It was Christmas Day, 1960 and I was in Korea. A Santa Clause mask dangled from the concertina wire just outside the hooch. One week earlier I had broken my foot and because there was snow and ice on the ground, I didn’t feel confident enough with
Read more →I was going to be a trumpet player. I was inspired by my next-door neighbor who was about six years older than I, and a trumpet player in the high school band. “The trumpet is the best instrument there is.” Roy insisted. “I mean, why do you
Read more →My -almost- Television Career I almost had a career in television. For the last three months I was in the army, I took part in a program called “Operation Transition.” That enabled me to find a job in the civilian sector….while the army continued to pay me.
Read more →My Thoughts on the Ken Burn’s Special I watched Ken Burn’s special show about Vietnam with mixed feelings. I was sure that he was going to portray us in the worst possible light, and though some of it reflected badly on the American solider, I think that,
Read more →A Memory of Hurricane Katrina With the hurricane in the news today, I’m reminded of the last major hurricane to hit the US. It was, of course, Katrina, and when it made landfall at Gulf Shores, Alabama, Ruth, our dog Charley 1 (as opposed to our
Read more →Today, 17 June, would have been my brother, Tommy’s 77th birthday. He was a DEA agent when he died, 27 years ago….one month short of his 50th birthday. Tommy was a unique personality, a great athlete, very personable, and afraid of nothing. I shared, in an earlier
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