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I changed the look of it recently but haven’t quite figured out all the bells and whistles yet, so bear with me.

about The Author

Living & work(ed) in Madison, Wisconsin (2005-2025)

After retiring from military service, I began living the civilian life in the Madison area. “Retirement” is a bit of a misnomer here; after becoming civilianized, I had to get a job because a military pension isn’t quite enough to pay the bills. I worked at a bank that folded after the financial crisis, then for state government before I finally called it quits.

US Air Force (1984 – 2005)

I spent half my professional life in the military at far-flung bases all around the world, the point at the tip of the spear defending the freedom of Americans (so they told me).

Posts

  • flashback – The Pennine Way ’86

    I took a week of leave to hike the Pennine Way while I was stationed in the United Kingdom.

  • flashback – Boundary Waters ’83

    I went back to the Boundary Waters with a buddy from my hometown. I was smart enough to write the date on the back of one of the photos: 1983. This is from a box full of photos which I was certain I had lost. Finding them again was the highlight of my day.

  • flashback – a trip to the Boundary Waters

    As a wee lad, I was in a semi-official Boy Scout troop. Our troop leaders, Dave Sabrowsky and Cliff Stern, were somehow confident enough in our abilities to take us on a trip to the Boundary Waters Canoe Area one year. I wish I could remember exactly which year — possibly 1978? I’m pretty jazzed…

  • flashback – first tent

    flashback – first tent

    I spent a few hours yesterday afternoon cleaning up the mess of odds and ends which had piled up on my basement workbench. Amongst the detritus, I found four aluminum tent pegs. They appeared to be the tent pegs that belonged to a tent I bought while I was still in high school in, I…

  • whut

    whut

    We were binge-watching season three of The Diplomat last night when a stray thought punched me in the gut: “One more episode and then I really ought to go to bed, so I can get some sleep before I have to get up for work tomorrow.” My stomach knotted up, even, from thinking about going…

  • a little too on-the-nose

    a little too on-the-nose

    They started to demolish the east facade of the White House today in order to graft a gaudy monstrosity onto one of our most historic buildings. Not the most awful action this administration has taken recently, but still sicking nonetheless. (photo from The Washington Post)

  • NO KINGS

    NO KINGS

    I didn’t go to the last NO KINGS rally but I sure as hell went to this one. In fact, I went to TWO: about 300 – 400 people gathered at the intersection of Monona Drive and Nichols Street in Monona, where we waved at passing motorists, most of whom were especially supportive, waving back…

  • pick your nose

    pick your nose

    When I lost my key ring while I was out hiking on Tuesday, unlocking my bicycle from the sign post was not the only problem I had to figure out how to fix. One of the other keys on that key ring was a key that would open the lock that prevented any random person…

  • IAT Valley View Segment – 10/14/25

    Today’s hike of the Valley View Segment of the Ice Age Trail didn’t go exactly as expected. My plan was to drop my bicycle off at the southern end of the segment where the trail emerged onto Mill Town Road, then drive to the trailhead on Timber Lane a few miles northwest, where I would…

  • IAT Cross Plains/Andersen Preserve – 10/08/25

    By 1:30 pm I was done walking the Pine Road loop and I still wasn’t ready to head home, so I went for a hat trick — three hikes in one day. According to my guidebook, there was a nearby hike on the IAT I could walk as a loop, so I headed south to…

photo of the author and the author's best friend