Growing up in Kokomo, Indiana, I didn’t expect to run into many celebrities. We lived in a small town in a Midwestern state, and the most famous person I knew was Mr. Kinkaid, the 5th grade teacher who showed up on Bowling for Dollars in his red turtleneck. I think he bowled a gutter ball.…
I led a somewhat adventuresome (and accident prone) life as a kid. I ran my arm through a wringer washer, fell out of more than a couple trees, and even got hit by a car. Fortunately, we had good insurance, because I was a frequent presence in the local hospital emergency room. One hot summer…
Teaching can be one of the hardest jobs in the world…and it’s hard because of the students. Take 30 kids with lots of energy and put them in the classroom, and you’re going to get lots of activity, but not necessarily any education. I’m always impressed when a teacher can capture and hold the attention…
Part of growing up in Indiana is dealing with the unpredictable weather. There’s a saying that goes, “If you don’t like the weather, stick around for 5 minutes….It’ll change.” We’d have snow as early as Halloween, or as late as April, and sometimes have 4 seasons in one day. I got used to the unpredictable…
1991. My fiancee and I had moved down from Connecticut to Northern Virginia (to find jobs, because the CT job market sucked). She was working for a pharmaceutical company, and I was working for MCI (when it was still just a long-distance company). MCI was a meat grinder. Lots of meetings, politics, and tense ‘discussions’,…
I’ve never been much of a drinker, and at my age, I’m not likely to become one. I don’t think I even tried to sneak a beer during high school, even though lots of my friends did, and it was a common thing to go to a party out on somebody’s remote farm, where the…
Back in school, I was a band and choir kid. From the first time we could sign up for either, I was in both. I started playing trombone in 6th grade, and joined choir as well. My parents were pleased because it kept me from getting into typical childhood mischief. Every year, choir held special…
Every Halloween, kids dress up as witches, ghosts and goblins, going from house to house in search of the best candy rewards. As I got older, neighbors were less generous when they saw teenagers lurking in their doorway. When the candy bounty ran down, we turned away from asking for treats, and towards tricks. In…
When my kids were younger, they used to have a saying….. “Dad can fix it….he can fix ANYTHING.” Between YouTube, Google and RepairHelp.com, I’ve saved lots of money, and kept several appliances running way longer than expected. I (unfortunately), some times fall into the trap of believing my own hype. Once, my wife called from…
On today’s 9/11 milestone, it’s sobering to think about all the lives lost, sacrifices made, and heroic efforts in the wake of that tragedy. Even in scary times, however, some times, you can find a funny story (even if you would rather it happened to someone else). In 2001, I worked 2 blocks from the…