I'm taking a couple weeks off ... see you back here on June 15.

I originally wrote this piece on Memorial Day 2016, and I've shared it every year since. My dad died when I was 36, yet I never knew much about him or his early life. Not because I didn’t want to or because he didn't want me to. He just didn’t share much about himself. And when it came to his military service, I, along with the rest of my family, was completely in the dark. Through the years, I got out of him that he served in the South Pacific during the waning months of Wor

Here's a piece I did back in 2024. Enjoy! Last week, I had the opportunity to present at a middle-school career fair. With about 10 other professionals, tradespeople and technical sorts, I was asked to share my vast wisdom and experience with the next generation. These future change makers—all eighth graders—represent, in my opinion, one of the toughest audiences an adult can encounter. (It’s not their fault, it’s just part of who they are at that point in life.) I arrive