Category: Life Lessons

I was about thirteen years old when I first thought about my own mortality.  I had lost two of my grandparents a few years prior, but never considered my own death until around the time of my thirteenth birthday.  I don’t know if the thought of being a teenager triggered my fear, but it was …

When I was an elementary school principal, Madelyn Hunter was one of several educational gurus that I followed.  She had a model for effective teaching that outlined the important parts of a good lesson plan.  I encouraged my staff to use her model.  Some did, some didn’t, but most at least gave a look see …

I met with a second surgeon regarding my left shoulder last week.  He’s a sports medicine expert, specializing in shoulders.  He had a new ex-ray taken when I arrived and reviewed an electronic copy of my cat scan and MRI.   We talked a bit as he pulled on my arms and rattled statistics to his …

When I went off to college in the fall of 1965 I planned to become an attorney. I really didn’t know what an attorney did other than wear a suit to work and use his brain rather than his back to make a living. Most of the men I knew used their back. I had …

When I was a kid my mom and dad had a percolator to make coffee. They put water in the pot, ground coffee in a metal basket, inserted the basket into a metal tube that fit inside the percolator bottom, put the top on the percolator, placed the percolator on the kitchen stove, and fired …

When I began my look into meeting new women on a dating site, I moved forward cautiously.  It was new territory, and I didn’t want to make any wrong moves.  Turns out I haven’t made many moves at all.  The ones I had in my youth are gone. Over the past several months I’ve seen …

If I ever publish another book, I think I’ll call it Based on a True Story. That’s what all my writing is. While I don’t look down on those who write fiction, writing about my life as the stories reappear is just easier for me. As I’ve written before, it’s the truth as I remember …

I applied to be superintendent of Britton-Macon Area School in 1988.  I was one of six selected to be interviewed.  I had a choice of interview dates and times.  I chose the final day and preferred the final time, but that slot was already taken. I believed that the first and last candidate had an …

My time in Addison was great. That’s where the kids grew up. Ruth and I lived there for forty-three years. We didn’t have Michael when we arrived, and he was forty-two, married for more than ten years, when we left. I was hired on August 16th, 1977, the day Elvis Presley died. Once I knew …

My first thought regarding a master’s degree was, “I’ll study to become a counselor”. I made an appointment with Western’s counseling department, and the dean of the school interviewed me. It was, without a doubt, my worst interview ever. When he asked why I wanted to get into counseling I said, “I like talking to …