Scott DeLuzio: [00:00:00] Thanks for tuning in to the Drive On Podcast where we are focused on giving hope and strength to the entire military community. Whether you’re a veteran, active duty, guard, reserve, or a family member, this podcast will share inspirational stories and resources that are useful to you. I’m your host, Scott DeLuzio, and now let’s get on with the show.

Hey, everybody. Welcome back to Drive On. I’m your host, Scott DeLuzio. And today, my guest is Uncle Jimmy. He is a Roman Catholic Air Force veteran, recovered addict, a stroke survivor, and a published author. And he’s faced and overcome a lot of challenges in his life. And his journey from rock bottom to recovery is both inspiring and impactful.

And we’re going to get into that story in just a But first, I want to Welcome you to the show. I’m really glad to have you here.

Uncle Jimmy (James Kuczykowski): I’m grateful to be on the show. Thank you very much for having me.

Scott DeLuzio: Yeah, you bet. Um, [00:01:00] so yeah, um, I, I do want to get into kind of your journey and kind of how you overcame some of these obstacles, but we first maybe take a step back, um, share a bit about your, your background, what led you to join the air force? Um, you know, kind of what motivated you to pursue a career in the military?

Uncle Jimmy (James Kuczykowski): I graduated high school in 1979. So, uh, at that time, I had a few other friends of mine who had graduated with who enlisted in the Air Force, and they told me how great it was. And, you know, it was a good life, so I was in the middle of being a store clerk, so I thought, you know, my life was not going nowhere here, so I’m going to try this Air Force thing out, so I did, and I really loved the Air Force, it was a great life.

You know, they gave me everything, uh, rent free, food, [00:02:00] you know, TV, telephone, you know, all expenses paid, really. And, uh, I had a great job. I was what was called a scope dope. That’s, uh, surveillance, so on a screen. We worked shift, three days on, three days off, three days on, three days off. So really, it was just, you know, you weren’t half the year.

Scott DeLuzio: Sure. Yeah.

Uncle Jimmy (James Kuczykowski): You got a lot of time off. You, you were on call on those days off. So yeah, or what’s called standby, but you know, still, you weren’t there at the desk position working.

Scott DeLuzio: Right. And, and so,

Uncle Jimmy (James Kuczykowski): I’m, I’m very grateful that I have been able to serve in the Air Force. I met a lot, a lot of good people and, uh, still to this day, we are friends.

Scott DeLuzio: And that’s something I think a lot of veterans can probably relate to, is the camaraderie that you had in the military, where you get this group of [00:03:00] people, you know, common mission, common purpose, common values, and you’re, you’re a veteran. You’re working together. You form a bond, uh, during that time.

Uncle Jimmy (James Kuczykowski): not only that, but like when I walk, when I ride my chair, because I got to ride, I can’t walk without a cane, I can’t walk through a grocery store, but as I’m riding through the grocery store, you know, I see a man with a veteran hat on, or a woman with a veteran hat on, I always make sure I make a point to go up to them and thank them for their service, and I tell them about my, uh, being in the Air Force, an...