I have noticed as time goes by very quickly that I have the urge to write about my life and the people in it. These people are those that I have had contact with but also include those that I admired for their talent and/or contribution to my life as well as to society in general.

I am not sure if there is any value in this for anyone else or it’s just a function of getting old. I don’t feel old but, regardless, the years are piling up.

One of the things that is part of everyday living is that people die. The older we get the more it happens to people we know and, of course, the more likely it will happen to us. Is there something I should be doing that completes my life on this planet? I don’t have an answer yet and I do have some ideas.

The simple way I am looking at this time in my life is that my relationships have been important and maybe I haven’t always paid attention in a way that demonstrates that. Here are a few that come to mind.

FAMILY. I have nothing but the greatest respect for my brother Stan and my sisters, Linda and Judy. They have worked hard, taken care of their families and been good citizens of their communities. We have never been particularly close, and I love them absolutely. My parents, George and Gladys were good people who loved their kids and did a great job of getting them grown.

MY COACHES. Two high school coaches, Phil Lindgren and Dick Berryhill were influential early on. Paul “Polly” Wilhelmsen, my community college basketball coach was simply the greatest contributor to my coaching career. The best coach I have ever been around. Right behind him was my college baseball coach, Pete Beiden. Of course, there were all my coaching peers … more about them later.

These were the people who launched me into adulthood. There were many other influential folks along the way, and I have more on them and their contributions later.