I’ve always been fascinated by mechanical things. If it rolled, rotated or ran, I wanted to figure out how. Grandma lived next door to us, and while Mom was at work, I was home from school, or just bored, I spent a lot of time at Grandma’s house. Grandma gave me a lot of freedom…
Despite growing up in a small town and skipping kindergarten, I’ve always had a large vocabulary, even if I tend not to use it. When writing, I often say, “Never use a three-dollar word when a 50 cent word will do.” Still, as a kid, I tended to punch way above my weight class when…
As a kid, I loved to read comic books. Heck, I loved to read anything, from encyclopedias to phone book ads, to the back of cereal boxes. Most of all, I loved comic books. I’d browse through them at the corner store, and when I had a quarter (yes, comic books only cost 25 cents…
Back in 4th grade, my buddy Jim and I were thick as thieves. If there was an adventure to be had, we were there. Depending on the day, either one of us could be the instigator. Between the two of us, we had enough free time and imagination to get in all sorts of trouble.…
When I was a kid, there was always mischief to be found. Sometimes it ended up in scrapes or bruises, other times, it was only wounded pride. No matter what, Mom was always there to get us back on our feet. Some times, however, we would get into things that we’d rather Mom not find…
In January, 2014, I signed up for the CRASH-B Erg Sprints, to be held on Febrary 1st in Alexandria, Virginia. Now, you may wonder just what the heck are the C.R.A.S.H.-B. Erg Sprints? First, it helps to know that “Erg” stands for Rowing Ergometer, or more specific, a Concept2 rowing machine. I have now idea…
I’ve never thought of myself as an athlete, and to look at me, you wouldn’t think so, either. In 2012, I was 51 years old, 80 lbs overweight, depressed and dealing with a ton of personal challenges. By 2014, I went from being a complete couch potato to achieving several goals that would be the envy of…
This past weekend, I ran in the DC Ragnar Relay. What is a Ragnar Relay? It’s a 200-mile relay with up to 12 runners on a team. Each runner completes a leg from 3-8 miles of varying difficulty….and the run continues through the night for about 36 hours of non-stop craziness. Weather? Doesn’t matter. Fatigue? Get…
Have you ever been so frustrated (or tired, or upset)….that you just wanted to quit? I know the feeling. I’ve been there lots of times….from jobs that seemed to be going nowhere, to relationships that didn’t seem to work anymore, to goals I’ve been pursuing……that didn’t seem to be worth pursuing as much. Some times,…
All my life, I’ve had a fear of heights. When I was young, I found it difficult to get on rides at the county fair…and it was almost impossible to get me on a roller coaster. I’d find any excuse possible to avoid any situation where I’d have to look down from a great height…