Well, folks, again, I\u2019d 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 \u201cShelter in Place\u201d executive order I felt it time to try and stoke the fires of this blog. Again. So, I\u2019ll try and sum it all up:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Scouting:\u00a0 I was the Scoutmaster for my son\u2019s troop from April of 2016 to January of 2020.\u00a0 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.\u00a0 I feel that I have made a small difference or contribution to the lives of my scouts.\u00a0 We have gone on many adventures, both in state and out.\u00a0 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!\u00a0 Unfortunately my son decided that scouts was no longer for him, and try as I might I just couldn\u2019t convince him to stay in.\u00a0 So with a heavy heart I confirmed the fears of my troop committee.\u00a0 I had initially told them I would step down as Scoutmaster by September 2019 and stay on as Assistant Scoutmaster to ensure the troops\u2019 success.\u00a0 Well, that fell through because no one wanted to step up, so I stayed on.\u00a0 Thankfully one of the adults, Mr. Stu, took charge of the troop and allowed me to step back.\u00a0 I am still active in the troop, but no longer Scoutmaster.\u00a0 It\u2019s bittersweet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Writing:\u00a0 I had been writing short stories and novellas for years now, and I finally fleshed one out into a full length novel!\u00a0 Home Bound: A Story of Survival<\/a>, was officially published in September 2019 through Amazon.com!\u00a0 I had actually finished it in December of 2018 and had printed a hardcopy for my family to read, but alas, no one did.\u00a0 That is until my wonderful mother read it and started telling folks how good it was.\u00a0 Typical mother, praising her child\u2019s work.\u00a0 After that, my wife, and Mother-in-law read it and pretty soon I had others clamoring for a copy.\u00a0 I published it and the rest is history.\u00a0 Now, I\u2019ll let you in on a little secret.\u00a0 It took me 4 years to write that novel, and almost 9 months of sitting on it before publishing!\u00a0 I am working on a follow-up novel which could turn into a series of 4 or more!\u00a0 The proceeds are no where near big enough for me to quit my job and live on!\u00a0 So I will continue writing and reading! <\/p>\n\n\n\n Living:\u00a0 Many things have changed in the intervening years since the last post.\u00a0 I have changed careers!\u00a0 I am no longer a Mainframe Systems Programmer, but I am now a Lead Functional Analyst!\u00a0 Please don\u2019t ask me to explain what I do, I am still trying to figure that out!\u00a0 My son has turned 16 and has earned his driver\u2019s license and with it I have earned less hair and more gray hair!\u00a0 He has gone through a couple of girlfriends, loved and lost and come out the other side a more mature person.\u00a0 Sort of.\u00a0 He is still a teenager.\u00a0 My daughter has turned 13 and has got her eyes on High School!\u00a0 Oh lord give me strength.\u00a0 My wife had lost her job right after Thanksgiving, douchebag move, and struggled with finding another job.\u00a0 Thankfully, Mr. Stu came through again for us.\u00a0 He was able to get her a temp job at his company and she is thriving.\u00a0 We gotta puppy too!\u00a0 Read the Nov 2019 blog<\/a> for more info.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Death:\u00a0 As I posted last year, we lost our beloved family pet, Brandy.\u00a0 She was the bestest girl and was loved by many.\u00a0 Please see the July 2019 blog entry<\/a> for more info.\u00a0 In the words of Forrest Gump, \u201cThat\u2019s all I\u2019m gonna say about that.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n 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\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n So yeah, I have been busy. I\u2019d 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!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Well, folks, again, I\u2019d 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 \u201cShelter in … Continue reading