Category: Writings

Expectations Are Not “Supposed” to Happen

Expectations are NOT “supposed” to happen. I was in the base gym the other day, having just come out of the showers and opening my locker to start getting dressed when I was overcome again by the sadness, the despair, and the darkness.  Despite all my efforts and beliefs, despite the goals of my generational … Continue reading Expectations Are Not “Supposed” to Happen

Well, THAT Didn’t go as Planned…Again!

Well, THAT didn’t quite go as planned…again! The Hanged Man was a difficult story to write.  Partly because the plot painted me into a corner (I blame the plot, not myself), and partly because, although it was started and set in July, the sequence of events I’m living as I get near retiring from the … Continue reading Well, THAT Didn’t go as Planned…Again!

Stripping Down

No, not like that.  Get your minds out of the gutter! This is the one-year anniversary of Sparks1524.com here on WordPress, so that’s a milestone right there.  Yes, for my loyal followers (all two of you), I know I’m still behind on the fifth Isaac Shepherd mystery, The Hanged Man.  Work with me; I’ve been … Continue reading Stripping Down

Now, THAT was Anticlimactic!

  Now, THAT was anticlimactic! Yesterday morning I had my retirement/separation physical. It consisted of me sitting in a doctor’s office while they reviewed my record, made a couple of referrals for small things, but otherwise signed me off as “safe to retire.” Compared to the intake physical I went through at Jacksonville’s Military Entrance … Continue reading Now, THAT was Anticlimactic!

The First of the Lasts

I first wanted to join the Navy when I was six years old. It was 1978 and we were visiting my pop’s family in his home state of Hawai’i. I had traveled to Oahu at least twice before, but the first time I was about one foot long and my observational prowess consisted of alerting … Continue reading The First of the Lasts

Into the Sunset

(*Note: This log was drafted on the evening of July 28, 2017, but I was only able to polish it and publish it now due to being busy with travel and returning to work.) The inevitable always becomes inevitable. The trouble with traveling through time in the traditional, linear fashion we’re accustomed to is that … Continue reading Into the Sunset

The Darkest of the Night

Romantic stories often center around the iconic image, either literal or metaphorical (depending on the actual story in question), of the lover holding the hand of his/her love in the darkest moment of the night.  Comforting, protecting and assisting their loved one in the darkest of the night. Those stories really crack me up sometimes.  … Continue reading The Darkest of the Night

Tangled Tale Along a Troubled Trail

  Madness. Sheer, inescapable, asphalt-founded madness. Yet, what a story today’s tangled tale along a troubled trail of precipitation-painted pavement is! Tomorrow (Aug. 8, 2017) I have my first in-person interview for a job I would very much like to get—teaching public affairs at the Defense Information School (DINFOS), also on Fort Meade. However, as … Continue reading Tangled Tale Along a Troubled Trail

Into the Light

(*Note: This travel log drafted on July 27, 2017) Lighthouses don’t move…well, not normally.  Usually it takes something like a hurricane, demolition, or a space-time continuum inversion to make a lighthouse get up and move.  I’m happy to say the Key West Lighthouse is right where I left it the last time I saw it … Continue reading Into the Light