Enjoying Life from the Best Seats in the House
Now that I’m firmly entrenched in my middle-age years, I often reflect back upon my relationship with my dad when I was a young lad. As previously reported, my father, AKA Coach, was raised in a Midwest farming family and served in the marine corps, both as a combat soldier during the Korean War and … Read moreBrushing Up an Old Joke
So there I was… in a leaky rowboat up an ice-clogged river without a paddle. My sneakers were getting damp from the newly-discovered leak, but the amount of water that truly affected the rest of my life wouldn’t have filled an eye dropper. It all started as a normal day for a couple of twelve-year-olds … Read moreHow My Mom Drove Me Not to Drink
So there I was… being mercilessly smashed against a steel fence by a half-ton beast who was in no mood to negotiate with a man in his mid-thirties wearing a Confederate colonel’s uniform. Or, as I like to think of it, just another average day in the life of a junior high history teacher. It … Read moreThe “Heat” of Battle
One never knows where one will find inspiration and, more importantly, where that inspiration might take you. One friend suggested I start a blog, and now I’m creating content instead of just consuming it. Another friend convinced me to step up my jogging habit, and now I’m doing the Mini-Marathon next week for the third … Read morePicturing the Future
As I’m getting my stuff together to attend today’s regional NCAA basketball tournament game in Indianapolis (courtesy of the fine folks at Dove Men+Care), my thoughts reflected upon the latest post of my blogging partner Creed Anthony. He wrote of his decision to put his coaching career on hiatus to spend more time with his … Read moreThe Only “Easy Decisions” Were Yesterday’s
So there I was… trying to comfort my three-year-old son when he said something that made me wish my daddy was there to comfort me. Especially since he’s a Korean War vet, and much more trained to deal with this type of situation than I was from my teacher education classes. This story starts, as … Read moreAn “Alarm”ing Situation
This is a short tale about my father, who, during my formative years, I would only ever address by the name of Coach. I never called him Dad, or Pops or the old man. It was always just, “Coach.” This is because he had successfully coached every sport known to man. Football, basketball, track, wrestling: … Read more3/4 of a Memory of Playing Catch with my Dad
So there I was… at the magical age of seven and on the roof of my garage, peering over the side and wondering if I could jump off and survive when my brother provided me with the answer – in the most direct way possible. Growing up in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, the odds that any … Read moreLiving On (and Over) the Edge
So there I was, flying through the air with no semblance of ease at all.The flight only lasted maybe a second; but, in that fraction of time, I had two very clear thoughts. I’ll get to the first in a minute, but the second was that this was really going to hurt. After telling people … Read moreWhy I’m Not Skiing at Sochi
So there I was… at the tender age of eight, sleeping happily when my restful slumber was disrupted by the deep, basso voice of my father from the living room. “Jason! Once around the horn!” Sighing loudly, I would then drag myself out of bed to go downstairs, which was always freezing because during the … Read more“Once Around the Horn!”