I am going to tell you stories, mostly in visual form, and suggest ways to fill a life with challenging and interesting days. I am not about a slow paced, predictable lifestyle. And I am certainly not about a “master on the main and no steps” way of being. There are so many opportunities available to all of us, at all ages…we just have to reach out and engage.
In this blog, I will share with you the activities and experiences in my life with the intent of triggering a “Hey, I can do that!” response in you. Expect me to do that with lots of photographs. Expect me to take you up the street and overseas. I want to assure you, despite my senior status, that a life lived well has little to do with age.
20 Things You Might Want To Know About Me
- I was not born on a mountain top in Tennessee but in a valley in north Georgia.
- My first crush was at age 10. I survived. So did she. My latest crush has lasted 50 years and counting.
- Eagle Scout. “Be Prepared” and “Do A Good Turn Daily” are admirable life habits.
- My best friend was my Dad. Gone too early nearly 50 years ago. I still miss him.
- Spent my days as a teen on Possum Creek near Chattanooga fishing, swimming, waterskiing and doing the things teenagers do. We moved back to Possum Creek a few years ago.
- The University of Tennessee awarded me a degree in chemical engineering. And Susie. And an Army officer’s commission. I am a “Vol for Life!”
- What did I do in the Army? Air Defense Artillery (Shoot down enemy planes and missiles) and Chemical Corps (defend against bugs and gas). Think of it as being in the air pollution business mostly.
- Susie and I served in Germany twice and stateside at Fort Bliss, West Point, Fort Leavenworth, Aberdeen Proving Ground, Fort Hood, Pentagon, and Deseret Chemical Depot in Utah.
- The Army sent me to Georgia Tech for a master’s degree in chemical engineering and on to West Point to teach chemistry. I kill Trivia Pursuit on the Periodic Table of the Elements.
- I deployed to the Persian Gulf with the First Cavalry Division in Operation Desert Shield/Storm.
- I wore a uniform 27 years, 3 months and 24 days and retired as a colonel. I miss soldiers even now.
- After the Army, I worked 14 years with Teledyne Technologies (Teledyne Brown Engineering in Huntsville, AL). We lived in Bel Air, MD the whole time.
- I am an active United Methodist. I am not really good at it, but I try.
- My wife, my 2 sons, their wives, and 4 grandchildren pretty much complete my life.
- My German short-haired pointer left a hole in my heart. I hope to see Schatze again one day.
- I have two doppelgängers – Lee Marvin (Paint Your Wagon, Dirty Dozen) and Roy Williams (North Carolina basketball coach)
- Hawaii is my happy place.
- Skinny dipping is one of life’s simple pleasures.
- Ask women about their tattoos. There’s always, always a great story.
- When I was young, I wanted to be an artist. Instead I became a soldier and an engineer with a passion for photography.