SISTERSDina, left, with Shelly (2002) As well acquainted as I am with grief, I’ve been blessed not to lose anyone close to me too soon since I lost my fiancé, Dana, thirty years ago. I’m an only child, and my wife Shelly has just one sibling, her older sister Dina. After painfully struggling for a … Continue reading Have A Blessed Day
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
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
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. I had become very close with them in the 2 and a half years since Dana had died. But I knew to move forward; … Continue reading The Upstairs Room
“Three more weeks and we will never have to say goodbye again.” Those words have echoed in my head for over twenty six years now.
Thirty years ago I was a sophomore at the local community college. I kept seeing this cute girl walking to class that had the biggest, most beautiful smile I had ever seen. I was head over heels, but far too shy to approach her on my own. I would see her often talking to a girl named Gina, whom I had known since elementary school. So I cautiously asked Gina about her. She said “oh that’s Dana, she is such a sweetheart”. A few days later she gave me her phone number and said that “Dana would love for you to call her”. I called her that afternoon, we talked for two hours. We went on a date three days later.
Dana (pronounced Dan-na) was…
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We never had the opportunity to establish a home together. So when Dana died, I was left with only a handful of physical things from our relationship. It consisted of some gifts she had given me, letters and cards as well as a lot of pictures. Our relationship was long before the modern day cell … Continue reading Pictures of You
I am approaching the 27 year anniversary of Dana's death. I was 23 then, now I am 50. Often I wonder how I made it all these years. Looking forward in that amount of time, I will be 77 in 27 years. That truly boggles my mind! But it also gives me comfort in … Continue reading The Reality of Time
“Three more weeks and we will never have to say goodbye again." Those words have echoed in my head for over twenty six years now. Thirty years ago I was a sophomore at the local community college. I kept seeing this cute girl walking to class that had the biggest, most beautiful smile I had … Continue reading My Story
Ten Thousand Days 