My 50th high school reunion is next year. It’s another reminder that I wasted most of my high school experience, at least the first two years. I would either sit in the back of the classroom and secretly read books that had nothing to do with school, or sit in the back row of Spanish…
Alcoholics Anonymous Step Two: “Came to believe that a power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.“ I sat in the non-smokers section of the Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) meeting and listened to men and women tell their stories. Despite the loud ventilation system, I heard pain, joy, and most important hope. As they spoke…
This blog is a second reflection on “It was Me all Along: A Memoir,” by Andie Mitchell. Colorado has 58 Fourteener’s. For those of you not from Colorado, a Fourteener is a mountain with the elevation of over 14,000 feet. I’ve done 11.Grays Peak. Pikes Peak. Quandary peak. Mount Sherman. Mount Ross. Mount Cameron. Mount…
It’s the Halloween season as I write this episode, which means Scary Movie Sunday at our house. The movie “The Nun” caught our eyes so we watched it. Yeah, I know, it’s not High Art, not like the Exorcist. There is a scene near the end, that somewhat illustrates what kind of person you are…
One of my favorite movies is “Signs,” by M. Night Shyamalan. Please don’t judge me :-) One of my favorite scenes is when Graham, the former Episcopal priest, who had just lost his wife to an accident is having a conversation with his brother Merrell about the appearance of lights in the sky. Merrell is…
I’m headed to Colorado again to spend some time with my two granddaughters, son, and daughter-in-law. And then a road trip. My plan A was to do a four-day, three-night backpacking trip into the Needles District of Canyonlands National Park, but my son’s lower back-issues forced us to change our trajectory. Plan B is a…
I remember my first week of basic training in the United States Air Force. There’s a lot to learn. Really, it’s indoctrination. Military bearing. You’re learning to stop being a civilian and act like an Airman, a Marine, a Soldier, or a Sailor. They teach you how to salute. They show you, then have you…
Are You Addicted to Food? I was a precocious five-year-old. Very curious. Very talkative like my mother. And like most children my age, innocent. My parents said that I was the easiest of nine to raise. Maybe I misheard them, but that’s what I want to believe. And so, I’m guessing that it would surprise…
Look in the mirror. What do you see? You might see your mother or father. I do. I try remembering when my father was my age. My father was 30 years older than me, so I was 37 when he was 67, the age that I am now. That was 1993. I had moved to…
What Was the one Moment That Changed Your Life? I tell my sons and granddaughters that they are here today because the Navy Recruiter had gone to lunch. Let me explain. I graduated from high school in 1974. Geez, I’m getting old, yay. I went to work with my father and Jackson Engineering after high…
