An Introduction of Sorts

I don’t ever read introductions. Let me fall in love with the story before you tell me about your third grade teacher that inspired one of the characters. Once you get invested - that’s when you want to know more. So don’t waste my time in the beginning. I’m hanging by a thread of interest as it is.

For that reason, I decided to write a lot of stories before I did an introduction. If you are still reading, maybe you are just curious enough to sit through it? Either way, here’s a couple things about me, and how I started writing stories in my spare time.

I am a stone mason. While I have worked a variety of jobs, my most consistent and longest overall tenure goes to building fireplaces out of stone. I started with my dad when I was 10, and except for a few years pause here and there, it’s the thing I am. It’s kind of a lost art, and I feel really blessed knowing how to do it. Unique skills make us all feel special.

This identity still surprises me, because for the first 20 years of my life, I was sure I would be a professional musician. That was all I wanted. That’s all I worked on. That’s where everything was heading. Classical music was my thing. The clarinet was my tool. A symphony orchestra was the setting I was supposed to end up in. Until I didn’t. By choice. Instead I got into ministry, married my high school sweetheart, and started a masonry business to support myself.

After college I began the masonry career while giving my extra hours to a small church. My wife and I lived in a quaint little cottage next to a river. There were many students who bombarded our house every week. My wife cooked for them. Friends joined the team in caring for those amazing kids. I was the lead goof. It was one of the most special times of my life. Eventually I got ordained and became a pastor. Then, like the music path before, just when everything seemed to be going in one direction, the script flipped.

My wife got cancer. That changed everything. My daughter was three months old when we found out. Two years of hospitals/chemo/surgeries/fear/joy/ confusion/frustration/deflation/gratefulness ensued.

After the cancer, we moved to the woods. Literally. We lived on the border of Glacier Peak Wilderness at a camp and retreat center where I was hired as the Assistant Director. My favorite part was that I got to hire, mentor, and live alongside about 100 college students during my tenure. The day we left, we experienced one of the most bombastic and memorable rainstorms. An epic day worthy of a future story.

During all these twists and turns I also did stone masonry. I still do it today, but at a much slower pace. Unfortunately, my wife’s cancer came back. That was supposed to be impossible, but nothing is certain in this life. We are close to the end of major treatments, but it has been a long journey. There isn’t really anything else in life except this right now.

That’s one of the biggest reasons I started writing stories. I used to do a lot. Now I do very little. Working late into the evening was normal for decades. Now I’m often ready for bed when the sun starts setting. Don’t get me wrong, I am blessed to be able to put the spotlight on my wife and daughter. I am grateful for all my masonry clients who allow me to work at a snail's pace. It’s incredible, but also I find myself needing a small outlet to do something. A kind woman told me I should write, and I decided to trust her.

So, that’s the skinny on me. A very eclectic journey. Like you, I’m a mixture of so many things. An ordained stone mason with a music degree who spent years as a camp director. And it gets weirder.

You know what my dream job is? Full time public service. One day I hope I can win an election so that I can spend my days in windowless rooms, full of people who venomously disagree with each other. We will fight to find enough common ground to improve schools, fix roads, balance budgets, and make our communities a little better than they were yesterday. Any job on earth, that’s the one I want.

Today my job is to help comfort and care for my wife. Equally important is keeping life as normal as possible for my daughter. So we play board games on the floor and go on walks outside. We focus on dance and school, family and friends. My two ladies - my two favorite things on earth. Even through all the work, pursuit, and ambition, it’s still a very simple explanation as to who I think I am. I’m a blessed stone mason, with a wife and daughter who are so easy to love that I think I won the lottery.