Well, folks, again, I’d like to say sorry for not keeping up with this. It has been 4 LONG years of scouting, writing, working and living. With this Coronavirus going around and all of Michigan suffering through the “Shelter in Place” executive order I felt it time to try and stoke the fires of this blog. Again. So, I’ll try and sum it all up:
Scouting: I was the Scoutmaster for my son’s troop from April of 2016 to January of 2020. Ok, so 4 months shy of 4 years, but I can tell you that the job of Scoutmaster is demanding and time consuming and rewarding and most of all, fun. I feel that I have made a small difference or contribution to the lives of my scouts. We have gone on many adventures, both in state and out. I have had the pleasure of seeing many scouts attain the rank of Eagle and others grow into wonderful young men, ready to challenge the world! Unfortunately my son decided that scouts was no longer for him, and try as I might I just couldn’t convince him to stay in. So with a heavy heart I confirmed the fears of my troop committee. I had initially told them I would step down as Scoutmaster by September 2019 and stay on as Assistant Scoutmaster to ensure the troops’ success. Well, that fell through because no one wanted to step up, so I stayed on. Thankfully one of the adults, Mr. Stu, took charge of the troop and allowed me to step back. I am still active in the troop, but no longer Scoutmaster. It’s bittersweet.
Writing: I had been writing short stories and novellas for years now, and I finally fleshed one out into a full length novel! Home Bound: A Story of Survival, was officially published in September 2019 through Amazon.com! I had actually finished it in December of 2018 and had printed a hardcopy for my family to read, but alas, no one did. That is until my wonderful mother read it and started telling folks how good it was. Typical mother, praising her child’s work. After that, my wife, and Mother-in-law read it and pretty soon I had others clamoring for a copy. I published it and the rest is history. Now, I’ll let you in on a little secret. It took me 4 years to write that novel, and almost 9 months of sitting on it before publishing! I am working on a follow-up novel which could turn into a series of 4 or more! The proceeds are no where near big enough for me to quit my job and live on! So I will continue writing and reading!
Living: Many things have changed in the intervening years since the last post. I have changed careers! I am no longer a Mainframe Systems Programmer, but I am now a Lead Functional Analyst! Please don’t ask me to explain what I do, I am still trying to figure that out! My son has turned 16 and has earned his driver’s license and with it I have earned less hair and more gray hair! He has gone through a couple of girlfriends, loved and lost and come out the other side a more mature person. Sort of. He is still a teenager. My daughter has turned 13 and has got her eyes on High School! Oh lord give me strength. My wife had lost her job right after Thanksgiving, douchebag move, and struggled with finding another job. Thankfully, Mr. Stu came through again for us. He was able to get her a temp job at his company and she is thriving. We gotta puppy too! Read the Nov 2019 blog for more info.
Death: As I posted last year, we lost our beloved family pet, Brandy. She was the bestest girl and was loved by many. Please see the July 2019 blog entry for more info. In the words of Forrest Gump, “That’s all I’m gonna say about that.”
Coronavirus: This is the newest and greatest event to affect not only us, but the whole world. My family and I are thankfully safe and healthy, but we understand that many are struggling and suffering. I have had the prepper mindset since before I took over as Scoutmaster. I took the Scout Slogan of Be Prepared to heart. My family was still young and I feared that I would not always be there for them, so I started small. I packed away extra canned food and powdered milk, much to my wife’s derision. I learned skills in scouting to better myself and to pass on to my kids. I watched videos and read books and articles (both fiction and non) to get an idea on what the rest of the like minded folks thought would happen. Then Coronavirus started spreading. First in Wuhan, China, then Europe and soon the world. All of the skills and knowledge that I had was suddenly put into action. I had extra food and medicine stored away. I had extra water and supplies to bake our own bread, which was a hot commodity, along with TP! I had seeds to try and start a garden, which is flourishing right now! My family has been playing games, and building puzzles, reading and I have been busy in the garage building some desperately needed bookcases for my ever expanding library.
So yeah, I have been busy. I’d ultimately like to start posting something every Wednesday. If I can keep this up then I may move to every Mon-Wed-Fri. Lord, give me strength!