Every year I share the personal 9/11 story of my lifelong best friend and I. It’s an amazing story of friendship, beer and baseball. In 2016 our story was told by Mike Rowe on his “The Way I Heard It” podcast. The episode was called “You Don’t Know Mike”. It went viral and was seen and heard by … Continue reading My 9/11 Story
Grief is a lifelong journey. As much as others wished I could, I could not wave a wand and be over it. My life was turned upside down by the sudden death of my fiancée, Dana. The night prior to heading back to Cal Poly San Luis Obispo for her final weeks before graduation, she … Continue reading Celebrating My Past
I originally posted this last year and it seemed to help others facing similar circumstances, so with a few updates...here it is again…. The Fourth of July always was such a special day at our house. Shelly loves to entertain and she is so good at it. Each year we would host a fantastic party … Continue reading New traditions for getting through the 4th of July with a TBI and PTSD
A couple of months ago I received an Instagram message from a page called “Snapshots of Life After Loss”. It simply said, “Hi, I just read your story on your blog. Wow. Thank you for sharing your story”. From there we began a correspondence. Gracelyn explained that she ran a company called “The Luna Peak … Continue reading A Chance To Talk
March is brain injury awareness month. The goal this month is to make people more aware of the causes, symptoms and prevention of traumatic brain injuries. I recently read that over 3.5 million Americans sustain a traumatic brain injury each year. My wife Shelly just surpassed the 6-year anniversary of her injury. Her life has … Continue reading My Wife’s Mask for the Unmasking Brain Injury Project
It always starts in October. I can smell and taste it in the air. The dread, anxiety and anticipation of early November starts to loom. The older I get I am always amazed how quickly it seems to come around. It's been 28 years now. Twenty-eight years since my life was turned upside down by … Continue reading This Time of Year
Every year I share my personal 9/11 story. It's an amazing story that really does deserve to be shared. It involves Mike, my best friend since 2nd grade. In 2016 our story was told by Mike Rowe on his “The Way I Heard It” podcast. The episode was called “You Don’t Know Mike”. It went viral and … Continue reading An Amazing Story of Baseball, Beer and Friendship on 9/11
I have been asked to be a recurring contributing writer for Love What Matters, a widely followed site that shares inspiring stories daily. Their editor asked me to write an updated combination of my blog pieces My Story and The Reality of Time. It was published yesterday to a big response. I thought I would share it here too, as it has really … Continue reading The Truth About Time
The 4th of July always was such a special day at our house. Shelly loves to entertain and she is so good at it. Each year we would host a fantastic party with friends and family. It was a day that Shelly would look forward to like no other. She would do so much planning … Continue reading Making New Traditions on the 4th of July with PTSD
In a few weeks it will be 25 years since I moved away from Bakersfield, California to Western Kentucky. One of the most difficult things was saying goodbye to Dana’s parents (Dan and Mary). I had become very close with them in the 2 and a half years since Dana had died. But I knew … Continue reading The Upstairs Room
