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 Kokomo, Indiana, we lived next door to Grandma. No matter how stern Grandma was with her 3 sons, she had a soft spot for the grandkids. She always knew the right thing to say, the right time to slip us a piece of candy, or the right time to sit back and listen.…
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.…
Having just finished the C.R.A.S.H.-B. sprints on Saturday, I took the Amtrak train up to New York for the Empire State Building Run-Up. It was an exciting event, from the training and fundraising leading up to the climb….to the event itself. I had one fundraising goal – to raise $2500 for the MMRF. That’s what…
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…
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…
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…