Here are 24 things that you for sure don't know about your Chaplain. Most of these I might not admit in conversation :)
1. I am an All American swimmer. I actually won the 50 Free at Nationals my Freshman year in college.
2. I was dyslexic (guess technically I still am). In the 3rd grade I had to re-learn all of my letters and sounds. It’s kinda weird. I can write my name upside down and backwards still with little effort.
3. I’m a Pilot. I have my Private, Instrument, Commercial, Multi-Engine, CFI, CFII ratings and about 2000 hours of flight time.
4. My middle name is Wesley. Named after my great uncle (dad’s side) who owned a dairy, radio station, and insurance company all at the same time…I think we would have been close.
5. Everyone knows I call my wife Al. What you don’t know is that I named her Big Al the summer we met (was part of my humor...this cute little coed named like a large short order cook) At some point we just dropped the Big…smartest thing I ever did…
6. I’m in the National Guard as a Chaplain (if you didn't know this we really need to talk).
7. I’m currently writing a book on parenting.
8. I graduated from undergrad in 3 years.
9. When I got married in June ‘96 I was 6’4” 165lbs. In Dec ‘96, I was 6’4” 205lbs. All of this while training for a marathon. OOPS.
10. In high school I won an essay contest. The prize was a free trip to DC with some other kids that won contests in their areas. Was one of the coolest things I’ve done.
11. My senior year of high school I won best of show in the Central Ozarks Conference art show with a watercolor painting of a poinsettia.
12. I don’t like eating cheese by itself…to the point it almost makes me gag. However, I do like cheese melted on something…anything.
13. I have a cousin that is 9 days younger than me that I’m pretty close with. He was in the Arkansas state penn for over 10 years. He is an unbelievable guy. Goes to show how important a good home life is. He is out now and doing great.
14. In the 8th grade I got a perm. No real reason…just did it…
15. My dad was a defensive end for the University of Arkansas from ‘69 to ’71. He was asked to free agent for the bears.
16. My brother was an All American Kicker at MSU. He went to camp at Green Bay.
17. In high school my friend Mike Smalley and I swam across Taneycomo. Later that summer we were both baptized in Taneycomo…by his father…who was wearing a wetsuit.
18. Both of my grand fathers were in WWII. My Father’s Father literally stormed the beach at Normandy and was in the Battle of the Bulge. My Mother’s Father was on a ship in the Pacific. As a side note my mother's father wrote a letter to my grandmother while in boot camp asking her to come to San Diego to marry him before he was shipped off. She did.
19. I like to cook…aaaannnnd sew.
20. I once owned a Bellhop company in Branson that supplied bellhops to hotels in town that had bus tours. That company still exists today.
21. I once drove from Dallas, TX to NYC with 3 of my best friends to see the ball drop on new year’s eve. It was so cold we ended up staying in Brooklyn watching it on TV. The next day we drove straight from NYC back to Dallas stopping in Springfield to take a “wake up” shower.
22. Probably my favorite thing in the world to eat is my Great Grandmother Owen’s Chocolate chip cookies. She would make them and store them in coffee cans. Right behind that is my Granny Brawner’s fried French Toast.
23. Yes, I am truly from Arkansas. So much so that my Great Great Grandmother on my Mom’s side had a spittoon by her stove and used it while she cooked. There is a picture of this somewhere…
24. My sister is an actor. She has been on Law and Order, Ed, done a sketch with John Daily and many other wonderful feats!
