Make Me an Instrument of Thy Peace

Dear Friends. Some of you may know that in June, I left my executive role in government after 10 years. In the seven years prior I served an agency helping abused kids & their families try to heal from some of life’s hardest shit. 17 years “in the front row of the #frontlines”

In these years I have given every bit of what I had to give & then some, to elevate the families of abuse, the individuals detained & the staff who protect & serve. God has placed me in some unique capacities to be of service and elevate some of his people. I intended to take a very brief sabbatical, in part to restore myself & to be of service to my dad.

My dad died 3 weeks ago of advanced stage colon cancer that had metastasized to his liver & lungs. I was with him for most of the time during his final weeks. I loved and was loved by a man who loved his dogs, Bobby Knight, the Detroit Lions & Tigers. He was 3 weeks from diagnosis to death and today marks 3 weeks since his passing. He died like he lived, aggressively.

I am setting out with Fred’s spirit as a protector. His dog tags hanging on my rear view mirror. His ashes in the American flag draped cardboard urn in the back seat. I will be living on my retirement $$, setting out on a vision quest to identify how & where & in what ways & with whom I am to be an instrument of God’s peace. I will be taking a pilgrimage road trip with my dad’s ashes. Army veteran engineer Fred’s ashes will be left in some places that were special to him, and places he lived. I will be chronicling my journey that will take me throughout the north & southeastern United States. Along the way I look forward to partnering with those committed to healing civil rights atrocities, reducing mental health stigma & expanding access, & delivering quality human services where the need is most critical. I am hoping to meet a lot of really great people, stick around in some places that will have me, and try to help where I am able & needed most along the way. I want to soak up local vibes, music, food, energy, the best neighborhood bars, jukeboxes & karaoke.

I have never married or had children, I’ve never had a housewarming party and cannot recall a lot of birthday parties. November 1st marks one year since I quit smoking. This was a huge turning point in my life where I decided, after being knocked around a bit by life for a number of years and paying hard for less than ideal choices, I was going to commit to taking care of myself, applying the oxygen mask to myself first. Since 11/1/21 I quit smoking, lost nearly 100 pounds, quit my job without having another one, lost my dad, made remarkable progress in my complex trauma history & eating disorder healing, etc. Moving forward in life November 1, will be a celebration of life for me, an important anniversary marking a life changing turning point. If I have inspired, helped & or loved you, I appreciate your gift for my anniversary of life and investment in my vision quest. Your contributions will support gas, car upkeep, tolls, technological equipment and application needs, networking, writing shared with you, mind-body-spirit health needs, accommodations, food & drink and the difference I will make in people’s lives along the way. I thank you my friends for supporting me along my vision quest.