About Skip Birong
Hi. Welcome to my website. Having ventured into my world of words I thought you might like to know a little about me since, as one might expect, my experiences and background affect my take on things. Ah, but where to start? Let’s try a simple list:
- Well, education-wise, I have a Bachelor’s degree and a Master’s degree, each in business administration.
- Employment-wise I was a full-time, professional musician/performer for seven years back in the 70s (that would be the “nineteen” seventies). But I eventually had to get a real job.
- As it turned out though, I have been self-employed for most of my adult life, most recently and for the past twenty years or so as a business consultant and financial analyst (specializing in business valuation).
- But, alas, I am now transitioning into retirement (read: old Baby Boomer. But I guess that’s redundant).
- On the more personal side, I am single (widowed); and
- I have two grown kids. They are both good-looking and smart and reside nearby with their good-looking and smart spouses; and
- I have two adorable young grandchildren (girls).
- My kids also have three dogs between the two of them. I have visitation rights but I don’t have to dog-sit.
- Politically, I consider myself to be a moderate conservative (common sense is often my fallback position on any topic).
- I am a veteran, having served four years active duty in the U.S. Coast Guard as an aircraft mechanic and search-and-rescue aircrewman in HC-130Bs. And speaking of flying;
- I always fly the stars and stripes on the appropriate holidays (e.g., Veterans’ Day, Fourth of July, and so on).
- Currently, only one other person on my street does that.
- I read the newspaper every day.
- Currently, no one else on my street does that (at least not a paper version, judging from my view of their driveways in the morning).
- I was born and raised in Buchanan, Michigan, but have resided in Jacksonville, Florida, for about forty years (read: “southern-fried Yankee”).
- I really like southern-fried chicken.
- I like the ocean, too. It’s only about fifteen minutes from here by Jeep; ten minutes by crow.
- I drive a Jeep Grand Cherokee.
- I have a bird feeder in the back yard; and
- I have virgin woods beyond that. Therefore;
- The daily animal activity in my backyard is reminiscent of the dressing scene from Disney’s Cinderella movie: birds, squirrels, opossums, raccoons, feral cats–you name it.
- Â As you read my essays it will soon become apparent that I have no great command of the English language, particularly with regard to grammar. But, as John Prine is credited with saying, “I guess if you keep making the same mistakes long enough it becomes your style.”
So, once again, welcome to my website. As with any blog, feel free to scroll down to the bottom of each post and share your comments with me and my other readers–it’s nice to get feedback. And don’t forget to browse the various categories on the menu bar. Something for everybody. Including some music you are unlikely to find anywhere else. And for you returning visitors, the site now has a “search” option so you can find archived articles by subject instead of date. Thanks for stopping by.
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