I’m one of those cranky old men – the kind who sits on his front porch, giving kids the evil eye if they even think about stepping onto my lawn. But on a good day, I might also be seen encouraging a child who’s trying to ride their bike for the first time without training wheels, or maybe helping a neighbor get their lawnmower to start. Depends on my mood.
I’ve lived in several different countries – and as many different states in the U.S. – and I enjoy learning the culture and customs wherever I happen to be. I like learning new things, as well as sharing what I can with others who enjoy learning more about the world around them. In my nearly seven decades on the planet, I’ve found that everyone I run into knows more about something than I do and that if I’m willing to listen, they can teach me something valuable.
After working at jobs ranging from cowboy to corporate facilities manager and bartender to cop, I’ve managed to amass enough life-experience to be dangerous in a lot of different realms. And like a lot of cranky old men, I have no problem sharing my opinions. Surprisingly, though, the world isn’t sitting on the edge of its figurative seat, eager to hear what I think about this or that. Go figure!
So when, against all odds, I managed to reach my mid-sixties, I decided to try a new way of expressing myself. I decided to try my hand at writing fiction – the idea being that an engaging story might be found more interesting than the musings of some random curmudgeon. After a fair amount of struggling to find the right niche, the idea of Dedushka began to take shape. That idea grew to become the Jake McCluskey series.
Whether military fiction, heavily infused with the sort of details that walk the fine line between interesting and boring (believe it or not, that line can be very fine), will be well received remains to be seen. As Pope said, hope springs eternal. I haven’t even totally discarded the possibility of some Hollywood producer calling to promise me millions if only I’ll give them the privilege of taking Dedushka to the big screen.
Allow me my fantasies – this is the world I would live in.
If you haven’t yet decided that nothing I have to say could possibly be worth reading, here’s another chance for you to see the light… some of my online scribblings, mostly from the last 18 years in digital marketing.