He looked up. He looked down. He looked all around. And he seemed a bit confused. I figured he must have spotted a baby bird or some other small creature, then lost track of it. Wrong. He’s a geocacher who couldn’t locate his target. “I’ve … Continue readingGeocaching keeps this retiree pretty busy
“When I left for Japan in 2011, he seemed mostly normal. Maybe a few forgetful things, but I kind of chalked it up to age. Then when I came back to visit in 2013, he was so much worse. I was only here for three … Continue readingDaughter ready to step up to help with Alzheimer’s
“I’m more accepting of my own weirdness these days. That wasn’t the case when I was younger. “When I was a kid, no one talked about watching anime. No one talked about the video games I liked. No one talked about reading manga or reading … Continue readingAnime, manga lover at peace with her ‘weirdness’
“I always wanted to learn languages, ever since I was a kid. This is embarrassing, but I used to pretend I could speak Spanish. I’d watch Telemundo and be like, ‘Oh, I understand.’ I just really liked the sound of it. Maybe it was because … Continue readingEarly interest in Japanese leads to teaching abroad
Jennifer Challenger set a goal of studying Japanese. To get there, she needed to earn enough scholarships and grants to pay her way to University of Texas. Related: Early interest in Japanese leads to teaching abroad Anime, manga lover at peace with her ‘weirdness’ … Continue reading‘They were going to have to pay me to go to college’
“I put in 10 years in the military and eight years in civilian service. If you had told me that one day I’d be homeless, I would have said that you’re full of crap. But after coming back here and having trouble finding steady work, … Continue readingTough to stay positive amid personal struggles
Robert Ortiz was a federal cop in California when he reported his superiors for strong-arming military families. “I knew the minute I opened my mouth, that was the end of my career.” Related: Jobs scarce after ‘ratting out’ corrupt cops Marine’s plan to focus … Continue readingDecision to act ‘was the end of my career’
“When I got out of the Marines, I was a federal cop in Hawaii and California. We worked on military installations as federal civilians. We did the policing on the bases so that the MPs could go deploy. “But I ended up being a tattletale. … Continue readingJobs scarce after ‘ratting out’ corrupt cops
“I took a year break after graduating high school before joining the Marines. I served about 10 years. I was stationed in California and deployed twice to Iraq. “My son was born just before my second tour. I was there for his birth in October, … Continue readingMarine’s plan to focus on his family falls apart
“I got pretty sick when I was 17. I lost a bunch of weight, like 23 pounds, within a span of seven to 10 days. Nobody could figure out what was going on. I saw multiple doctors and I got multiple opinions. It ended up … Continue readingTeen health issues lead to career in nutrition