If still alive, my buddy Tim would turn 71 on August 27th. I was recently thinking about Tim, while reminiscing about our friend Howard’s 10th birthday party in 1965. I still laugh at the story of an usher almost kicking us out of the Roxy Theatre when Tim shouted out, “LOOK AT THAT SPITFIRE!” in the middle of the movie, “Von Ryan’s Express.”
Continue reading “Tim and the Spitfire”
I came around a corner on the trail and there was Carter in the distance. We waved, and he called out, “Max! Good to see you. It’s been a while—I was starting to think you might be hurt or dead.” We both laughed as I walked up and shook his hand. I didn’t know it then, but he had been lucky to survive the woods just a week earlier.
Continue reading “I Thought You Might be Dead”
Our friend Colleen decamped to Panama last week. Not for a vacation, but to live there. While Colleen has long planned a move to Central America after retirement, events here in America accelerated the timeline. Unfortunately, Donald strikes again. We will miss her and her spirit.
Continue reading “Colleen”
In February, I wrote a blog about Trump and racism. At the end I said, “I have written several blogs about racism here in America. I have to say, they don’t seem to do much good.” Afterwards, my friend, Andrea Codd, sent me wonderful words of encouragement I would like to share. They are a lesson for all of us.
Continue reading “Keep Speaking Out”
What do visits with family, drinking beer with 2,000 friends, and seeing Orangutans, Pygmy Elephants, and Komodo Dragons have in common? They are all part of our next vacation! Cath and I are flying halfway around the world to visit New Zealand, Singapore, Borneo, and Indonesia.
Continue reading “Travelin’ “
My friend Evan and I were checking out a trail for our running group, The DC Hash House Harriers (DCH3). As we followed the route, it became clear Evan and I have different definitions of what constitutes a hill. We decided to do a joint blog about hills, each writing half without input from the other. This is the result.
Continue reading “What Defines a Hill”
On March 9th of last week, Adam Ray would have turned 40. Adam was the son of my West Point classmate Jim and his wife Donna. He was killed by an IED in Afghanistan on February 9th, 2010, one month shy of his 24th birthday. The administration’s cavalier attitude about the current war with Iran is raising old ghosts from past conflicts.
Continue reading “Adam”
In the summer of ‘82 while stationed in Germany, we drove to what was then Yugoslavia* for a vacation. Along the way, we stopped for lunch in Venice. That is what you do when you are young and in love. Not for the night. Not for a couple of days. Just lunch, because, why the hell not?
Continue reading “A 1980s Selfie in Venice”
During my Firstie (senior) year at West Point, there was a required Philosophy course. I am not sure what my expectations were going into the class, but there were ideas that stuck with me my entire life, including a discussion on God’s existence, or a lack thereof.
Continue reading “Philosophy Class”
This Saturday, Cath and I will be in Richmond, Virginia with friends attending the gubernatorial inauguration of Abigail Spanberger. We are excited and are looking forward to the event. As a bonus, she will be our first female governor.
Continue reading “The Inauguration”
Live Life Exuberantly 