Updated 3/1/08
Updated 3/1/08
This is my story, or as much as
I can remember...
I was born in Martinsville, Indiana on October 12, 1962. (Dr. Jay S Reese the attending physician.)
My parents have always been involved in the trucking industry in one way, or another. Dad is currently doing what he enjoys most, which is driving. Mom spends most of her time finding him loads on the interweb highway. They live about 10 miles from me.
I have an older sister (whose name escapes me) who is the mother of my nephew, Brandon. I also have two younger sisters: Tracy is 42 and lives in Baltimore, MD with her beau, Erik. Tanya Tanya is 29
and lives in Bloomington. Tanya is married to Seth, and they have two decent kids: A girl named Lindsay and a boy called...Cameron.
My only brother is Chuck. He is 41 and lives in Mitchell, IN, about 30 miles from here, with his wife, Jonda, and their sons, I-zack and Jack. My childhood
was spent moving around Indiana. We lived in Spencer, Bedford and Chesterfield.
In 1975, we moved to Bridgeport, MI. I attended the Bridgeport school system
from mid-seventh grade through graduation. The summer before my senior
year, my parents moved back to Indiana. I was not too keen on the idea
of changing schools again, and had a steady girlfriend, so decided to stay
in Bridgeport. I worked at a local truckstop after school and on
weekends.
The steady girlfriend thing
didn't work out, so I married her best friend. I moved from Bridgeport
back to Spencer in 1982. Julie Lantz graduated in June of 1982 and moved
in with my parents in Spencer. We were married on October 9, 1982 in my
grandfather's orchard. We lived on a road with 7 other households of relatives
nearby.
Julie and I both worked at Curry
Buick, a large automobile dealership in Bloomington. In 1986, we built
a log home next door to my grandparent's house. My cabin is about 350 yards
from the orchard we were married in. It sits in a half-acre clearing surrounded
by woods on all sides, and roughly a quarter of a mile from the road.
In 1987, I quit Currys and went
to Alaska for a month. I stayed with a guy that I met while working at
the truckstop in Bridgeport, MI. We lived in a tent on the side of a hill
overlooking the Valdez Arm of the Prince William Sound. We worked at Seahawk
Seafood, a salmon processing plant, in Valdez. This trip was one of the
greatest experiences of my life.
Upon my return to Spencer, I had
to decide what I was going to do for a living. I got a temporary job in
the Fall with a local landscaping company. After a couple of months working
outdoors, I knew I had found my calling. In the Spring of 1988, I began
my own landscaping company, Ace
of Spades Landscaping. It was the best thing I've ever done.
The Summer and Fall of 1997 brought
much emotional pain and suffering. Julie decided, for reasons I still don't
understand, that she no longer wanted to be Mrs. Felix. She moved out on
September 1st, five weeks short of our 15th anniversary. Divorce papers
were filed on Christmas Eve, and sixty days later my marriage was over.
There has never lived a person who didn't want a divorce more than I.
The Fall of 1998 brought a good
thing; The opportunity to thru-hike the Appalachian
Trail. It was an incredible experience that can't be done justice on a website. Check out my page on it and you'll see that I tried, however.
Not long after returning from the hike I was presented with the opportunity to take over the landscaping for local rock star John Mellencamp. After much thought, I decided to try
it. I had never undertaken such a task before and it was a frightening endeavor. It is certainly the most interesting job I've ever had. Respect and diplomacy prohibits me from saying more.
So, here we are. I still go to sleep at night and hope I wake up the
next morning. And, if I do, I shall continue to try to enjoy life to the fullest.
If I don't, well, that's okay, too, I guess. Tune in next week...(you don't have to tune in next week because I don't update this thing all that often)
Here are a couple of recent photos of me. A couple are
from the thru-hike:
"I always knew that I'd look back on the times
I cried, and laugh. I didn't know I'd look back on the times I laughed,
and cry." anonymous
Me cutting off my beard
and hair from the hike.
Me and a friend shortly after
the haircut.
Back to my Homepage
To my Appalachian Trail page
To my Music page
To my Guestbook
To my Ace of Spades page
To go see Mrs. Purtlebaugh
To my "Paris" story
