There are times when I can’t believe what I’ve accomplished in life.  The weekend of August 26, 2012 was another one of those, “Is this really happening?” moments.  Sometimes, you’ve just got to hold on and enjoy the ride. On that Sunday, my family and I headed to The Moxie in Springfield, Missouri to watch the movie debut of my oldest son and his old man (me).  Both of us took part in the movie and documentary … Read entire article »

Living in Lebanon, Missouri, it is hard for others to see me as a fan of traveling.  I’m in this small town in the middle of nowhere in southwest Missouri.  I must like where I’m at, right?  Truth is, I love to go to new places. In the Army, I did a lot of traveling.  I had the opportunity to visit some pretty cool places over the years.  While stationed in Washington, I enjoyed Seattle, Portland, and even Canada by way of Vancouver, British Columbia.  I hit up a few cool places on the coast when I was stationed in California, too.  Monterey was a great location to do some sightseeing.  I have been to the cradle of civilization and seen the ziggurat of Ur in Iraq.  I’ve traveled through most … Read entire article »

Note:  This is a revised summary paper from one of my last semester political science classes.  I may or may not have mastered the material, but the original grade was around an A- and this version has addressed all notes on my paper.  Please be gentle with any and all comments.  I have a fragile ego. In Plato’s Crito, the personified Laws of Athens claim that it would be not only wrong but also unjust for Socrates to escape from prison to avoid the death penalty.  A careful reading of Plato’s account of Socrates’ “speech of the laws” to Crito shines light on the belief of Plato’s Socrates that a good citizen must obey the laws of his/her political community even when he/she considers them unjust. My focus will be on what … Read entire article »

On the list of things I’ve accomplished, or at least attempted to accomplish, in my 31 years of life is to run a professional wrestling event.  For all intents and purposes, in November of 2009 I did just that.  There was a great lineup, with some of the absolute best talent in the region.  I had a small, but great venue that housed enough fans for me to make a profit.  Things looked good as time ticked down to the day of the event. Within a month of the event, phone calls started coming in.  Certain wrestlers were retiring (although they worked a few matches on both side of my show). Some were upset I didn’t want them on the show over other talent, so they began trash talking to the … Read entire article »

The Rules of Pool (Or My Way Or The Dry Way) Now that we’re fully enmeshed into summer, the routine of the before-during-and-after of going to the pool has become finely tuned. A routine that I, as the father/cab driver/applier of sunscreen/ lifeguard has perfected. There are strict rules to follow. Rules that must be obeyed. I didn’t want it to come to this. I didn’t. When we decided to make a trip to the pool a regular event, I envisioned me splashing along with my children, all of us happy and respectful. It never occured to me we would be the least bit grumpy or careless or tempted to use someone else’s pool as a toilet. Sadly though, it’s all fun and games until someone has to fish excrement out of … Read entire article »

In a little over a week, I’ll finally get to do something I’ve always wanted to try.  About 30 minutes away from my house, a local auction service will be holding a storage auction.  They’ve dubbed it “Storage Wars,” and I am pumped!  My sister will be tagging along, so combined we should be able to find a good deal. Shows like Hardcore Pawn, Pawn Stars, and Storage Wars always make me think about scoring that great find that makes me a ton of money.  I already enjoy eBay, yard sales, and will soon spend some time at a few auctions.  This “storage wars” styled event should be a lot of fun. I’m not really sure how we’ll go about it.  Maybe we’ll come away with nothing, or maybe my sister and … Read entire article »