I guess that my love of traveling has a strong foundation based on these weekend trips. I can remember winter trips as we traveled through a quiet world of whiteness. Gliding through the sleepy towns of central Illinois. The motor in the big Packard or Oldsmobile purring along, the kathump, kathump of the tires over the strips on the concrete highway providing a background rhythm. The lights sliding into and then out of the car. Shadows moving and gliding with a life of their own. We moved along encased in our own little world, the warm air from the heater battling against the frost on the car windows. I can remember holding on to the "rope" across the back of the seat, my chin resting on top of the front seat, feeling the motion of the car as we traveled along. The family either talked about the events of the day, plans for the weekend or joined in a communal silence as we all journeyed together towards a common destination.

Our family was very active with church and youth groups during the late 50's and early 60's. We were involved with the ICYE [International Christian Youth Exchange] and we had the privilege of hosting no less than ten exchange students while I was growing up. We hosted exchange students from Sweden, Norway, Finland, France, Switzerland, Kuwait and other countries. Sharing their homes and cultures with us, the zest for travel and adventure was embedded in me at an early age. With these exchange students, we shared our family vacations and proudly explored our vast country with them and was able to see it from a different perspective through their eyes. I traveled to Sweden by myself at age 14 to visit my sister and her husband. I spent the whole summer traveling the country, an experience that provided a springboard into young adulthood.

The farm at Rockford, Illinois holds many memories for me. The big white house standing so strong with the lawns sloping away towards the road. Acres and acres for a young boy to explore. Barns, silos, corncribs, milk houses and of course "The Playhouse" that grandpa Ernie built for the grandchildren. It was a grand affair, screened on all four sides, and best of all, a ladder and trapdoor that went up through the roof! Many enjoyable hours were spent on that roof. I would be remiss if I did not mention the walks to the general store where we would get bottles of Coca~Cola. Some of my fondest memories are of "Little Grandpa". He was in his upper 90's when my memories start, straight from "the old country", and lived to the generous age of 103. He spoke little English and much German... The time I spent on that man's lap. Walks were always special, although I didn't realize it at the time. Little Grandpa walked with a cane, so it was slow going, and I can remember how he would get excited and shake his cane at the object of his excitement, speaking in a mixture of English/German. One memory that is still strong is when I discovered a hydraulic bottle jack in the barn. Little Grandpa never did get mad at me for taking out that little screw at the bottom, but I can tell you that to this day, I still know how to put hydraulic fluid in one...

"Grandpa Pop" owned a garage in Rockford, Illinois and Dad still surprises me now and then with stories that I have never heard about the garage. I guess that my love of things mechanical comes down from Pop. I can remember the big white garage on the hill. Sliding the doors open led into a fairly dark interior, with a wooden floor, a long workbench down the left side and a wood burning stove way in the back. Near the stove was a sign that said "TENSION". It was one of those signs that make you feel strange because it looks out of focus. I used to "help" Pop in the garage, and I can remember that when we were done, we would head to the basement and clean up in the galvanized sink. I can still remember the smell of the powdered hand cleaner that he used. Grandpa Pop always had "BIG" cars, Hudsons, Packards and Cadillacs. The stories about these cars and drives through Illinois, Wisconsin and Iowa are memories that travel with me as I now take my own journeys. Pop passed away in 1962 when I was only 7 or 8, but I feel that his spirit is with me as I use his tools in my workshop.

My love of nature stems in great part from my Grandmother. At age 101, she still gets excited about the birds and animals that visit her yard. As a family, we would take weekend/day drives throughout southern Missouri and Illinois, following The Mississippi river Valley south of St. Louis. We did not have a "favorite" time of year as we enjoyed the uniqueness of all of the seasons. Springtime brought forth the beauty of the land coming awake, the animal activity increasing markedly. Grandma Turrie would excitedly point out turtles basking themselves on a log in the middle of a pond. I have no idea what these box and snapping turtles thought when we would stop and I would take one into the car with us for a ride... For 5 or 6 years, one of these box turtles resided in our basement, controlling the bug population.. Grandma Turrie always had a black pair of opera glasses with her, and I saw much of my early years through their lenses and her insight into the natural world.

Update. December, 2003. Grandma Turrie passed away in June, 2003. She was one month shy of turning 102. She will continue to join me as I share nature with my grandchildren.

Mom has always encouraged me to dream. As far back as I can remember, she has shared my dreams and hopes. She passed her love of reading on to me and this can be seen by the shelves and shelves of books that grace my home. I am never without several books close at hand and books on tape are my constant companions on the road. Through the written word, I have and can travel through and beyond the boundaries of time and space. She also inspired the desire to experience each day to the fullest. My desire to challenge myself has come from her daily examples. At age 83, she still works several days a month at an antique shop . She is continuing to build her vintage clothes business and is always wanting to "go shopping" to find new stock. She sews, designs stationary and is constantly surprising me with the projects that she comes up with.

My father grew up in the garage business, his father owning a garage in Rockford, Illinois until he passed away in the early 60's. My mothers father was a contractor and built houses in many parts of the country. Later in life he settled back on the farm which is where most of my memories are. I can remember the big, black 1946 Hudson pickup that would seat 4 across. I still want one of these to this day... My father had his own photocopy service/photo studio in Rockford, Illinois and during World War II, he was a photographer in the Navy. He also ran a patent office where he drew up blueprints for mechanical devices. To this day, my father is always tinkering with something. If it breaks, he takes it apart to see why. My father always encouraged me in all of my mechanical endeavors. I have memories of wrestling the big 2 ton Wagner jack around the garage when it was bigger than I was. Even today, with dad at age 80, we still work out mechanical/electrical challenges together.

Update. December 2003. Dad passed away in March, 2003. I catch myself thinking "Wouldn't dad like this" or "I need to give dad a call...". He is still very much part of my life and still helps me work out challenges on a daily basis.

My father would take me out of school and loaded with "homework" and appropriate textbooks, we would take off for several weeks. I have fond memories of trips to various parts of the country. Dad was an avid driver who traveled all of Kansas, Missouri and Illinois as part of his "territory" in his capacity as Branch Manager for IBM/Simplex Time Recorder. Of course, traveling as we did, he taught me to drive at an early age. I can vividly remember "lessons" in various parts of the country. Learning how to come back on to the concrete highway after dropping a wheel off of the shoulder in Iowa. Watching tire tracks on the wet pavement in your rearview mirror on a Montana highway to see how steady you are with the wheel. And dad telling me to slow down as we approached a 90 degree left turn in the Ozarks. I didn't of course, and as I slid down the highway sideways half on and half off of the road, Dad calmly telling me to stay off of the brakes and steer into the slide... Several minutes later, sharing a narrow iron bridge with a massive 50's Buick Roadmaster, Dad said to learn from our experiences...

At the age of 18, I joined the Army on the delayed entry program and two weeks out of high school, I was off on another journey. This was an intense period in my life, leaving home for the first time, marraige, the birth of our daughter and divorce. All in a short four years. I spent almost 8 years in the military, four of them based in Mannheim, Germany. I was with Headquarters Company, Ace Mobile Forces Land, NATO. As a Motor Sergeant and Staff Driver, I participated in five major military exercises in various parts of the world to include Germany, Norway, Turkey, Italy and England. After Europe, I was stationed at Fort Carson, Colorado. While stationed in Colorado, I met and married my sweetheart of now 25 years.

After I left the military on April Fools Day, 1980, I spent part of a year cutting firewood in the mountains in the area around Pikes Peak, working as a stereo installer and trying to figure out what I wanted to do with my life. In 1981, my wife and I sold our house, and with our infant daughter, moved back to St. Louis where I attended Webster University, majoring in Photo Journalism/Communications. While attending the University, I was engaged in a teaching practicum in Outdoor Adventure Education. Once again, I found myself traipsing all over the countryside. Promoting growth, self awareness, confidence and self reliance, I was involved with teaching inner city youth how to rock climb/rappel, holding work management seminars with corporate executives to encourage teamwork, and taking Montessori students canoeing in the Everglades and sailing in The Dry Tortugas. Learning, teaching at the same time, I photographed and videographed my way to my Bachelors Degree.

In May of 1995, my wife PJ and I once again packed up and with our two daughters, returned to Colorado Springs, Colorado. I worked for Tandy Corporation for several years and then on to a local camera shop. Our third daughter was born during this time, bringing our family to six. While at the camera shop, I also worked as a freelance photographer and donated my "spare" time , services and equipment to teach basic photography at the local Boy's and Girl's Club. During this time frame I had also began to dabble in computers, following up on an interest that I gained while attending Webster University.

Late in 1989, I went to work for Wal-Mart, where I have been ever since. This is not to say that I have "stayed" in one spot for thirteen years... I started out as the Electronics Manager, moved on to Customer Service Manager/Support Manager and then worked up to Assistant Manager. During this time, I traveled to various parts of the west and helped to build/remodel Wal-Mart stores. I spent six months of one year traveling throughout Canada, converting Woolco stores to Wal-Marts.

Several years ago, I had the opportunity to join The Store Planning Division of Wal-Mart which is based out of the home offices in Bentonville, Arkansas. My job was to travel around the country, remodeling one store at a time. I loved the traveling and the chance to work in different locations around the country and I enjoyed the challenge of completely remodeling a store in six weeks. The only problem was that my body and mind said "no way!" to the rigorous schedule and demands placed on it, and I found the absence from my family to be too much. After a long period of introspection, I returned to my local Wal-Mart here in Cañon City, Colorado. I have come "full circle" as they say. I came back to work as an Assistant Manager and have recently accepted the position of Photo Lab Manager and opened a one hour photo lab at our new Wal-Mart Supercenter.

This has proved to be one of the best decisions that I have ever made. We live just outside the small town of Florence, Colorado. The population is approximately 3500, not including the full time residents at the Federal prison... We are on 5 acres on the Arkansas river, and until recently, our closest neighbors were about 1/4 mile away. Each morning, I watch the sun rise as I work at the computer, changing the black of the night sky to first a deep, dark blue and then gradually fading into a light purple and on into pink. As the sun rises above the bluffs to the east, the mesas and mountains are bathed in a warm combination of reds, oranges and gold. Time moves at a somewhat slower pace now that we are removed from "the big city". We take the time to enjoy nature even more than we did previously and a flock of Canadian geese following the river always brings us to a halt to enjoy their honking and the "swoosh~swoosh" of their wings as they pass overhead.

My family is continuing to grow by leaps and bounds and I am here to share in the joy with them. I now have eight grandchildren. I have the "spare" time to work with the computer and my teardrop is coming along well. After six years of construction, it is still not "completed" I don't know if it will ever be... I have logged over 10,000 miles of travel with it so far. As always though, it seems as though there is never enough time for everything that we want to do in life. I guess that we have to decide what is most important for us at particular times and strive to reach those goals. We have to remember that change is a constant factor in our lives. That our goals and dreams change as we grow and our experiences continually shape us into who we are and who we will be...

It was a pleasure to be able to spend some time with you!
Thanks for stopping by.

George

Please come back often! I update and add to these pages frequently.

You never know what I might come up with...

last updated December 21, 2003