Freaks and Geeks

-
20033 Great Oaks Circle South, Mt. Clemens Michigan. 16 Mile and Groesbeck. Charter Oaks is where I grew up. Until recently, this was the one place that I had lived the longest in my life. 17 years to be exact. I grew up in a townhouse complex, full of kids my age that were super tight. We had each others back in Charter Oaks. Everyone's sisters/brothers knew each other and stuck up for one another. The Pawlickis, the Hafners, the Knechtels, the Burbarys, the Gianokopolous', the Iskens, the Franzs, the Hammetts, the LaRivieres, the Heises, the Johnsons, the Corios, Lisa Mitchell, Becky Taupin, Leslie Kistler, Kenny Lord, Ken Saviko, the Greshams...and the list goes on and on (sorry if I unintentionally have left anyone out).  

 We all went through the 70s and 80s together. Those awkward teenage years that would later become fodder for FREAKS and GEEKS. It was an incredible place to grow up! Hanging out at the pool in the summertime playing marco polo, shark and having greased watermelon competitions. Late night weekends in the summer, picking opposing teams and playing "HUNT" in the inner horseshoe. To this day I can still remember the smell of cut grass from working on the lawn crew. And we had EPIC snowball forts and fights. I remember one being at least 8 feet high, with windows built in where we could ambush the enemy and throw from. Where we lacked financial wealth, we were rich in camaraderie and loyalty to one another was priceless. I wouldn't have traded this upbringing for anything in the world - it is a part of me, and always will be.


Popular posts from this blog

Foreward:

-
Image
In 2018, I am finally going to start a blog working through 365 days of impacts on my life.   This is meant to tell the story of who I came to be in bits and pieces. This exercise is meant to show we are all shaped by the people, situations, circumstances, joys and sorrows that have impacted our lives. Sometimes we are influenced just as much through learning about what we don't want to be like, than what we turned out to be. Sometimes it is a stranger who makes a lasting impression on us, and we may never know their name. Sometimes it is those who've been the worst to us that actually teach us the BEST lessons. If nothing else, since I don't have kids, this will serve as an autobiography of experiences that have shaped my character since May 3 1965. I will try to include pictures where I needed. Some will not need pictures.  As I enter my 5th decade, I can look back and say that In my teens (as most are) I was extremely insecure, unfocused and had stage f...
Read more

Delirious

-
Image
I believe that I got the love of funk from my dad. Back in his day it was Ray Charles. One of the best memories I have of my dad is a trip we took in Christy's convertible from Atlanta to Albuquerque New Mexico. We were delivering Christy's car to her after she had accepted a position during the dot com boom at a startup called Super Groups. She had gone out early to take the job, had her stuff shipped from Atlanta out there, and then we drove her car out so she could have it out there. I had taken road trips with my family before and short ones with my Dad in Michigan, but this was the longest road trip we had taken together up to that point. We rode with the top down listening to all kinds of music. A little known fact of my dad is that he LOVED Prince. Mainly because my dad couldn't escape a good beat. But the funniest thing was we were listening to Prince's song Sexy M%&F$@. If you don't know, that song has a killer beat, and one that drummers love...
Read more

The Evil Twin

-
Image
MAY 10. Today I celebrate Katie Murphy for being a huge impact on my life. I met Katie through my cousin's wife. They were best friends and Katie and I were in the wedding party. It was a catholic wedding. We high fived on the "stage" when the priest annouced 'I now pronounce you man and wife'. I call her my evile twin and jokingly always say she is the evile one. I don't even know what year that was, but it was one of the best days in my life adding her as a friend. Katie and I have been great friends ever since through thick and thin. She throws a huge Easter party every year - and she has 11 total siblings, so the family could just show up and you'd have a party - but no less than 100 people are there every year. Her family is one of the most incredible family ecosystems that I have ever known. That many siblings, her parents, although divorced can be around each other with no drama which is amazing in today's day and age. She and I witn...
Read more