Category: Life Stories

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#103 – My Pride & Joy…

RJ Walters

When I retired at the age of 54 after thirty years in a corporate world and moved back to Indiana, I was considering two options. To get another IT job at a college in the area, or opening up my own business in making custom furniture. I chose the second option, and I’m glad I did. Woodworking had been a life-long passion, but I never thought it as a business. Up until then, I had several woodworking shops. One I even had custom built on the back of the garage. It was my dream shop for the two years I … Continue reading #103 – My Pride & Joy…

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#85 – Sam

RJ Walters

I have had pets for most of my life, but my first personal pet was Sam. Before that, they were always family pets. I got Sam as a puppy in October 1972. When I graduated from college in June 1970, I got an apartment about 5 miles from where I worked. It was the first time I had ever lived alone. The first two years I enjoyed the solitude, but within a couple of years I started getting lonely. It was time for a pet. I really don’t know why I chose a dachshund who was the biggest in the … Continue reading #85 – Sam

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#31 – One Of My Hobbies…

RJ Walters

I’m not much of a collector of things, but one thing I have collected are model cars, particularly the metal kind of the 1/32 scale from the 1960s. They currently occupy the bottom three shelves in my six-shelf curio cabinet. Being a teenager in the 1960s, I was intimately familiar with most of the cars of that era. My first new car, or any car for that matter, was a 1970 was a Mustang Fastback. I wore it out by 1973. Three years was the typical lifespan of cars during that period of time. Then came the 1980s and all … Continue reading #31 – One Of My Hobbies…

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#97 – The Adventures Of Youth… Colorado Mountain Top

RJ Walters

I was a 30-year-old single guy when I took this adventure. It was on a mountain top in southwestern Colorado, although I don’t remember exactly where now. I spent the year before outfitting my recently purchased Chevy van as a camper. My freshly minted roommate and I left Indiana one morning and were at the 10,000 ft elevation twenty-four hours later. That same day, we hiked to the 12,000 level where this picture was taken. Even in my youth I discovered that doing that so quickly was not a smart thing to do. We camped out that night and were … Continue reading #97 – The Adventures Of Youth… Colorado Mountain Top

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#96 – A Nation of Immigrants

RJ Walters

I have several times in my life, had an “Inspiring/Life Changing” moment, where a solution to a problem that has plagued me seemingly forever suddenly becomes obvious. When that happens, I often look back at that time from the mosaic above. The picture was taken on January 29, 1999. Some of you who know the area probably recognize that it was taken from NYC Battery Park, looking over to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island in the distance. Being a U.S. history nut, I have always been inspired by these two places and the number of immigrants who saw … Continue reading #96 – A Nation of Immigrants

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#100 Turning Back The Odometer… And Other Such Things

RJ Walters

(An Artsyfiied picture of RJ – wrinkles and gray hair what there is of it) Some people try to turn back their odometers. Not me, I want people to know “why” I look this way. I’ve traveled a long way and some of the roads weren’t paved. ― Will Rogers I recently saw an image of Cher, and it was obvious that she has had dozens of plastic surgeries. She is five months older than I am, but she refuses to show her age. As this quote from Will Rogers says above, NOT ME. I want people to know I am … Continue reading #100 Turning Back The Odometer… And Other Such Things

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My Blue-Collar Dad… 1950s – 60s

RJ Walters

May 16, 2017 – For some reason I am thinking of Dad today, so I thought I would pen some thoughts about him here. The first job I remember Dad having was working in a small sand casting shop making those little post office doors you still see in your local post office. I’m sure he made thousands and thousands of them. They were made of brass and as a result, he regularly got what he called “brass chills”. That is when he was over exposed to all the brass fumes coming off the melting material. His “chills were frightening to … Continue reading My Blue-Collar Dad… 1950s – 60s

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#45 The Fishing Years 1975 – 1985

RJ Walters

I graduated from college in 1970 and for the next 16 years I led a bachelor’s life. A good part of that time was dedicated to my fishing years with the rig above. I built a custom interior in the van for sleeping and hauling all the junk required. The 1976 Chevy van was my third new vehicle I had purchased. I traded in a 1973 Chevy Laguna, which replaced my 1970 Mustang. Yeah, in those years you pretty much wore out a vehicle in three years. Getting to my fishing years, eight months a year I was on lakes … Continue reading #45 The Fishing Years 1975 – 1985

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#41 Oriental Poppy?

RJ Walters

I think the flower above is an Oriental Poppy, but if I am wrong, please let me know. But, this flower was the cause of one of my most serious fights with my wife in our 35 years of marriage. It came in 2003 and totally surprised me. We were in our homestead three years, and I decided to help my wife with some weeding of her flower beds. Before I go any further, I need to tell you that my wife was a SERIOUS flower gardener. Back to the story. When I saw some thistles growing in her beds, … Continue reading #41 Oriental Poppy?

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#71 – Guadalajara Grill – Tap & Pop

RJ Walters

During my time in the business world, I made several trips to Guadalajara, Mexico, otherwise known as GDL. I’m sure I will have several other mosaics about those times, but for this one it is about the Guadalajara Grill and how I got “popped” there. If you want to go to THE “party” place in GDL, this is it. I can’t remember how many times I have been there. Every time we had a “new” person join us on the trip, we always took them to the GDL Grill. One of the traditions is to get the “Special” appetizer platter … Continue reading #71 – Guadalajara Grill – Tap & Pop

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#68 – Name Changes…

RJ Walters

I know the title of this post title is kinda cryptic. It is a story about how I have changed my name over the years, to match where I am in my life. It’s strange to me that something we have to carry with us throughout our lives, we have no control over. I am ⅛ Native American, and I kinda like the idea that they don’t name their children until some particular characteristic exhibits itself. I asked my mother why she named me “Rodney Joe”, and she being a pretty extreme narcissist, admitted that she didn’t give it much … Continue reading #68 – Name Changes…

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#26 – My First Hutch…

RJ Walters

I spent from 1970 to 2000 in the corporate world. During almost all that time, I was also a woodworker. I inherited that trait from my father. Dad mostly specialized in grandfather clocks. I went another route. I was tuned into country furniture, including Hoosier Cabinets (shown below). I was especially proud of my first serious attempt at making a country hutch as shown above. When I retired from the corporate world, I was determined to try my hand at being a sole-proprietor making country furniture. I somewhat successfully did that for six years. Here are some random pictures of … Continue reading #26 – My First Hutch…

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#49 – Story About “On The Mountain”

RJ Walters

In looking at my first twenty posts here at RJsMosaic, I see it is about time for another story. I do love telling stories, so here goes. To get a full 30-year pension, I moved to New Jersey in 1996 as that was then where my job was going. When I hit my 30 years in 2000, we moved back to Indiana and bought an 80-year-old farmhouse on nearly 3 acres of land. Most importantly, it had a 24 x 48 ft barn that allowed me to start my own furniture making business. I was only 54 at the time, so … Continue reading #49 – Story About “On The Mountain”

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#46 – The Story of Firsts…

RJ Walters

All of us have plenty of firsts in our lives. It starts out with probably the first time you wet your diaper, and ends with the first (and only) time you will meet your maker. I’m sure I will have many posts here at RJsMosaics about firsts, but I want to use this one to tell you about the year I most likely had more firsts than any other. That year was 1970. Let’s get to it… I know this is a pretty crude image above, but it is about the only photo I have of my very first car. It … Continue reading #46 – The Story of Firsts…

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#25 – My First Out-Of-State Adventure – 1953

RJ Walters

I can still remember in 1953, when I was very young, taking a family vacation out west. It would be a couple of years later that Mom decided to abandon the family for greener pastures. Greener, meaning more money. Anyway, back to the story. I remember our first major stop was the Mitchell Corn Palace in South Dakota. This was the first time I had ever been out of Indiana, so everything seemed strange and exciting. I couldn’t imagine a building made from corn. One of the things that surprised me were the sides of many of the barns was the image as shown … Continue reading #25 – My First Out-Of-State Adventure – 1953