About
This is me today.
Couple of things right up front if this is your first time here. I grew up on a farm. I’m a general contractor. Someone told me recently, “Do what you love and you’ll never have to work a day in your whole life.” That’s my story.
We live in the Midwest…people still do things around here on a handshake. I married my high school sweetheart (Think Princess Bride…farm boy marries Princess Buttercup). I’m a dad and now a grandpa two times over….do I look old enough to be a grandpa????- I don’t think so.
I have a Biblical World View. I’m an optimist 90% of the time, but will freely admit when I’m struggling that 10%. You can read about some of the struggles: here, here or here .
This is not a religious blog, although I am definitely a spiritual person. I hate it when people try to jam their “stuff” down my throat and I work real hard not to do that to you.
If you decide to leave a comment…please work real hard at communicating respectfully and graciously- especially with the other people whose thoughts you may not agree with. (no sarcasm). If you don’t I will either delete or edit what you say.
I’m honored that you would take the time to read something I’ve written.

May 12, 2008 at 4:03 am |
No, you definitely do not look like a grandpa. Thanks for the encouraging email, and for visiting my blog.
July 2, 2008 at 9:54 pm |
You stated above that you’re an “optimist 90% of the time…”
That reminds me of a quote by Sir Winston Churchill. He said, ” A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an OPTIMIST sees an opportunity in every difficulty”
You also said, “I’m honored that you would take the time to read something I’ve written.”
Personally, I’m honored that you took the time to write!
Michelle
July 21, 2008 at 2:53 am |
Aw DM. . . thanks for adding me to your blogroll. Real sweet of you. My love to Mrs DM and my sibs…
September 3, 2008 at 3:50 am |
Hi DM,
Thanks for stopping by and posting on your comments. It was nice meeting you.
September 6, 2008 at 12:35 am |
You have a great energy about. This place you have is unique and full of charisma, thank you for sharing your light…
November 4, 2008 at 3:53 am |
Thanks for the great posts –
I’m looking forward to reading more –
I’ve added you to my blog-surfer.
Happy blogging,
Jonie
November 11, 2008 at 2:14 pm |
I stumbled across your site by accident looking for a picture of Neuschwanstein castle & just wanted to say thanks!
August 9, 2009 at 12:33 pm |
Thanks for visiting my blog! I like yours and plan to come back!
March 14, 2010 at 6:00 pm |
Dear hearttoheart:
My name is Leora Trub and I am a student in the Clinical Psychology Ph.D. Program at The Graduate Center of the City University of New York (CUNY). I am conducting a study of the reasons that people blog and what benefits it brings, which at this point are still largely unexplored in research studies. I am therefore reaching out to you as a blogger who can help deepen our understanding of this phenomenon. I believe that your voice is an important one to be heard and hope you will enjoy participating in the study. I have developed an online questionnaire that asks about specific aspects of blogging as well as asking about feelings about yourself and others in your life. The survey is a mix of numerical scales and opportunities to reflect in an open-ended format about the role of blogging in your life, and how it has changed over time.
You are eligible to participate if you are at least 21 years of age and have been maintaining an English-language personal blog for at least six months that you update or visit at least twice a week (on average). Your participation involves completing a confidential online questionnaire. The data will be downloaded onto a secure server to which only I have access. No identifying information, such as your names or address, will be collected, and you will be given the opportunity to be identified by a code name in research reports and to have your blog description changed slightly so it cannot be identified if you wish. In addition, you may choose not to share your blog information, in which case I will not access your blog for any reason after this point.
The survey takes approximately 45 minutes to complete and participation is completely voluntary. Three participants who complete the survey will be randomly selected by a lottery to receive a $75 cash prize.
There are no foreseeable risks to participation in the study. Although some of the questions are personal in nature, participation in the study provides an opportunity to think about the role that your blog plays in your life.
If you have any questions about this research, you can contact me at (732) 407-7928 or ltrub@gc.cuny.edu, or my advisors Dr. Arietta Slade at (212) 650-5658 or asladephd@earthlink.net and Dr. Tracey Revenson at (212) 817-8709 or trevenson@gc.cuny.edu.
The study has been approved by the Institutional Review Board of the Graduate School of the City University of New York and meets of their guidelines as well as all state and federal guidelines for research with human participants. If you have any concerns about the project at any time, you can contact Ms. Kay Powell, Institutional Review Board at the Graduate School of the City University of New York (212) 817-7525 or kpowell@gc.cuny.edu.
In order to participate in this study, I need to send you an invitation through survey monkey. If you are interested, please send an email to ltrub@gc.cuny.edu from the email address to which you would like the invitation sent. I hope that you will decide to participate and also that you will share it with others if you decide you would like to. Please feel free to contact me with any questions.
Sincerely,
Leora Trub, M.A.
Doctoral student in Clinical Psychology
Graduate School of the City University of New York
365 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10016-4309
ltrub@gc.cuny.edu
June 21, 2011 at 10:58 am |
Dear DM,
I just discover your blog few days ago. I like your writing so much. I have just read some of your posts but I learn some meaningful from them. Your perception about life makes me admire you much.
.
With time, I wish I can understand about life deeply like you. I love this life and admire its beauty even it has brought to me lot of tears
Wish you a very happy day and continue posting great topics!
-prairie-
December 30, 2011 at 4:12 pm |
Howdy DM! Thanks so much for subscribing to my Blog.
Hopefully we can learn some of those old world skills from one another.
Cheers! And Happy New Year.
Robin