Author Archives: Perry Hamilton

Dream Big I have been fired from at least three jobs for the sin (error) of being insubordinate. I wear that badge with honor. As a senior in high school I was promoted to crew chief which was just a little less than being an assistant manager McDonald’s and a lot less in pay.I hadContinue reading “Dream Big”

There were only a few things for teenagers to do for recreation at Stewart on a Sunday night. One was going to the Teen Club to dance. There were usually a number of songs to dance to, “Ben”, a creepy song about a rat by a young Michael Jackson, “If” by Bread, and “Color myContinue reading “The Base Youth Group”

Many of my friends have distinct memories of being in elementary school. My memories, for the most part, are hazy at best or quite unpleasant. Kindergarten’s only memory is making a clay candlestick, jumping over it, and singing “Jack Be Nimble.” I’m not any clearer when it comes to first grade. Sherwood Elementary School inContinue reading “The Bully”

Matt and Sheryl Nelson are great friends from Seattle, Washington. They grew up in the same church that I did, Christian life Church in Long Beach, California. There is a steeple there that overlooks the 405 freeway. It is quietly known as “our mother Mary, the mother of God. This wedding was a huge affair.Continue reading “The Wedding”

January 24, 2021 I remember having to call my parents and telling them that not only had I skipped school, but my buddy and I were stranded on the other side of the mountain. A storm was coming in. We were busted. But first, a bit of the backstory. Being a transplanted southern boy, NewContinue reading “Skipping School to Go Skiing”

The Dance Contest Our family moved to New Windsor, New York, a small village outside of Newburgh, in the late summer of 1975. The music world was upended in the 70s. Disco was king, and I was a 125 pound, athletically challenged kid who had red hair and a southern accent. Our new home wasContinue reading “The Dance Contest”

January 6, 2020 What began as a small water fight between friends morphed into a 38-year cloak and dagger tradition. It has been played out on several continents by prominent members of the government and no government associations, a United States Congressman, a U.S. ambassador, an Arlington Virginia fire captain, and many other recruits andContinue reading “The Water Fight”

During my sophomore year at Southern California College, now Vanguard University, I had the opportunity to travel to Australia on a short-term mission trip. My knowledge of geography was severely limited back then. I did not know that it was summer during our winter here.  I didn’t even know  Sydney had beaches. The price ofContinue reading “Australia”

In 1975, as a parting gift from the Chattahoochee River towns of Columbus, Georgia, and Phenix City, Alabama, was a new Kawasaki motorcycle. Our family was moving away from our generational hometown, Columbus. We arrived in New Windsor, New York, about the same time that Jimmy Carter, a nationally unknown Georgia governor, announced he wasContinue reading “The Motorcycle”