A Farmer’s Life – Tone Poem
Education Reimagined
Education is in an upheaval. Teachers have been forced to learn how to teach online practically overnight. Parents were forced to suddenly become their child’s coach, teacher, and counselor. All this while we are at record unemployment rates, with many working from home while still supervising their kids. What if we took advantage of this …
I Thought I Was Going To Jail
The summers of 2010-2012 I was driving every week to Weatherford, Oklahoma to work on a master’s degree in music education. The trip took me through the Texas panhandle. The panhandle gets its name because when you view Texas on a map, there’s a thin stretch of land in the northwest corner that – when …
The Day I Stole my Mom’s Identity
In 2016, my mom suffered a debilitating stroke. I was the one tasked with handling her affairs. I sold her condo, packed away many of her things and found a place where she would live after her rehab. It was a daunting and exhausting task! Little tasks that should have been simple and easy to …
It was recommended that we abort one of our kids
We received the news of all of our kids arrivals with joy and anticipation. Children are a gift from God. With one of our children, the doctor was a little concerned with some things he saw on our required test results. We were told that there was a good chance the baby would be born …
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I Became A Bully. I Felt Powerful. I Felt Strong. It Was Wrong.
Throughout my childhood, I was often picked on and bullied. I was somewhat of a momma’s boy. I was not close to my father. I had a high emotional IQ and cried easily…the men in my life pounded into me (sometimes literally) that men don’t cry. One day in 7th grade things turned around… Red …
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The First (and only) Time I Picked up a Prostitute
The first (and only) time i picked up a prostitute It was October of 2000, one of those rare, grey drizzly days we sometimes get in Colorado. I was on Nevada Avenue – the main drag through downtown Colorado Springs – when I saw her. I pulled my van to the side of the road …
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5 Great Band Directors and How They Influenced Me
When I first started teaching band in 1998, I was VERY isolated. I didn’t even know very many band directors in my local area. I was only part time, showing up on campus right before my 1st class and leaving right after my 2nd class…I had kids to pick up from daycare. Most of my …
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Everything You Need To Know to Write and Self-Publish a Book
ENROLL HERE I think that EVERYONE has a book inside of them, but maybe they just don’t know how to get started writing it. In this course, I teach you the steps I used to create my own six books. You won’t become a millionaire, but you can get your message out there and sell …
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A Love Letter to my Fellow Title I Teachers
Dear Fellow Title I Teacher: Don’t compare yourself to other teachers. You are amazing. You work hard. Even if they don’t tell you, your students appreciate and love you! You may be one of the few stable things in their life! When you look at where your students are “on the charts”, often they fall …
Life on Four Paws – A Dog’s Perspective
Man’s Best Friend. Faithful. Loyal. These are just some of the ways dogs have been described. Not many dogs have undertaken the task of writing about life. It’s important for you – the human – to understand what it is we see in life as dogs. Dogs were designed by God to be special, to …
Deutschland – The experience of a lifetime
In 1996, I was in the Army Band stationed at Fort Carson, Colorado. After ten years in the Army, I was planning on getting out when I suddenly found myself with orders for Heidelberg, Germany! It was so tempting to stay in so we could go. There were many reasons why I decided to turn down …