Footprints in a Small Town

Book excerpt: Most of us have our version of simpler days--a bubble-like period when life was easy-going and untroubled. We had no responsibilities, mortgages, or debt, along with healthy bodies and sharp minds. Sunscreen was optional. Good hearing was a given. You could do flips off the diving board at the local public pool whenever you felt like it. Today... the only flip I ever do is the one where I slip on the ice to shovel my sidewalk. So... I challenge you to remember your childhood, pick your own story. We all have one, even if it's buried somewhere deep in the confines of our memories. Simple things... like -- hanging out at the local pizza joint. Playing in the street with all of your friends, memories of little league baseball games and ice skating at the local pond. It's remembering biking across town, playing chase, trying not to get caught by anyone. Not to mention the moment you realized that girls weren't as yucky as you once thought they were. Over the past few years, I looked back on my teenage years and discovered that I still see the footprints I once laid down in my small hometown. These footprints left an indelible mark on my life and these stories of my youth left behind an imprint that I carry to this day. Life is about returning. Returning home. I find myself on a journey to find my way home. My success is now more or less found in being a good man. A good husband. A good father. A good grandfather and a good servant of God. This is where home is for me now. I hope you enjoy more stories of my youth and I hope they inspire you to tell yours.