Generally I mourn the passing of a year; however 2010 is not a year I will miss. It was a year fraught with much pain and passing. The year started with the death of my brother Adam. I find I’m still feeling the hurt of my only brother’s death. Then there was the loss of our…

The year 2010 was all about the ground under our feet: from the devastating earthquakes in Haiti, Chile, and China to the Deepwater Horizon explosion that spewed millions of gallons of oil into the Gulf of Mexico, and the dramatic rescue of 33 miners trapped underground for 69 days. Then there was the political groundswell that…

A winter storm had blown in and Dave Barber and I were on our way back to the base after being downtown. Somehow I managed to miss the turn for the main gate and we ended up on I-80, which runs in front of the base. There is an overpass that is situated in front…

It was my first day off in nearly two-weeks.  I was going to Lander’s down the street and have a big bowl of chili and scrambled eggs. “Finally I can do something fun”, I said as I got out of my truck. But in order to get there, I had to walk past the Antique…

Ever since I was a kid, I’ve had an interest in my family’s history. While researching Mom’s branch of the family tree, I tripped over a bit of history I had no idea existed. My mother’s family is directly linked to the most famous abolitionist in U.S. history. It came in the form of a…

One early morning as I was enjoying breakfast with my sister Deirdre’s family, when I received a phone call from my bride. She was literally crying into the phone saying something about an accident. It took her a couple of tries to finally explain what was happening. She had slammed her brand new vehicle into…

“Turn off the light,” I demanded as I covered my face. We had been asleep, or at least I had been, but now my brother Adam had turned on the overhead light. I demanded he turn the light off again. When he didn’t, I removed the pillow from my face. I was frightened by what…

Christmas morning went fine for the family. However the telephone rang jus’ a few minutes after noon causing Dad and I to race out the door, towards the Yurok Volunteer Fire Department. We were soon en route to an emergency in the Klamath Glen. Once Dad told me what sort of emergency we had, I…

It was a practical joke that went very wrong. I was dared into “streaking” through the Del Norte County Sheriff’s Office by certain individuals who shall remain nameless. Never in my life did I think I’d nearly get caught as I pulled on the ski mask, dropped my britches, removed my shirt, jumped from the…

After spending a couple of months living in Las Vegas, I decided to head north. I pulled my VW Bug into the parking lot of the MGM Grand Hotel and Casino and went inside. In my pocket was around $800 and it was burning a hole. I decided to sit down and play a few…