Why the name? It's my standard internet alias and has stuck with me ever since listening to a particular track on a CD years ago. A prize if you can guess that CD!

Growing up was the best in Black Mountain. I had lots of friends and got into a lot of trouble, repeatedly. Trust me, it's not good if you're on a first-name basis with the local police officers. The official "Padgettown Posse" sport was Whiffle Ball at the Gardner Dome; although we generally played all seasonal sports there.

When I wasn't getting in trouble, I was always tinkering with something in my dad's shop. I built numerous "gravity-powered" go karts. These were wooden or various other material-made carts that a couple of us could pile in and ride down the Pine Tree Drive hill. It was useful to have a stopping aid such as a mailbox or telephone pole in case the brakes weren't engineered to the highest level. Not to mention, having my own bike shop "Fix It Bike Shop" when I was 12 years old. Business sure was better when I didn't charge anything for repairs... I can't understand it!

School was ok. I wasn't the best, wasn't the worst. One of the best years was 6th grade. This was the last year of the use of the old middle school building in Black Mountain (I'll let you guess the name of the school). The smell, the atmosphere, the way the floors sagged and noise the radiators made was very powerful. My first dance was pretty good too! After it was shut down, I spent the next two years in the dingy old Swannanoa Middle: it smelled like a typical school, I hated it. Then came high school. Owen High wasn't the most prominent school, though we had our highlights on the evening news such as student beatings (by the principal at a local movie theater) or porn videos starring a few upperclassmen and middleschool girls. Sorry, I don't have any movie clips of either. The years passed, the FFA picnics and Friday night football games kept us entertained.

The boys and I can say that we had more fun at the end part of high school than anyone else. We had a group called the IPD (Ingles Police Dept). We had radios... we had car numbers... and we always had someone to terrorize on any given night.

A year of UNCA followed high school. Of course, we learn a lot in college; I learned my share of interesting topics. Parking probably stinks in all colleges, but this was horrible: 900 some spaces for over 2000 students. Being open-minded was a must... there were a lot of interesting people to try get along with.

I am no longer accepting applications for Ms. Right. The day I met the most incredible woman on Earth: Jennifer, a good friend told me something that I'll never forget "You'll run into someone when you least expect it." Isn't that the truth!! A good woman is hard to find, good thing I won't have to worry about that anymore. I think we'll keep each other very happy for a very long time. Life is good!

Friends also came and went. I lost a few to drugs, so I chose not to follow their paths in life. It's good to know I still have a few real friends around, those who I would choose over any woman. This fact hit me hard, but that's what I'll stick to.

Use the categories above to move around.

Use the contact link and shoot me an email, I'll try to fix it quickety-quick or get back to you. I do not fix people's psychiatric problems, if it's personal.

What do you do when somebody cuts you off if you're driving down the road minding your own business? Yeah, most people get mad... Little stuff like this doesn't bug me; I love it! Nevertheless, sometimes that gets me into trouble when I SHOULD react with a little more force.

Weekends consist of food at any of the area restaurants. O'charley's and McGuffeys are the worst, run away as fast as you can! Bowling, mini gold, some crappy dance club that changes its name every few years and Patton Ave. cruising seems to be it. If you're a younger local resident, you're screwed! If you're a tourist, welcome!

Something that I haven't had much time to experience in the past is some of the culture of downtown. I'm not sure why I'd never gotten around to doing it, but there a lot more to see and do that I used to think. Many bands come through, shows, etc. This is probably one of the only things that Asheville has for the 20-somethings. The typical rounds are:

• Barley's (THE spot for a pitcher of Heffe Weiss)
• Hannah Flannagan's
• Tressa's (on occasion)
• Magnolia's
• Cinjade's (if it's a weekend and I brought a gun or knife)
• College Street Pub
• Charlotte Street Pub

On accasional weekends near the middle of the year, autocross events spot the calendar. Read more about this awesome sport in the Car section. I work out at World Gym a few times a week... gotta stay in shape! I don't call myself a "personal trainer" by any means, but I know my way around to machines and weights. The rule of thumb in a gym is: Never tell the guy doing the exercise wrong that he's doing it wrong. I have kept to that, thought painfully, and never told anyone the reasons why they're not seeing results. Maybe one day I'll post my personal workout guide...

Photos

If you want to see some digital photos of friends, the car and life in general click here!