• Reflections

    Grandfather’s Legacy: Teaching Patience, Comfort as an Introvert, and Love for Music

    I structured my memories about my grandfather into life lessons. I presented these at the service back in March and wanted to share here as well. Memory #1: When I was young, there was no question that I left unspoken. I knew not everyone wanted to talk all the time. We were in the car and I noticed two sets of numbers on the speedometer. So, I asked. This started a conversation about the progress of the United States in science and technology. It also brought up the reason he moved to Florida. He was a drafter: someone who hand-draws…

  • Reflections - Travel - Updates

    March Madness: A Whirlwind of Life Events and Achievements

    While some might think of the famous basketball tournament when you hear these words, I found myself in a whirlwind of big life events during my most recent March.  We start this little story at work where the first quarter of the year is a sales promotion meant to bring in new business.  We are on the service side of things, but the people that are selling did not disappoint.  There is always a cutoff time, but the people in the field submit items to us up to the last minute.  Sometimes we will get stuck on creating this large…

  • Reflections - Travel

    Hanging with Dad

    For the second time in a month, I flew into the beautiful Jacksonville airport to be picked up by my parents.  We arrived early, so I enjoyed some calming piano in the main lobby of the airport just outside Security.  It was a good way to get into the right mindset of my vacation.  I then proceeded to the madness that is the pick-up area of the airport.  It didn’t take long for my parents to find me, but it is the least favorite part of travel for me.  After a couple hours of catch-up and planning for the week,…

  • Reflections - TV and Film

    Scores

    After I started listening to music on a regular basis, I started getting into movie and TV scores. I love the way they could move and affect the story. They can bring tension or peace, excitement or sorrow, and half the time we may not even realize the effect it is having on us.  As I started listening to more of the music, separate from the movie experience, I realized that it would be cool to mix one into the other and have a “MegaMix”, not unlike what the Newsboys did on their greatest hits album.  So, I started my…

  • Reflections

    Purist Form

    I was cleaning out my paper files after a recent move (more on that coming soon), and found the original notebook of my young 18-year-old mind in college.  This artifact of my poetry is just a piece of paper, but isn’t that amazing? This is a poem called Observations.  It appears first in my poetry book and it an early example of my creative work. What have you discovered from your past recently?

  • Reflections

    Paper and Pen, Once Again

    https://www.relay.fm/penaddict It has been more than two years since I found this podcast in a moment of chaos.  I needed something to listen to at night to calm the mind of all that was going on around me and inside my head.  I found the professional podcast style with hosts that were passionate.  In this case, the podcast discusses a variety of fountain pens, mechanical pencils, and stationary products.  The hosts bring stories of their personal experiences and listener questions in a very casual conversation style.  This was a perfect way for me to wind down after a trying day…