Well, we’ve made it about halfway through 2026, and Norseman Creative is still going strong. I’ve managed to knock out 13 articles, with more on the way, even with the boatload of life changes over the past six months.
Jenny and I packed up our house in Hawai’i, lived in a hotel for a month, leaving Oahu after living there for almost four years. Jenny and I flew into Minneapolis to pick up my truck and drove to Kokomo, Indiana to stay with Jenny’s family for a week. After that, we drove up to Minnesota to visit my family and finally pack up the stuff I had stashed in my parent’s basement for almost a decade. We arrived in Cheyenne, Wyoming at the beginning of June.
As is our custom, we have already been exploring our surrounding area, with trips to Medicine Bow National Forest, Laramie and Casper, Wyoming, and down to Fort Collins and Denver, Colorado.
It feels great to be back in the Mountain West. The air might be thin, but it isn’t hot and humid so I haven’t been sweating my D & B’s off like I was in Hawai’i. Additionally, we have seen a ton of critters, including Turkeys, Pronghorn Antelope, Mule Deer, Prairie Dogs, and a Moose!
On our way out of Hawai’i, Jenny and I spent a weekend in a beach cabin, and attended a screening of Jack Johnson’s new movie, SURFILMUSIC, followed by a concert. If you are familiar with Jack Johnson’s music, you would imagine a concert filled with songs like Banana Pancakes, Better Together, or If I Had Eyes would be a rather subdued affair. Perhaps you imagine a quiet beach amphitheater where the crowd just bobs along to the music and claps politely.
You would be very wrong. Hawai’i comes out for their own, and Jenny and I found ourselves inside a packed Blaisdell Auditorium among some rowdy locals. The crowd was hooting and hollering and chee-hooing the entire time. The movie was good and the concert was awesome. Jenny and I both left the event with an elevated opinion of Mr. Johnson. If you get the opportunity, I highly recommend trying to snag a ticket for a screening. Unless you go to Oahu, I doubt it will be as rowdy as ours.
We loved our time in Hawai’i, and I was fortunate enough to be the guest speaker at AFROTC Det 175’s Class of 2026 commissioning ceremony. The class of 2026 were little baby freshmen when I started at the detachment, and now they are little baby Lieutenants! Being asked to return to speak again was an honor, and I wish the new Lieutenants all the best as they head into Active Duty over the coming months.
Unfortunately, the move from Hawai’i to Wyoming has not been exactly smooth, and I haven’t gotten as much done on my next novel as I would like. Writing came to a screeching halt around the time our belongings were packed up and shipped to the mainland, but I assure you I will resume once I get my desk, chair, and motivation back.
The Norseman Creative Shop remains closed until the inventory makes its way to us. I do have the supplies for Reverse Fan Mail, even though nobody seems to think it is as funny as I do.
So many more articles coming your way. I have big plans, and the mountains provide ample inspiration. It’s just a matter of getting them out of my head and onto paper.