News broke today that Tom Petty has passed away so I thought I’d share my first memory of him and his music. I was in middle school in the late 80s/early 90s and our family had recently moved to Stafford, Virginia. Our next door neighbors had kids around my sisters ages (high school) so theyContinue reading “My very first Tom Petty memory”
Author Archives: Ben Wilder
To kill, or not to kill
A friend of mine met me for lunch yesterday and among the things we talked about was guns/ gun ownership/ self-defense. I think we got on the topic in somewhat of a round-about way, first discussing what we’d do (or have done) in scenarios where help might have been needed. Think: car accidents, someone beingContinue reading “To kill, or not to kill”
Sometimes I wish I had Down Syndrome
Sometimes I wish I had Down Syndrome. I don’t say that lightly because I know folks with this diagnosis struggle with things just like anyone else. My oldest sister has Downs so for my entire life I’ve had a front row seat to her amazing attitude towards life. Now, I know generalizing the characteristics ofContinue reading “Sometimes I wish I had Down Syndrome”
A Nashville night to remember
One of the best nights of the year… is how the lead singer of one of my favorite bands, The Head and the Heart, described last night in Nashville. Although he was referring to the cool, low humidity of the evening, he was right in more ways than he knew. And he also didn’t knowContinue reading “A Nashville night to remember”
Encounter with a car salesman
Today I brought in my Nissan Versa because of an air bag recall. Evidently when the airbags deploy, shards of metal can cause serious injury or death. Yeah, I’m gonna need you to fix that, kthanx. The replacement process took about 2 hours so to kill time I strolled over to the “sales” side ofContinue reading “Encounter with a car salesman”
Out of the Wilderness 