Not in Kansas
Details my ominous and prophetic arrival at Camp Radcliff near An Khe Village, Vietnam, in 1968. More...
To be an American
I arrived in Sydney on Boxing Day. Since I was a newly minted non-commissioned officer with 10 months service with the infamous 173d Airborne Brigade, I was fortunate to be anywhere on the planet. Owing to the munificence of Divine Providence, I’d survived to earn a Rest and Relaxation (R&R) trip to Australia. An unexpected encounter focused light on an issue with which I had subconsciously struggled. More...
A version of this short story is also featured at The Good Men Project. Click here to check it out.
In Memoriam
In February 2013, cancer, in its most virulent form, was able to do something that the entire North Vietnamese Army could not accomplish in the mid 60s, though it certainly tried hard. On Feb. 19, 2013, at 12:13 a.m., Herb Caddell, my close friend and one of the bravest and most dedicated American patriots of my generation, passed away. More...
Click here to view Herb's obituary.
Click here to donate to Lost Angels Animal Rescue in Herb's honor.
Click here to donate to English Springer Rescue in Herb's honor.
Epiphany in Cholon
An epiphany can be a dramatic revelation that allows a person to view a previously understood circumstance in a totally new perspective, calling into question earlier assumptions. Myth tells us that Archimedes experienced his most famous epiphany in the bath, where the effects of the mass of his own body on the level of the water allowed him to finally understand the concept of buoyancy. To celebrate, Archimedes ran through the streets—in the first recorded episode of streaking—while yelling “Eureka!” (Greek for ‘I have found it!’) at the top of his lungs.
Scientists and philosophers are not the only ones subject to experiencing an epiphany. Mere mortals live through them all of the time. You can view a circumstance one thousand times, then the light bulb goes off over your head and you see reality in a wholly different way.
No one can predict when an epiphany will strike. Usually, they occur when you least expect them. Not all epiphanies are ripe for celebration. Some reveal character flaws and bad judgment. After the epiphany described in this story, I never viewed the people around me in the same way again. More...
A version of this short story is also featured at The Good Men Project. Click here to check it out.
Rite of Passage
No rite of passage comes without an initiation, and I learned the truth of this maxim while serving with the U.S. Army in 1968 Vietnam. Some initiations are mundane, but the one that inspired this short story was anything but. I invite you to join me as I revisit one of the most intense nights of my life. More...
A version of this short story is also featured at The Good Men Project. Click here to check it out.
Twenty-first Birthday Surprise
Life is full of milestones: first day in school, learning to read, puberty, a first kiss, obtaining a driver's license, meeting that special love, finally getting laid, a graduation, marriage, birth of your first child (though not necessarily in that order). Some milestones are more exciting than others. As a senior citizen, I recently achieved one of the more mundane, and it caused me to recall a profound benchmark in my life—my twenty-first birthday. This recollection inspired my short story "Twenty-first Birthday Surprise." More...
SHORT STORIES