Ruminator

Photo by: Tim Bindner Photography I love music.  It’s no surprise, but I listen to the words more than the beat.  It is my form of reading and poetry.  Lately a lyric hit home to me and I thought I’d write about it. I am not a complicated man.  I like what I like, and in most cases these things are simple. Even very simple to some.  A good meal consisting of a cheeseburger, pizza, boneless wings, or maybe a sub sandwich.  Hanging with my close friends.  As you know I like hiking.  Sitting on the couch watching a good movie or television show.  Researching my favorite hobby, photography on YouTube or Instagram.  Even sitting on a log in the woods listening to my surroundings (especially in winter).  Finally hanging with my wife and son. I do not like big productions.  Going to the artsy festival, attending a big name band concert, going to the trendy club, trying the hip new restaurant, visiting the local coffee shop, seeing the latest ‘great movie’, etc.  I have done those things and d...

Today is my 20 th wedding anniversary and I am ending a relationship that has not shown me much benefit.  Well, let’s say less positive benefits and more negative benefits.  I am invested but it is time to move on. I am not talking about the relationship my wife and I have.  It has been a glorious and wonderful 20 years of marriage and a few more years of courting and friendship before that.  I am talking about my relationship with Facebook.  On September 15 th I decided I had had enough of the negativity and am deactivating my account.  In the past I have deactivated it a few times, only to go back in a few days or a week or so, but this time I leaped to cut the tie and end it permanently. Upon deletion of the account, Facebook gives you a 30-day notice that the account will be deleted.  I term this either cooling off or change your mind phase.  Within those 30 days, you can simply sign in and restart the account.  I am in that period as I am writing this.  So what happens on O...

Saturday night I took my wife, and two friends to meet two other friends on a dinner train for about an hour from our house.  I love old trains and hope to someday take one across part of the United States. The Spirit of Jasper is located in Jasper Indiana.  You can read about the train’s history, location and excursions they provide.  I am here to write about my experience. The town and train depot as mentioned is roughly an hour from our house.  We picked up our friends at 4:15 pm and headed west.  The trip went along the interstate, then off through a small town and countryside until we reached the small town of Jasper.  Whenever I leave the bigger towns like New Albany, Jeffersonville or Corydon and venture out into the rural areas my brain always leads me to John Mellencamp’s song Small Town. Arriving we unloaded and I saw my friend Shawn and Tracie.  I had lunch recently but had not seen Tracie in quite a while.  We exchanged hellos, and I introduced them to our passengers ...

Photo by: Tim Bindner Photography For the first time since April 6 th , I hit the trail, more specifically Mount St. Francis.  Within minutes it felt like my old favorite pair of jeans or a long embrace from my wife.  There are very few things that bring such comfort to me. I was back in my happy place, and my mind and soul knew it. I arrived in the parking lot a few minutes before 8 am, unloaded and headed down my normal route toward the lake.  The air had a sweet smell and my lungs filled with the cool 34-degree air I was surrounded by.  The air was almost electric and the stimulation on my bare arms and face was so refreshing.  I was chilled, only wearing a short-sleeve shirt and pants, but I knew once I crossed the lake my body would be warm, and I was right. Photo by: Tim Bindner Photography My mind needed this today, my soul needed this today, but my body, which also needed it, fought me the whole time.  My legs were stiff and tight, my pace was slower than normal, yet my breathi...

Troy.  Oh, Troy.   What can I say about my boy, Troy?  It is a complicated relationship at best.  A relationship of positives and negatives like most relationships usually are. I met Troy a few years ago when I started in a new role at Humana.  My boss was in New Orleans and my team was scattered throughout the United States including Wisconsin, Kansas, Kentucky, South Carolina, and Indiana. No-one was in the Louisville office where I was based on my immediate team.  Our department had only a handful of people working in the office, which is where I met Troy.  He worked in my department but on a different team. At the time I was a Consultant and Troy was an Analyst.  I had been at Humana 12+ years he had been there maybe 5+ years.  One of the first things I discovered about Troy was he asked questions.  A lot of questions.  I also learned quickly that he did this to learn.  He wanted to learn about people.  How they thought, how they felt, how they acted, who they were, and most import...

Today’s post may be a bit morbid to some but I made what I feel is an honorable decision. It was my choice and I am proud I made it. As I get older I have often thought of my mortality and how I want my life to be celebrated. Part of that stems from my good friend’s loss of his father recently. I read the obituary for his father and decided at that moment I wanted to follow in his footsteps. After some soul searching and research, I spoke to my wife and decided to donate my body to the University of Indiana Anatomical Education Program, which is part of the Indiana University Medical School. The program authorizes “the acquisition and distribution of donated human remains as well as the formulation of standards for the use of donated human remains.” After filling out a small form, getting it signed by two witnesses and mailing it back, then I will be approved. Upon death, Marcie or Gavin will call a number, answer two medical questions and IU will arrange transportation, embalming...

Today I am going to talk about my friend Jason.  He was once a boss, then became a friend.  Now we are separated by 2300 miles. I met Jason in January or February of 2014 when I interviewed him for a role I eventually got in one of the many departments I have worked at in Humana.  My wife knew Jason from one of her work training (he was the trainer) and told me about the opening to which he was and would be my Leader.  She said “you will like Jason” and she was right. On the day we met, it was my second interview and it was just he and I.  I had heard he was a UK fan, so I wore a blue tie instead of my normal red tie to the interview.  The specifics of the interview are not important, but I certainly enjoyed the experience.  Though he asked me questions and briefly jotted down notes, our time together that day was a conversation, unlike the typical “tell me about a time when” questions I was used to seeing.  I learned later that Jason was different and looking back the inter...