B-Battery 3/35 FA... Werthiem, Germany. Late 1990- Early to mid 1992...When the doors of Bravo Battery closed behind me, a sound that I would get to know all too well and never forget, I KNEW that my life was about to change... once again!!!! I'm 54 years old, I've been in many different types of units in two different MOS's. I have served with, and have observed men who used many different leadership styles. Looking back, and I mean this with the fullest sincerity that I can humanly muster... My First Sergeant (I'll give him the nickname "Grim Reaper" which fits him exactly) in B-Battery 3/35 FA was the very embodiment of brutality wrapped in authority. He was mean, loud, and unrelenting. His very demeanor, along with his words cut deeper than the bark of his orders. His presence alone was enough to drain the air from a room. Compassion was a language he did not speak!! He seemed to delight in our pain, while physically and emotionally breaking us down as he thrived on pushing us past misery into exhaustion! It was as if our suffering was the fuel for his satisfaction. To this day, he stands as the meanest, most ruthless individual I have ever encountered on this planet.And yet… therein lay the paradox! I LOVED to HATE him! Why? Because hating him was easy. But at the same time, I HATED to RESPECT him! The reason that I respected him was because buried in that cruelty was an undeniable truth! As much as I hate to admit, he made me better! His torment forged my resilience, his harshness hammered weakness out of me, and his mercilessness carved strength where I didn’t know it existed. He was the monster I despised, BUT, also the fire that tempered me and played one of many HUGE roles in making me the person I am today. And I have to thank him for that...https://youtu.be/nBM1-DwjA8I?si=psRe8SGXBDzIjTU1 - "For Those About To Rock (We Salute You)" - AC/DC

There’s a moment in basic training I’ll never forget! Not because of what ALMOST happened, but because of WHO stopped it from happening.

I was fired up! My heart was pounding and my blood was hot. One of the other guys had pushed me way too far! The disrespect, the words, the attitude... everything! The whole thing was about to explode. I wasn’t even thinking, and at the moment, I didn’t care about consequences. I was ready to throw hands, and in basic, that could’ve meant getting recycled, losing rank (or which I had none), or worse.

But just before I could swing, I felt two strong arms grab me from behind. It was one of my battle buddies! My friend from Nebraska who physically yanked me back. He didn’t just stop a fight, he saved me from making a huge mistake. One that could’ve changed everything.

That’s what it means when someone has your back. It’s not just about stepping in when things go bad, it’s about stepping up when you’re about to go bad. It’s about knowing you’ve got someone who sees the bigger picture, who cares enough to keep you from doing something stupid!

Having someone’s back means accountability, loyalty, and love in the form of tough truth. And in that moment, my friend had mine.

https://youtu.be/zzoTITn7zC0?si=hQnYtzAIi0ZkjRY0 - Where I Come From - Montgomery Gentry

What is home to you? Do you remember when you left home for the first time? What was it like? Why did you leave? Were you off to college? Did you just want to get out into the world and see what was out there? Did you go into military service like I did? This is the story of when I left home along with some of the thoughts, feelings, and emotions that I experienced during that time, and the realization that Arizona, my home was, and will forever be, ingrained in my soul!

https://youtu.be/fu_fjQXAra4?si=0sNuBj9k5EH4JQfW - "Long As I Can See The Light" - Creedence Clearwater Revival

***AdditionalSong(s)https://youtu.be/bPfFvM0AFG0?si=YLMtAWT5Te8xVmzB - "Arizona" - Scorpions

I want to be as good as a friend to those who are friends to me! I've been so blessed with having so many incredible friends in every phase of my life!

https://youtu.be/Btbf76dHYnI?si=-aOaxNArG-TXzO64 - Soul Asylum - The Cult

I was running out of answers... So I blurted out, “Well… I’m not working construction for YOU all my life!!”

In a small studio apartment in Northwest Phoenix during the early fall of 1989, I found myself sitting at a quaint café-style table against a kitchen wall, with two neatly stacked cassette covers on top of a thin book to the right of my plate.

People had always told me that I could try harder and do better... In this story I talk about two major events. One, which happened the afternoon after my dad unexpectedly woke me up at 4:00 in the morning and told me we had to talk about something later that afternoon! It placed me at a turning point, a crossroads that would define the trajectory of my life in ways I couldn't yet comprehend. It was a time of profound choices, of unexpected revelations, and ultimately, of taking a leap of faith into the unknown.

******Additional Songs******

Think about the rush and excitement of going to see a band that you love in concert! Do you still get that rush and that excitement waiting for them to come to your town... and then going and seeing them? Have you ever thought, however about all the time that they spend on the road and despite not having the comforts of home and their families with them, they still maintain a high level of excellence! What about all the work that's involved from show to show. When we buy that ticket, unless there are extenuating circumstances... that band is on stage on that night pouring their hearts and souls out on that stage night after night... for us! So the next time you wear a concert shirt or see one on somebody, take a second to look on the back and see all the cities and dates...That band was there that night, ROCKIN'!

Then, with this lunatic smirk on his face, the trickster in him comes out and he flicks me on the side of the head and he says, "Don't tell me you didn't see that piano in the front room... He KNOWS and PLAYS music!!!!"