The Creeper Trail, considered by many to be the number one bike trail in the nation.

Our Bikes and The Trails We Ride On.....Part 1

March 12, 2023

Diane and I talked about it, and once we both decided we wanted a bike and no rack, I started researching folding bikes. We are not electric bike people. We wanted the true bike riding experience with all the fun and the pain that comes with it.

Are We There Yet?

February 28, 2023

Larry Norman said many years ago in one of his songs “I wish we'd all been ready”.

Debt Free!

February 17, 2023

A story in the Galax Gazette reminded me of this post I wrote some time ago.

Imagine that you and your family are in financial trouble. It could be caused by sickness. You could have medical bills that are very high, or the main breadwinner out of work due to a layoff or fired or who knows what.

The Sea of Self-Delusion

February 14, 2023

I don’t normally make a political statement, not directly anyway. Not much point in cursing the darkness, but this morning I feel the need to at least point out that the darkness exists and it is dangerous, but there is hope.

Remember the mood rings from the seventies? Does anyone really believe in these things?

Ups and Downs

February 13, 2023

A quote from a famous person (and it could fit me too), and a few more.

My best personality trait is that I think I'm very approachable. And my worst is that I can be moody.

Hold Fast!

February 8, 2023

The main purpose of this HoldFast symbol was for people who worked as a deckhand. It was a sign of good luck for them, and it encouraged them to maintain a good grip especially when the weather and the sea are trying to loosen it.

Diego Garcia, not much there, in the middle of nowhere

Around The World In Ten Days! Part One

February 7, 2023

Diego as it is called is an island in the Indian Ocean, directly south of India and just below the equator. The middle of nowhere on the other side of the world in other words. The Navy Department of Procurement was desperate to get this job done and none of their normal vendors wanted to take this assignment on. Could I do it?

Diego Garcia from the Indian Ocean, the water was rough!

Around The World In Ten Days! Part Two

February 6, 2023

I didn’t have much unpacking to do. My phone equipment first, just to get things organized. I snapped a couple of pictures also. Then I went to the communications room, more of a closet actually. I scoped out the French intercom system that quit on them.

Around The World In Ten Days! Part Three

February 5, 2023

My somewhat boring flight from Diego Garcia to Fujairah Air Base ended none too soon. The air base looked brand new, no airplanes were on the tarmac, and I swear they opened the terminal just for me.

Soar!

January 29, 2023

At exactly this time two years ago Diane had a very rough couple of days. She had to have a molar pulled, and it was painful.

My XG1

January 24, 2023

After scanning 1600 slides (and who knows how many negatives) I can't help but remember my first camera, and my first photo contest.

Help! (I need sombody)

January 10, 2023

Many years ago there was a song written and performed by a very popular group:

The Panic Attack

December 5, 2022

It happened sometime in late summer or the fall of 1991, the exact date I can’t remember during a year I don’t care to remember, not all that much anyway.

Find Your Place (money can't buy it)

November 12, 2022

Like a bird that flees its nest is anyone who flees from his place.

The Black Ribbon

November 4, 2022

I wanted to write something today and then this 2014 post from my FMCA blogging days popped up in Facebook Memories, so I thought “Why not repost it here?” So I did.

Five Thousand Words

October 10, 2022

I read somewhere that the average person speaks between five thousand and twenty thousand words a day.

2 + 1

October 7, 2022

Today Diane and I are having our wedding anniversary. It is our 50th. We met when we were both 17 years old. That means we have been friends for over 51 years.

50 Years

October 6, 2022

50 years, hard to believe how good they have been, and how blessed I am to have had them with my best friend in life.

A Philosophical Self Discussion

October 3, 2022

On more than one occasion in my past as an employee or friend or even a family member, I have found myself being “accused” of being an idealist.

Gary, Diane and Janis, outside Tamarack.

Remembering Elkhart

September 22, 2022

This is the story I wrote back in 2010, about that trip the four of us, five if you count Nicholas, our Cocker Spaniel, took together to Elkhart, Indiana.