Category: Life Lessons

The summers following my junior and senior years at Western, the brothers of  Lambda Chi went canoeing.  We traveled the Pine River over two days.   We paddled, stopped for lunch, paddled some more, interacted with other canoeing enthusiasts,  camped, cooked out, and drank beer. At least thirty guys made each trip.  The Fox was my …

It’s funny how our memory works.  One vague recollection leads to another, and before you know it, an avalanche of bits and pieces come tumbling out.  Here are a few more about Brother Wilke. During our senior year, Wilke, The Fox and I lived together in a new apartment complex about two miles from campus.  …

I met Wilke in Eldridge Hall, one of the newest dorms on Western Michigan’s campus, in the fall of 1965 . He wasn’t the first guy I met, and to tell you the truth, we really didn’t hangout together until the summer prior to our junior year. Most of us were known best by our …

I ran across a publicity picture of my movie daze the other day.  It’s amazing what you find while packing up 43 years.  I have a lot of stuff.  In any case, the picture reminded me of the first time Ruth and I took Michael and BZ to Vegas.  It was over a holiday break …

I worked in public education for forty years.  The longer I worked, the less I knew. Knowing what you don’t know may be the most important thing to know. Public education is a challenging career.  You deal with the two things that matter most to parents, their children and their money.  Everyone has been to …

Ruth and I are in route to Mount Rushmore. We’ve never been and decided to take advantage of the $12.50 one-way fare on Frontier Airlines. We had originally planned to attend Brady’s football game in northern Michigan this week-end and then make the drive west, but the cancellation of high school football in Michigan changed …

My first day as a teacher took place fifty-one years ago.  My first as an elementary school principal was forty-three, and I started my superintendent gig twenty-nine years ago.  All were memorable, but I expect none will be as memorable as the first day of school for students this year. My first day of teaching …

My sister, Jackie, has a friend, Ted, that’s been a salesmen for the 30 plus years I’ve known him.  My first recollection of him is as a medical supply salesmen.  During that run he also sold shoes on Tuesday evenings.  He’s a few years older than me, but he’s still hitting the bricks.  Medical supplies …