I live two miles from the hospital where I was born. I am one child of a family of six raised by a milkman and a stay-at-home mother. My schools were close enough to walk to and my paper route was long but easy to pedal,and I never missed a customer.I worked on farmer's fields and nailed shakes to carpenter's new homes. I pumped gasoline when you had to check the oil and clean the windshield. I was part owner of a family tire business with my uncle and progressed from an eager young volunteer firefighter to eventually retire as the Fire Chief of my community.I became a writer for a local newspaper that gave me an opportunity to share some stories and begin a new career and meet many new people.Along the way, I would never have accomplished anything without the help of family, friends, teachers, and mentors, each of them instilling in me the honesty and integrity of their small town values. That is where my stories come from.This collection of stories is for your reading pleasure. Among them, I hope you find a memory or a long forgotten lesson.