My Sainted Mother, who is such because she survived raising me, found some pictures recently that she thought I’d like to have.

She was right.

I haven’t always been a paintball player…at one point in my life I was a normal teenager, and I was a soldier.  Sadly being a soldier didn’t work out for me, since my body decided that I should do other things.  So after 89 days of service in the Army, I was put out on a medical discharge, mainly because of my left knee.    But I saw these pictures this evening and I remembered simpler times, and I found myself astounded at how I’ve changed in the 20+ years.  In 1988, I was 5’10″, 126 pounds.

Today at 38, almost 39 years old I’m still 5’10″, but the weight is closer to 195 pounds.  The hair that I’m so well known for today wasn’t really around too much back in 1988.    I promise you, that really is me in the pictures below.  The person in the picture with me is my brother, probably the toughest person I know.  The picture of me with the car is my first car ever, a 1976 Mustang Cobra II.  To this day I love those cars, and it makes my day to see one.

To my parents and my brother:  Thank you for being who you were back then and who you are today.