Amanda was fine – a term used predominately in the late 1980s by most high school kids, me included. She had all the telltale signs of a rocker chick, and I wouldn’t be shocked if she smoked pot and drank some kind of alcohol just to fit in with the others wearing her style. The…

Waking up this morning, I realized everyone has a story. Every person born on this planet has a story. Some are good. Some are tragic. But, like it or not, miserable or elated, everyone everywhere has their own story.                Of course, there are common elements: love, hate, mistrust, lying, friendship, happiness, wealth, poverty, and…

Mari Vanna. It wasn’t what Bret Danica would pick, preferring a three-star Michelin chef, plating, and cuisine. Exquisite taste in fine dining was an expectation for Bret, enjoying rich, flavorful food. Living in Chicago afforded him access to some of the finer dining establishments in Chicago, getting a table in moments instead of waiting weeks…

“Kid, I’ve flown from one side of this galaxy to the other. I’ve seen a lot of strange stuff. . .” Han Solo, Star Wars IV: A New Hope                Han Solo was right. There are a lot of strange things that happen on our planet. Some cannot be explained away by science. Yet, this…

Imagine overfilling a lawnmower and getting the gas on your fingers. That’s what it smelled like. I tried to wash off the smell, scrubbing it from my fingers, but all that did was turn my fingers an angry pink color. The hot water and the soap suds foam coated the bottom of the sink.

What’s the best way to describe speaking to authority figures, saying the most audacious things? And after saying these things, you find the authority figure laughing or chuckling under their breath. Making statements similar to these would get ordinary people in trouble. But not you. Wouldn’t you think twice about saying something like that again?…

Danica Incorporated. A dream come true. After years of hard work, late nights, weekends, and some overnight hours my dreams of being the number one seller of sheet metal and steel were realized. With the takeover of Nucor Industries, Danica Incorporated is the number steel manufacturer in the United States.                “Mr. Danica, I’m not…

Waking up this morning, I realized everyone has a story. Every person born on this planet has a story. Some are good. Some are tragic. But, like it or not, miserable or elated, everyone everywhere has their own story.                Of course, there are common elements: love, hate, mistrust, lying, friendship, happiness, wealth, poverty, and…

Photograph reprinted with permission from “an old guy I know who worked for Industrial Light & Magic years ago.” Closing my eyes, I anticipate adventure, uncertain of what awaits me, reaching the surface of a terrain that my Earthbound life isn’t ready for after being asleep for the better part of ten years. Expectations. That’s…

Flames burst from the explosion, sending pieces of shrapnel overhead, smoke billowing high into the air. Seconds earlier, instincts kicked in, and Julio kissed the sun-cooked blacktop. Not giving the heat emanating from the ground a second thought, he covered his head and face the best he could. That instinct, seconds earlier, forced him to…

Staring right at me, I thought she would start screaming, yelling at the top of her lungs. Before you start in on me, I just want to set the record straight – I didn’t start this argument. No. Really. I didn’t. It wasn’t my fault. But then again, the guilty always have a way of…