The Armadillos Strike Back
We began experiencing the Great Armadillo Invasion on our property in 2018. Before then, I’d seen a few squashed on the back roads leading to our property. But then we noticed trenches dug into our grass each morning. Armadillos feed at night, burrowing through the...
Lead with Your Best Shot
I don’t know why I thought it was a good idea to make fun of Shawn Davolt. It was the summer of 1976, between sixth and seventh grade and my best friend at the time, Brian Griset decided to antagonize a big eight grader, Shawn Davolt. Davolt was big, quiet, and a...
Worth the Wait?
It was 1981 and my first car, the one that was really all mine, was a 1974 Chevy LUV mini pickup. I wanted a truck, a Toyota 4×4, but there was no way I could afford one. A used Chevy LUV would have to suffice. Chevy LUVs were manufactured in Japan under the brand...
You Just Might Have a Good Time
In February 1992, I was “voluntold” to do a presentation at a local elementary school for Children’s Dental Health Month. At the time, I was on active duty, stationed at Naval Hospital Long Beach. I was on the comeback trail, trying to improve my Navy career since,...
The Day We Grow Up
21 Jan 1983 is a date I’ll always remember. 21 Jan was the day I went to the Military Enlistment Processing Station (MEPS) in Los Angeles to take a physical, fill out a mountain of paperwork, and finally swear into the Delayed Entry Program (DEP) of the United States...
A Tale of Two Grandmas
When I got the call in 1994, long distance from my mom while stationed on the island of Guam, I was crushed. Just a week before, my grandma had called me out of the blue for no reason. Just to say hello. And now my mom told me she was gone. Jean Stanczyk, who I...
Learning to Let Go
It’s 2:00pm on a sweltering afternoon in Columbus, Ohio and I feel nothing. And that bothers me. I’m winding down the process of getting our son checked in as a freshman at The Ohio State University. It’s an absolute circus. There are multiple lines to stand in,...
The Invisible Man
In 2014, when I turned 50, I was given a superpower. I didn’t realize what it was at the time, but soon it became very clear. Suddenly, it seemed, I became invisible. Truly. Where before when I would walk through crowds, people would make eye contact. When I...