Hello lostnthought: Thank you for sharing this wonderful story. I enjoyed reading it.
I noticed this is your first post here on PC. So... welcome to Psych Central.
You didn't mention how old you are.
But, from what you wrote, it sounds as though you must be not all that much younger than me. (I would have been in junior high & high school during the early 60's.
And, while there are some definite differences in the paths we've taken, there are a few similarities as well.
One additional forum, here on PC, that may be of interest to you would be the Men-Focused Support forum. Here's a link:
https://forums.psychcentral.com/men-focused-support/
I hope you find PC to be of benefit.