Buckeye Mike

I am going to be real open here about something. I have been struggling recently. Mostly an internal struggle, with outside influences. I will spare you the details because we don't have that kind of time. But with the blessings and the miracles my family has seen over the past few years, dealing with curve balls the way they have been coming for the last few months has made my strong and steady way of life a little....no, a lot....wobbly at times. Not complaining or asking for help. Just stating facts to set the stage. I also will confess that our God works in mysterious ways. Not to sound to much like that guy who lives in Washington, but you know it, I know it, everybody knows it. That's where a blast from the last comes in. Someone from my high school days. Back when I was a master debater (read it again) and wore my show choir tuxedo to school more often than not. Back when Brad Stefanov and I used to be best friends and run around in his Cutlass blasting 2 Live Crew t...

"And it's SWUNG ON AND MISSED! And Tom Browning has pitched a perfect game! 27 outs in a row and he is being mobbed by his team mates just on the 3rd base side of the mound" I will never forget that night. September 16th, 1988. I laid in my bed, listening to the Reds game on my clock radio that I had hidden under my pillow. It was a late night, as there was a lengthy rain delay to start the game. But it was worth it. I heard history. I never forgot Marty Brennaman's call of that final swing by Tracy Woodson, and can still recite it to this day. Marty Brennaman was the voice of my childhood. I listened to every pitch of the 1990 World Series on the radio, while watching on TV. I took my small boom box in the backyard and threw a baseball through a tire that was hanging on the fence in Milford and listened to every game, every spring, summer and fall. He and Joe painted a picture, and I could see Larkin field the ball in the hole, Eric the Red climb the center field...

Go back. Go back and read some of the 358 published blog posts under my name. Read about my failures and victories. Read about my inherited clumsiness or the miracle that I am married to. Learn about my Papaw and about how I am Mike the Mammoth guy.  Go read more than one post. Get in the club. All the cool kids are doing it! Are you back? Good. Please pay attention. If you truly did read them, three things should be evidently clear to you: #1.) This blog was started in 2010 as a tribute to my mother. Her influence can be seen in almost every post #2.) This blog is about me and my life. That is the story it tells. I talk about my work, my family, my friends, my experiences, anything that is on my mind. Some posts are fun while some are more thought provoking. Some are very celebratory while others are more somber. But I am never less than genuine, and try to never be negative (had a few negative posts early on, didn't like who that guy was.) 3.) In the last few years,...

First, this blog is long overdue. But finding time in front of my computer is very rare these days, and most of that time is spent returning emails and writing estimates (which I should be doing now). But as I sit in my office during what feels like the first 15 minutes I have have had to do so in weeks, I took a deep breath and opened my blog for the first time in ages. I had to knock the cobwebs off just to be able to write.. We have been running at a frenetic pace for the last 2 months, with no end in sight. The days count down, though, to our November excursion to New England, with 39 to go until we leave (not including today) . It will be a great time of decompression, and a much needed time of reflection. Because while we love our "Salt Life"  getaways through and through, just a couple of months ago we were ready to jump in full time. I have an unpublished blog entitled " A Mammoth Goodbye". Alas it will never be made public, as God's plan for us chan...