Buckeye Mike

It was the summer of 1991, and I had just graduated high school. I could do what I wanted, when I wanted, how I wanted. I was free. Well sort of. That 11 pm curfew at my parents put a damper on my social life. So did the lack of a car. And while I wasn't ready to move out just yet, I did drop some cold hard cash on a set of wheels. A 1967 Ford Falcon, I named my car Excalibur. Why? Because I was 18, and a rebel without a clue. She was primer black.  Everyday I had to pump up the tires. The headlights only worked on bright. The heat had to be turned from behind the dash. And I had to press the gearshift up as I turned the key to get it to start. But that rust bucket was mine. All mine. About a week after I bought it, I was on my way to work. It was raining, and I hit a mud puddle. It was then I realized that, under the shag carpet floor mats, there were big holes in the floor board. I got an unplanned shower, and my lifetime of stories about bizarre things happening to me and my

I have been posting entries on this blog for a long time. March 28th, 2010, in a small hotel room on the 4th floor of the Hotel Panamericano in Santiago, Chile, Buckeye Mike Blog was born. It was a very difficult time in my life, and I knew I wanted to find a way to begin journaling (and hopefully understanding) the jumble of thoughts dancing in my head at the time. Through the years I have published 331 posts, and kept another 55 for my own personal reflection. I have written many times about my Mother, who was my best friend and we lost a few years ago. She was a big part of the inspiration for this blog, as my life is a reflection of who she was. She was a storyteller, just like me. I go back and re-read from time to time. It is cathartic to see where I have been, see the struggles and the victories. And now, to look back and see where God was working in my life even when i was running from him. I have written about the restoration of a sewage treatment plant. I have talked ab

Padiddle. Yesterday, Tiffany had an appointment with the surgical oncologist at the Stephanie Spielman Center. After last week's good but confusing news concerning the biopsy of a mass in her left breast, we had been looking forward to getting clarification and, more importantly, finding out if there were going to be more obstacles to jump through before Little Red could actually be listed in the Heart Transplant List. Of course, we are talking about my wife. So obstacles are par for the course. Dr. Farrar told us that the issue with the biopsy is a few abnormalities in the sample. While the tissue was completely benign, there were a few anomalies that could have been evidence of pre-cancerous cells. And, before we are put on the list, we have to know if these cells could present an issue further down the line. So what's next? Well we first have to go speak to Ohio State Preoperative Assessment Clinic to make sure that they can use anesthesia on Tiffany. I would assume