I have flown in Hueys, Black Hawks, private corporate jets, taken a very long ride in a C5-A Galaxy cargo plane to a place with 500 men I still call brothers, and 

I took a memorable trip in a Russian passenger jet over the continent of Africa.  I have driven motorcycles, luxury cars, tanks and  APC’s, traveled over curvy twisty dirt mountain roads that were one heavy rainfall away from washing out and drove a Hummv thru a Chinese dug natural tunnel and I raced the sun on the summer solstice.   I have traveled the world to places like Egypt, Panama, Kenya, Mexico, Canada, the Dominican Republic, Johnson Island and Somalia.  I have seen about 42 of our fifty United States and been inside of every type of correctional institution you can imagine; from the brig on Ford Island in Pearl Harbor to little jails in rural PA, and worked several shifts on death row inside a maximum security prison. The following places have been my home PA, AZ, FL the ROK, NY, HI, and OH.  I have processed crime scenes and gotten confessions that put bad guys in jail and worked to keep them there, designed security systems, taught, counseled, yelled at, been yelled at, climbed up , fell down, gotten up, been kicked, done some kicking, bled, helped heal, cried, made people cry, built things, torn down things, laughed a lot, and loved. I have been shot at and shot back and have been on the receiving end of crab apples, mortar rounds and RPG attacks.

My heart resides in various places like Rancho Arriba, Penn Township, Tongducheon, Armstrong County and the Laurel Highlands.  I enjoyed my 15 years as as a Parole Agent,  I got to do lots of different things everyday (act like a lawyer, kick down doors, arrest people, counsel people, encourage people, write reports which no one reads, talk, talk and talk some more. 

I think I experience a small portion of the great Love in the Universe when I look at my daughter and realize I had a small part in making her the beautiful, wonderful, funny person she is today.  Life is short, it should be full of love, laughs and joy.  Hopefully (and I fail at this regularly) I try share laughter and some wisdom before I pass off this rotating, revolving and spinning ball of mud, and if I fail today let me remember there is a tomorrow, but they are not guaranteed.

Further personal things about me and how I see the real world are found in the Category:  My Views on the Real World–  A Man Should Know Who He Is, You Are Not Special, Leaving Troop 313 and Space, Mine and Yours

Not my writing but from my friend at Malcom’s Corner, about backpacking.  Being Alone with Style.