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I enrolled in a 10-week long class to learn how to weld. Why not? I’m still unemployed and the state of Connecticut will pay for the training, so what have I got to lose. Electric Boat/General Dynamics is hiring literally hundreds of welders. They offer great pay, full benefits, and year-round employment. That’s a trifecta that I haven’t had in nearly 20 years. I was told that I would almo

  I first met Jennifer Roberts in 1983 while waiting at a school bus stop when we were both freshmen in high school. At that time, kids who lived in about a 1-mile radius were allowed to “pick up the bus” at a central location. Our stop was at the Southwood Acres shopping plaza. Every morning, a congregation of 20-30 kids would gather at the “town hall” (actually a DairyMar

There can be no debate that we are living in a troubling time. Bernie got screwed, Hillary lost, Trump won, it’s the Russians’ fault, womens’ march, Muslim ban, violent protests, Obamacare repeal, the wall, fake media, etc. This list could go on and it seems endless. Newspapers, magazines, radio, and TV bombard us with their jaded opinions, agendas, and misinformation. It is hard to decipher fact fr

Music and/or writing has always been an emotional therapist for me. In this post, I combine the two. I first heard this song, Seagull, when I was a senior in high school. It played as the background music for a video tribute in our Senior Variety Show to our classmate, Ray Linehan, who had died in a car accident earlier that Spring. The song drove me to tears then and it still does today. Whenever I listen to it,  I

All soldiers who served in the Armed Forces are veterans. But not all veterans served in the Armed Forces. You see, a veteran is someone who has a lot of service time in a particular discipline, which does not have to include military experience. I believe that we are all veterans with a specialized skill and dedication to our Commander-In-Chief: ourselves. We are all soldiers. We have fought in battles and wars on t

So, yes, today is my birthday. And it is a big deal for me! Society dictates that this is my day for receiving well wishes, cards, gifts, cakes, and parties. Well, I’m not one to simply go along with a “well this is the way we’ve always done it” sort of mentality. Don’t get me wrong, I am certainly grateful and thankful that I have so many wonderful people in my life who wish well for me

Shortly before graduating from my senior year of high school, I experienced my first tragedy: an auto accident took the life of a classmate. Ray was taken from this Earth too soon. I sat next to Ray in Computer Science class that semester and just a few days before. He was a friend. My older brothers and sister were friends with his older brothers and sisters. Our parents were friends and both heavily involved in the

The DOT and the DMV required me (and any individual) to pass a medical exam before I started a commercial driver’s license class. With a heart attack and a stroke under my belt, that was a monumental task in itself, but a doctor eventually gave me the required medical clearance. Next up: Classroom work. I know how to fill my gas tank, add oil, and put air in my car tires. That’s pretty much the extent of

I sat in a chair at the end of Tammy’s bed. She was sleeping and didn’t know I was there to see her. Cancer had systematically taken all the color and freckles out of her skin. Chemo left behind only small and thin traces of her thick flowing red hair in its path of destruction. I held my head in my hands as I saw a beautiful friend reduced to a brittle shell of a physical body. Our Father… Hail Mar

  November 19, 2015: “Pete! I have some news to share with you and it’s not good news. Our beautiful friend Tammy was diagnosed on Monday with stage 4 colon cancer… She is terrified but holding steady. Please reach out to her when you can and pray for her and her family. Hopefully we can help her feel hope and loved.” I had not seen, nor talked to Tammy in about 10 years, even though she