, member of the Springville Advisory Council and President of the Citizens for a Quality Environment which fought the building of an Indian casino on Highway 190 to the mountain area.
I served as President and founder of the Institute of Environmental Sciences for California chapters: San Diego (1959-1960), Inland Empire (1969-1970), and Orange County (1960-1961). I am a life member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars, Disabled American Veterans, American Legion, National Rifle Association (Benefactor member), the California Rifle and Pistol Association and Oath Keepers.
I spend much of my time researching and writing a book about the incredibly dysfunctional federal and local government agencies and their policies, bringing to bear my 79 years of experience.
