Englishman,
Good idea. Thanks. It would have been a good, but probably futile guessing game, in my case.
Mustang could be about cars, i.e. the now perennial Ford Mustang. But its not.
It could be about airplanes, i.e. the North American P-51 Mustang fighter. I happen to have the original plans for this machine, as my ex-business partner left them to me. His Dad was a test pilot for NA & gave him a set of drawings for a birthday present. He was working on a replica when he died. I am a pilot and have worked in aerospace, but this isn't the one, either.
It could be about the wild horses running free, but it isn't, exactly.
Growing up, I always wanted to be a scientist. Fat chance, as a JW kid, right? I studied everything that I could on the subject, but ended up with little real prospects of higher education. Due to the traditional JW lack of support for higher education, I missed the prime window for schooling. Ideally, that is just after high school, with support from family and those around you. This is important, as once you start some sort of job that will become your career, finding time to go back to school is difficult.
I pioneered for some length of time. Then I began the slow driftaway. That was pretty successful, except for my Dad's tracking me down.
Over the years, I studied what I needed at the moment, but being on my own, I never properly finished school. I am one of those who needed the advantage of the home environment for that, I suppose.
However, I got my first job in industry as an aerospace technician. A promotion here, there and regularly led me into more involved technical duties. Programming school got me into the computer industry. One thing lead to another, and suddenly I looked around with Engineer on my title. My experience and piecemeal study was working. That job was successful and so were the rest of them. Soon, it was Senior Engineer and even Principal Engineer.
By dint of immense private study, some actual school/higher education and ap-plication of practical experience, I made it!!! I found out that Engineers can get paid better than scientists, anyway.
But how about the name? The US Marine Corp has a term for an officer who 'came up through the ranks'. That is an experienced person who didn't do the normal school system thing. They send them to their own school, of course, but these people did it the hard way.
They are called MUSTANGs!!!!
So my handle/screen name/call sign is a tribute to SUCCESS IN SPITE OF THE JERKS IN BROOKLYN!!!
Mustang
