Mental Health: Open Letter to Afghanistan Veterans

(Niceville, Florida; August 17, 2021) – I cannot offer any witty remarks or humorous proverbs about what happened yesterday in Afghanistan. I’m a veteran myself. My deployments were at sea, but all were in support of my brothers and sisters on the ground in Afghanistan and Iraq. I helped launch the first Navy manned strikes … Continue reading Mental Health: Open Letter to Afghanistan Veterans

The Writer’s Craft – How Do I Become a Writer?! (Part 1)

(Niceville, Florida – 12 August 2021) – The question “I want to be a writer. How do I start?” is often posed by people hoping to possess the potential to press a pen to paper, producing prodigiously potent prose while enjoying a luxuriously loquacious linguistic career. This is a question I’ve been presented with increasing … Continue reading The Writer’s Craft – How Do I Become a Writer?! (Part 1)

Just My Thoughts – Building a Home

(Niceville, Florida; August 2, 2021) – The future Emerald Duck has been revealed. I’m not talking about an aquatic avian possessing a scintillatingly deep and brilliantly luscious green plumage, nor am I talking about a statue of a water-loving bird carved from a vibrantly green and extraordinarily valuable gemstone. I’m talking about a townhouse. I … Continue reading Just My Thoughts – Building a Home

Announcing Short Takes!

Welcome to Short Takes! A series of short episodes (under two minutes) covering interesting and profound things around the world! We begin this new episodic journey with a look at a pair of lighthouses hearkening back to the early days of the Constitution of the United States! https://youtu.be/WBjua-HraIo

Just My Thoughts – Let the Sunshine State In!

(Niceville, Florida; July 22, 2021) – Life has a way of surprising you, and I don’t mean with an unexpected party. I departed Washington State May 9th on a circuitous path leading through places such as the magnificent Grand Canyon, historic roads like Route 66 across New Mexico and Texas, the sun-kissed Gulf Coast, the … Continue reading Just My Thoughts – Let the Sunshine State In!

Past Exploration: Gettysburg 158, Part 3

(Gettysburg, Pennsylvania; July 3, 2021) – The stage was set, the audience seated, the orchestra at the ready; the final curtain was about to rise for the great clash of the Titans on the fields of Gettysburg. Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee, desperate for a final knock-out blow that would humble the Union, win Southern … Continue reading Past Exploration: Gettysburg 158, Part 3

Past Exploration: Gettysburg 158, Part 2

(Gettysburg, Pennsylvania; July 2, 2021) – We pay a sizable price for tickets so we can to to the movies to see sex, drugs, and rock-n-roll, but a bit of historical research will reveal truth was far stranger and far more exciting that fiction ever could be. The fate of nations often hinges on mere … Continue reading Past Exploration: Gettysburg 158, Part 2

Past Exploration: Gettysburg 158, Part 1

(Gettysburg, Pennsylvania; July 1, 2021) – The biggest, loudest, bloodiest, most violent single battle ever to burn the landscape in North America began today…158 years ago. The three-day Battle of Gettysburg was the culmination of Confederate General Robert E. Lee’s second campaign to invade the North, taking the war to the Yankees for a change … Continue reading Past Exploration: Gettysburg 158, Part 1

Travel Log: Wings of Gold, Part 3

(Niceville, Florida; June 19, 2021) – The United States Navy answered the beckoning call of Florida’s mild, warm weather and generally sunny skies early in the 20th century, establishing its hub for naval aviation training in Pensacola. Today, Naval Air Station Pensacola hosts the National Naval Aviation Museum, one of the largest aviation museums in … Continue reading Travel Log: Wings of Gold, Part 3

Travel Log: Wings of Gold, Part 2

(Niceville, Florida; June 19, 2021) – The United States Navy is attracted by the same warm, sun-washed weather and smooth beaches of Florida that lures tourists to the Sunshine State every year. These environmental conditions led Naval Air Station Pensacola to become the center of naval aviation training, boasting not only a first-rate facility for … Continue reading Travel Log: Wings of Gold, Part 2