Das nails my life with those words, because although I’ve tried countless times to just stay in one place and sink deep roots, it hasn’t happened. My roots are in Texas, so that will always be the one place to which I return for extended breaks between trips. My three years in Washington, D.C. were like being a kid in a candy store because I could travel the world and taste and experience cultures from all around the globe without having to leave homebase. The train ride from D.C. to Mississippi was exhilarating because I got to see parts of America that most people never see as the train steadily ran down the tracks through small towns long forgotten. Those are the things I live for more than anything else.

In less than a week I’ll be back on the road in my Silver Bullet jamming out to Alabama Shakes or the Indigo Girls or even George Strait and Pat Green and being back in my happy place as I head to one known destination and possibly another. I might be gone for a week; I might be gone for two. I don’t know and it doesn’t really matter because I have the freedom to travel to and fro as I merrily go. For me locations are like seasons. I stay until it’s time for a change, and some seasons last longer than others. Phoenix lasted all of 10 months, so it’s the shortest. Georgia was six years, so it’s the longest. Everywhere else has fallen somewhere in between, and with the exception of D.C. I was ready to leave them when I did. It’s not enough to travel somewhere and stay a week or even a month; I firmly believe that you have to give a place a year to really get a solid feel for it. My year in Hutchinson is almost up, and yes, I have an extremely good feel for it. It’s been the year that I needed, but it’s been like taking that nasty tasting cough syrup that was forced down my throat when I was a kid.

My life is on the road, and Project 1180 allows me to do just that. Be on the road doing what I love for at least one week out of each month if not 10 days or two weeks once it gets up and running. Plus, it’s working for someone who I trust with my life with no questions asked. Not many people can say that about their bosses. The next five weeks are going to be good practice for what is to come hopefully by the end of the year as I won’t be home much. Just long enough to get my mail, wash my clothes, and then hit the road again.

Sometime next week I’ll be making a formal announcement about a major change that’s coming to my Substack channel as everything changes. When I started this platform, I had no clue what I was doing with it or what I really wanted to do with it. I’ve learned over the last four months and I continue learning. The lessons from this channel will carry over to Project 1180’s Substack channel that I expect to have up and running by Nov. 1.

Until then I’m getting ready to hit the road again, and the road is where I belong.

The 2027 budget isn’t perfect, but then again, I have yet to see a budget for any government organization that I would call perfect. The council has conducted a couple of budget study sessions over the summer, and those sessions were the time for public input. Tonight isn’t the time to ask the council to completely redo the city’s budget. There are things that I don’t like about the city’s proposed 2027 budget, but they aren’t dealbreakers; they’re simply things that I hope the council either doesn’t fund or significantly reduces the funding for in the city’s 2028 budget. I also agree that a publicly published line-by-line budget would be a great tool for increased transparency when it comes to future budget discussions. Unlike the U.S. Congress, which can keep passing temporary funding measures until the cows come home, the Hutchinson City Council has to pass its budget by Sept. 20. It’s this thing called the law, and unlike some other organizations in this wonderful little city on the Plains, the city of Hutchinson does a pretty damn good job of following the law. It’s not under investigation by the Kansas State Attorney General’s Office, is it?

Next year is an election year for part of the council, so if you don’t like the city’s 2027 budget, then either run for council next year or find someone you like to run for council next year. Contrary to what Jason Probst is putting out there, tonight is not the time to turn yet another city council meeting into a circus bitching about the budget, when you had ample opportunity to make your voice heard long before tonight. Probst is just putting on yet another show like he did when the Hutch Rec issue came up earlier this year in hopes that you’ll vote for him in the November election, when the only choice is Kyler Sweely. Unlike Probst, Sweely has these things called decency, honesty and integrity, and Sweely was actually willing to give his life for this country during his stint in the Army. Probst is just attempting to put on yet another show that this city doesn’t need tonight.

If you have concerns about the budget, call or email any one of the council members and put it in writing. That way both you and the council member have a paper trail to follow, and the council member can do their research and provide you a well-informed answer. Just please don’t turn tonight’s city council meeting into another episode of the Jason Springer Show; there’s been enough of those already this year.

I believe it was my first Memorial Day at Fort Lewis, Wash., and I was assigned to the S-3 Shop for the 1st Battalion, 24th Infantry Regiment under the great leadership of Lt. Darrel D. Schoening. I was his driver/p.r. person as well, which only adds to this story. Two of my best friends where in the anti-tank platoon, Donnie and Abe. We were like the three amigos as they lived just down the hall from me in the barracks. Donnie was from Louisiana and Abe was Minnesota, and I was the lone Texan in the group. After duty hours, you could inevitably count on seeing the three of us hanging out.

Since it was Memorial Day weekend, all of us were strapped for cash but we wanted to go out and do something that weekend. Being the Infantrymen that we all were, we made the collective decision to round up as much alcohol as we could find and rope Wallis into coming with us since he had some booze. Seagram’s 7 brings back those memories because we had more of that than anything else that evening. Abe and Donnie decided it would be great to go out to the Nisqually River and hang out at the cliffs overlooking the river and get drunk, so Abe and Donnie got in the cab of Donnie’s Toyota Tacoma pickup truck and Wallis and I got in the bed of the truck. As we were driving past the Ranger regiment barracks, I noticed that a couple of hogs who had hit on us at the club the week before were driving behind us. I sounded the alarm and told Donnie to drive faster, so we could lose them. When that wasn’t working, I decided to take action myself. I stood up in the bed of the truck, turned around, dropped my shorts, bent over and mooned them as Donnie continued speeding up to lose them. Apparently, the shiny white moon blinded them enough to where they decided to stop following us, and everyone in the truck congratulated me on a mission accomplished.

The first hour at the cliffs was great until Wallis and I, who were sitting on the tailgate drinking looked around and couldn’t find Abe or Donnie. We yelled for them but got no response. We looked all over but couldn’t find them. Then we went to the edge of the cliff and looked down and there they were. One hundred and twenty feet below us. Not moving. I tried to find a way down to them but quickly realized there wasn’t one. That left us only one real option. Pray that the keys were in the truck and get in it and drive down the road to find help. Sobriety comes real quick in a situation like that, so I got behind the wheel and turned onto the road with the truck’s flashers on praying someone would show up quickly. Try driving a stick when you’re barely sober. My prayers were answered as within five minutes a car came down the road and stopped. Wallis and I told the driver what had happened and the driver called 911, which set into motion an air MEDEVAC and landed Wallis and I in the Criminal Investigation Division’s interrogation rooms.

We both told the investigators the entire story about how we just went out to the cliffs to get drunk and have a good time and that neither Wallis or I had seen Abe or Donnie fall off the cliffs. It was around 7 the next morning that we were delivered back to the barracks where Lt. Col. Schoening arrived and asked us what happened. We told him, and he and our company commander agreed that it was an unfortunate accident. We were also told that we couldn’t go to the hospital to check on Abe or Donnie until the investigation was completed. We did anyway. The rumors on post ran from it being a gay lovers’ spat to four guys being drunk and stupid. We were the posterchildren for post safety until someone screwed up and took that position from us.

Abe ended up with two broken wrists and a bunch of bumps and bruises because he used his airborne training to break his fall the right way. Donnie ended up with a traumatic brain injury, some broken ribs, a skull fracture and a few other injuries. Afterwards Donnie wasn’t right, but Abe was good minus his busted wrists. Two months later we all went out to Missoula and Bozeman, Montana for a week, but that’s another story for another time. It’s far more epic than this one, but I’ll wait to share it.

At times Goss has made meaningful contributions to council discussions on issues and raised questions that other council members should have been asking themselves. When she’s on top of things, she’s an important voice on the council as she brings a perspective that the other council members don’t, and that’s what the council and the city need. But since late February, her contributions haven’t appeared meaningful or constructive, but rather theatrics targeting a specific audience.

A governing body shouldn’t be a unified collective of rubber stamps all the time, and constructive discussion of differing opinions that eventually leads to a compromise solution where there’s give and take on both sides or three sides or even five sides is reached. But lately Goss’ contributions haven’t been all that constructive, and she hasn’t shown much inclination to work towards a mutually agreeable solution. It’s clear to everyone that her fellow council members have grown so tired and weary of her theatrics that their first inclination is to tune her out and move forward with things without listening to what she has to say, which means that they are missing out on the sporadic occasions when she actually makes a meaningful contribution. That’s a shame, but it’s understandable from the perspective of her other council members. Maybe she’s gotten tired of them and feels like she’s isolated on the council? Either way something needs to change.

As a public official there are written and unspoken rules of behavior and decorum that you are expected to follow at all times, even when things get contentious and heated. Apologies are sometimes necessary when those rules are broken, because even public officials are human and they do slip up and make mistakes. Every Hutchinson city council member needs to keep that in mind, especially going into Tuesday’s council meeting to approve the city’s 2027 budget. The residents of Hutchinson deserve better, and I know that the entire council can do better. I’d love to see it happen starting Tuesday evening.

One of the best parts of my three years in D.C. happened during the six months of team building that my office undertook as part of its reorganization. I had done the Myers-Briggs personality test so many times that I could do it in my sleep, but the Clifton Strengths Assessment was completely new to me. I thought I knew what my strengths were, but the Clifton assessment was a real eyeopener.

I firmly believe that a person is at their absolute best when they’re actively involved in things that play to their strengths, but in order to do that they have to know what their strengths are.

My top 10 Clifton Strengths are as follows:

• Achiever.

• Restorative.

• Developer.

• Adaptability.

• Arranger.

• Learner.

• Positivity.

• Self-Assurance.

• Connectedness.

• Input.

Of those 10, I definitely see where I am leaning more on my adaptability, positivity, and self-assurance strengths in my Freedom Era. Those three are the keys to me learning how to embrace the freedom I have now. Initially, the lack of having a daily mission and set schedule wasn’t comfortable because I’ve always loved a challenge and being the hardest worker everywhere I’ve been. But I needed real rest and real reset, which is what the last four months have been.

With Project 1180 continuing to get closer and closer to becoming an actual reality, I am having to do my due diligence on a number of fronts to ensure that I am completely ready to hit the ground running hard when it does. Project 1180 is exciting and I can’t wait to help it take off and soar. Plus, it pays well, but honestly, it’s something that I would literally do for free.

In the meantime, I’m still enjoying my Freedom Era and leaning on my strengths.

Mayor Meggers has never been on a trip with Hutch Rec Executive Director Tony Finlay. He called me this afternoon and informed of that, and I told him that I would make a public correction. It’s the right thing to do, and I apologize to Mayor Meggers for getting it wrong.

Mayor Meggers also assured me that if he finds anything wrong in the Hutch Rec or any other situation that he will do the right thing. I take him at his word because he’s always been straight with me, and I know he takes his responsibilities and role on the Hutchinson City Council seriously. He did right on the city’s sales tax increase, which was a true minefield if there ever was one, so I have full confidence that he’ll do the right thing regardless of the situation. My assessment yesterday wasn’t correct either, and I apologize for that as well.

He and I had a good conversation this afternoon, and I’m glad we did. I genuinely like Mayor Meggers, and I don’t envy him at all having to deal with everything he deals with in his role as mayor this while still trying to have a life outside of that role. If I could compare his duties as mayor to anything I’d compare it to herding cats in a thunderstorm and that wouldn’t be much fun.

I made a mistake, and I learned from it. Next time I’ll be reaching out to him asking for confirmation before I go public with anything that I’m not absolutely 100-percent sure of, and even then, I’m probably going to check just to be sure.

Transparency is an integral and necessary part of government on all levels. Transparency isn’t recusal, but it might be as close as it gets in order to keep governing bodies able to conduct business. Sometimes perfect is the enemy of good, and if a governing body is incapable of conducting its business because of justified recusals by its members, then no one wins; so complete transparency is the next best thing. That’s one of the challenges with small towns and small governing bodies. Everyone is connected; everyone knows everyone on at least the superficial level; and conflicts of interest aren’t hard to find.

The best anyone can reasonably hope for is that elected officials will be completely upfront and transparent about their relationships that could be viewed as potential conflicts of interest and ask their fellow members to vote on whether or not they should recuse themselves. At least that way, there’s a public vote on it, and voters can hold their councilmembers or commissioners accountable for those votes. In the Hutchinson City Council’s case, the council should have votes on individual councilmembers when conflicts of interest arise such as the case with Hutch Rec. Let the four other councilmembers vote, and if the vote ends in a tie, then let the councilmember in question cast the deciding vote. That would be a public integrity check that would go a long way to either destroying or fostering public faith in the integrity of that individual councilmember. It’s not a perfect solution, but it’s better than the status quo.

Those are just my thoughts as a recovering reporter who’s covered multiple city councils over the last 20-plus years. A seven-person council would be better than a five-person council, but that juice probably wouldn’t be worth the squeeze. Transparency in government matters, and voting on recusals would be a giant step in that direction.

I know that I’ve been quite critical of things here in Hutchinson, Kansas lately, and it’s all been justified. But I also believe that when you criticize someone or something you should find something to compliment about them or it as well, so here goes.

There are some truly great people and organizations in Hutchinson, Kansas that I will forever hold near and dear to my heart. They are the people and organizations who have made this transitional period memorable in positive ways.

The Hutchinson Fire Department. I can’t say enough about how well run and great Hutch Fire is from the top down. Former Chief Beer and current Chief Unruh are two of the absolute best in the business. I highly doubt that I will ever come across two better fire chiefs for the rest of my life. The entire department was nothing short of amazing during my all too brief tenure with The Hutchinson Tribune, and even in my retirement they have become my second family. Chief Unruh, much love and if anyone in your department and their families need help with cover letters, resumes, school papers or anything else just have them shoot me an email at emhouseeditor@gmail.com and I’ll get them squared away promptly.

The entire city of Hutchinson staff has been exemplary and a special shoutout to Mary, whose job is one that I don’t envy, but she does it extremely well. She’s the best city clerk I’ve ever seen. It’s been a real joy and privilege dropping off homemade cookies to city hall from time to time during my Freedom Era. Jessica, you’ve been great as well. Jason, you’re one of my brothers from another mother, and Cody, you’re a damn good city attorney and the city is lucky to have you. Cecil and the public works crew, y’all simply get it done and get it done well. Probably the best public works department in the U.S. No questions asked. Anyone I forgot to mention at city hall and on the city staff, my apologies for my memory lapse and I write this, but y’all all do outstanding jobs day in and day out and deserve far more credit and recognition that y’all receive. Anyone bitching about city services in Hutchinson has no clue how bad it is in other places, so they need to drink a big glass of Shut the Hell Up.

Hutchinson Community College is one of the finest community colleges in the nation, both academically and athletically. It starts with Dr. Paramore and filters its way down. Denny, you are perhaps the finest public affairs directors I’ve ever had the privilege of working with in my entire career, both as a journalist and civil servant. You made my life easy, and it’s greatly appreciated. Josh, you’re a better man than you are an athletic director and you’re a damn good athletic director. Hutchinson is blessed to have such an amazing educational and cultural asset especially in such a small town.

I could probably go on for 1000s and 1000s more words about the wonderful folks I’ve met in Hutchinson over the past 10 months, but I’ll stop right there for the sake of brevity. I need to save some writing energy for Project 1180 when it kicks off, and no, this isn’t good bye. (Sorry to disappoint some of y’all. LOL) It’s just me taking time to say thank you before I get too busy doing other things and forget to say it. Plus, it’s good to balance criticism with praise, and I think on that front, it’s mission accomplished.

Mayor Meggers did an outstanding job during the city’s sales tax increase vote as it passed when many believed it wouldn’t. He made sure there was transparency on the city’s part and clearly explained what would happen if the increase passed and what would happen if it didn’t. He had me believing but then the Hutch Rec fiasco, debacle, clusterfuck or whatever you choose to call it bubbled up from the depths of hell.

Yes, I handed him everything I received from the city as part of my public records request regarding the city and Hutch Rec, because I felt like I had a civic and moral obligation to ensure that he had as many documented facts as possible instead of relying on the he said/she said bullshit. I honestly thought he would do the right thing and see that city wasn’t in the wrong and that Hutch Rec clearly was and had been for a long, long time. BUT that didn’t happen.

At least he’s been upfront and honest about the fact that he’s gone on trips with Hutch Rec Executive Director Tony Finlay and plays golf with him, but there comes a time when you have to put friendships aside and do the right thing by the entire community. Right is right and wrong is wrong, and yes, you can show some grace and leniency towards your friends, but you still have to crack them like you would someone who isn’t your friend, golfing buddy or travel partner. That’s where I’m most disappointed in Mayor Meggers and other council members. They let their personal relationships get in the way of doing the right thing, but thankfully now the state attorney general’s office is investigating, so the truth will finally come out.

Maybe I’m wrong for expecting people not to be afraid to come out and say, “Yes, that’s my buddy, but he screwed up this time,” instead of making excuses for them or trying to pretend it never happened. When I screw up publicly, I hope my friends don’t put their heads in the sand and act like I didn’t. I’d much rather them say, “Charles is a good guy, but he’s wrong for what he did.” I’ve never claimed to be a saint or a choir boy and I’m not claiming to be one now. All I’m asking is that those in public office remember the oath of office they took and uphold it to its fullest even if it means getting cross with their family and friends. Public office isn’t easy, and it takes moral fortitude and a real thick skin to survive it for more than one term in office. If you can’t take the heat, please don’t enter the kitchen.

Fortunately, now the majority of the council seems to have developed a backbone that’s strong enough to allow it to do the hard right thing and make the unpopular decisions when they’re the right decisions. Sadly, Mayor Meggers isn’t in that group, and I had sincerely hoped he would be. People can and do change, so I’m still hopeful. I’m just a little more than disappointed at the moment.

No, he hasn’t said, “Get up you, son of a bitch, ‘cause Mickey loves ya,” but he emailed me recently saying, “Don’t let those bastards have space in your head,” which is close enough. Those words of wisdom were just what I needed to receive because sometimes I let people and things have headspace that they don’t deserve. The fighter in me wants to throw a punch or two and bloody a nose or three, but the reality is that I’d be much better off completely ignoring it and putting my selective hearing to good use. This is my Freedom Era after all, and I’m free to do as I please in every aspect of my life. That includes ignoring the nonsense and staying focused on the things that bring me peace.

My Mickey entered my life unexpectedly a couple of months before my Freedom Era began, and he’s one of those people with whom the connection and bond were instantaneous and strong. Our first meeting lasted close to two hours, and it could have lasted much longer, because it was two old dogs talking shop and reminiscing about how things were back in the day. Since then, we’ve continued building a brotherly bond and I appreciate his feedback on these Substack posts and nuggets of wisdom that he so freely gives. I’m looking forward to my first trip out to his place in about five or six weeks so we can have our first beer together. He’s one person who knows how to say things in a way that immediately register with me and I respect him so much that I soak it all in and listen.

Everyone needs their own Mickey or Mickie, if you’re a lady, in their lives because sometimes we can’t see the forest for the trees and we need the wisdom and insight of someone who’s seen a little more than we have. We need that person who cares enough to give it to us straight and who we respect enough to take it that way. I’m glad I’ve got mine, especially in this my Freedom Era.

Yes, Mick, I know I have heart, but I promise to do my best to quit fighting like a goddamn ape. This one’s for you, Mick!

With technology rapidly evolving the data center of today definitely won’t be the data center of tomorrow, and data centers come in all shapes, sizes, and configurations, which makes it ludicrous to make a blanket statement about being completely for them or against them. I’m not drinking the Kool-Aid being served up by either side of the data center issue nor should you.

What you should do is ask tons of questions about all the nitty gritty details about any possible data center project. The devil is in the details, and the details make a HUGE difference. Let’s take them point by point.

1. Location: Data centers don’t belong in residential areas. Period. Industrial zoning areas are the perfect location for data centers as are brown sites that can’t be used for any other purpose. They should also be on the outskirts of cities but not out in the middle of agricultural areas. They should also be located as close to high-voltage transmissions lines as possible.

2. Paying for infrastructure: Data centers should pay for at least 50 percent of the infrastructure improvements required for their function. This includes roads, water, sewer, electrical and other infrastructure required for their function. In ideal world, data centers would pay for the entirety of the infrastructure costs but since residential developers currently don’t have to pay for the entirety of the infrastructure for residential developments, it wouldn’t be fair to make data center developers do so either.

3. Utilizing green energy: With solar panels becoming more and more efficient by the day, at a minimum data centers should be required to install rooftop solar panels, and where feasible they should be required to install standalone solar panels. A minimum battery storage capacity of four hours should also be required to help reduce the strain on the overall electrical grid. Solar panels won’t provide all the power needed to run a data center, but they will have a positive impact.

4. Water usage: Mandate that data centers use the most water-efficient technologies possible including, but not limited to, closed loop systems. Data centers should be required to recycle as much of their water as possible, and use rainwater collection systems like pervious parking lots and rain barrels to their maximum feasible usage. I helped install a pervious parking lot in Kitsap County, Washington about 20 years, so I know that they work. If they can reduce the amount of water used for irrigation at fairgrounds complex, they can definitely reduce the amount of water used for a data center.

5. Tax breaks and tax credits: Data centers don’t produce a ton of jobs after they’re built because they don’t need a ton of employees to operate them. Tax credits for jobs created during the construction phase are fine, but once construction is complete, those should go away. Tax breaks should only be given for an initial five-year period with annual reviews of those tax breaks for the following five years. Those reviews should be focused on the number of follow-on jobs created by companies deciding to locate close to the data center and the amount of sales tax revenue generated by the data center’s purchases of goods including electricity and other things required to keep the data center functioning.

Those are my thoughts on data centers. I’m not completely for them or against them. I do believe they can work if done right, and that’s a big IF.

Yesterday a representative from Bicycle Comics messaged me on LinkedIn regarding a project I did last year sharing the stories of USDA employees, who like me were forced out of our careers and into the great abyss by the current administration. It’s not that I will ever forget about that project, but life has been a little busy as of late.

When I embarked on the project last June, I was warned by more than a few people that doing so was basically career suicide, but I believed then and I still believe today that those stories need to be told including my own. Periodically I will be sharing that anthology of stories just to serve as a reminder of what really happened during DOGE. It wasn’t about efficiency or improving government because no one asked any of us what we would do to make things more efficient and improve government. They just coerced us into leaving by whatever means necessary, and cruelty was the preferred weapon of choice. USDA is in shambles under Secretary Rollins because she doesn’t have a clue about American agriculture, and it shows. She’s one of the coldest, cruelest individuals I’ve ever encountered, and she took what once a proud workforce and dismantled it in record time.

The damage her actions continue having on the lives of many of my USDA colleagues and their families is beyond comprehension and description. Each of us deserved better than what we received at the unexpected ends of our careers, and there’s always going to be a part of us that wonders if we did the right thing taking the Deferred Resignation Program and that is going to be angry at the way it all ended. Life can and does go on, however; and most of us are doing our best to daily put the past behind us and move forward with our lives. I’m one of the lucky ones because I am enjoying my Freedom Era. Most of my former colleagues aren’t, and they’re the ones I keep doing my best to help in any way I can until they’re back on their feet again.

I stood up to administration in D.C. knowing the cost, and I have no regrets about how I’ve publicly spoken out about the things in D.C. I believe that when historians look back on Rollins’ tenure as Secretary of Agriculture, they will call it USDA’s darkest hour. Maybe historians will come across the anthology and include it in one of the many books that will be written about this tragic time. I can’t begin to tell you how many tragic stories I’ve listened to and just offered whatever assistance I could to people who are genuinely hurting. Each free resume edit and review I’ve done over the last 18 months has been an honor and a privilege because at least I’ve been able to offer more than thoughts and prayers to those in need. People need more than thoughts and prayers in times of need, and if you can do more, you should do more. That’s been part of my resistance against the current administration: helping former USDA employees land on their feet.

Aaron Tippin sings about how “you’ve got to stand for something or you’ll fall for anything. You’ve got to be your own man, not a puppet on string.” I’ve done that my whole life and even more so since being forced into early retirement. It hasn’t always been easy, and yes, it’s come at a cost; but it’s been worth it.

Life is too short not to live it to its fullest, and that’s one of the biggest lessons I’ve learned in my Freedom Era. Every man is born and every man dies, but not every man lives. I’m going to keep on living even if it means eating beans and rice and living in a tin shack on the outskirts of some nowhere town.

Dear Nosey Neds and Nancies,

Most times I’d be flattered and honored that people were checking up on me via a third parties, but this time I’m not. You read my Substack, so you know where I was, isn’t that enough to satisfy your curiosity? I find it amusing that you had the time to make a call or send that message that you knew I would be informed about just to ask a stupid question and get a stupid answer. I guess there’s nothing to do in Hutchinson, Kansas except keep tabs on the outsider from Washington, D.C., which is hilarious. The answer is that I am fully enjoying my Freedom Era and a trip to Chicago has been one of the highlights so far. I hope that answers your question and any other questions you have about what I’m doing these days.

I owe you and your flunkies a HUGE token of gratitude because without y’all I’m not in my Freedom Era. Y’all helped set me free and caused me to take the leap of faith that I should have taken when I retired from federal civil service last September. THANK YOU! Now I don’t have to worry about anything other than helping people in ways that I choose to help them and living my best life on my terms. I couldn’t have done that without y’all, so THANK YOU once again. Now I can say what I think with no filter and if I wake up tomorrow and decided that I want to take a trip to St. Louis or Appleton, Wisconsin, I can do it without having to ask for time off from work or having to let anyone know where I’m going or when I’ll be back. If I want to sit at home and drink bourbon on the rocks all day in my boxer briefs and a white T-shirt while watching Jerry Springer and the Maury Show reruns all day yelling, “You are NOT the father,” I can do that, too. That’s the kind of freedom you can’t put a price tag on. I’m enjoying every single moment of it.

I have lived all across this great nation of ours, and I have seen firsthand how the different pieces of this great American quilt do things on the local and state levels. I haven’t just visited; I have lived on the West Coast and the East Coast, in the Deep South, and parts in between. I see things differently than y’all do because I have a wider and deeper perspective than most people do. The Pacific Northwest is extremely focused on environmental protections and regulations as is most of the West Coast. The desert Southwest is hotter than hell all year and water is going to be the most pressing issue that region faces. The Deep South hasn’t changed much in its rural areas as Jim Crow is alive and well, but there are places like Birmingham and Atlanta where things are moving forward. New Orleans is just NOLA, and yes, it’s got its share of corrupt politicos and Jim Bobs, but it’s still a fun place to be until a hurricane rolls through town. The DMV (D.C., Maryland, Virginia and not the Department of Motor Vehicles) is a true melting pot of different cultures and points of view, but outside of the extremists on both sides, it’s a beautiful place to be. Most of y’all believe that the world revolves you and that you know better than anyone else. But the rest of us know better than that. In fact, we welcome different perspectives and ideas because we know that there’s a great big world outside of Hutchinson and Reno County that has a lot to offer. Some people have made it big in the outside world and then decided to return home to Hutchinson and Reno County, and y’all do your best to ostracize and silence them when they disagree with you. I won’t be silenced.

I’ve been around nosey busybodies before, but y’all have completely taken the cake. In fact, ya’ll bought the entire bakery. It’s more akin to living in East Germany or Russia than it is a small town from my perspective, so thanks for the love, comrades! Most of y’all including your ringleader haven’t had more than 15 minutes of conversation with me since I hit town last October, so tell me why you’re so interested in my business? Doesn’t one of y’all have a campaign for elected office that they should be worrying about more than what I’m doing? I mean, “Come on, man!” I hope you get smoked like you did two years ago except by a much larger margin come November. Devote your time and energy to making Hutchinson a better place to live for everyone and not just your aging high school clique instead of worrying about anything that I’m doing. I realize that’s a monumental ask for y’all, but I had to ask it anyway. Everyone would be better off if you did, but I’ll keep enjoying my loaded Coke and popcorn until then.

Thanks for being a free subscriber to my Substack, and I promise that I’ll do my best to satisfy your unquenchable curiosity about exactly what I’m doing in my Freedom Era. If you see me around town, I’m very approachable and I don’t tend to bite. I just don’t waste much of my time on banality or stupidity, so please keep that in mind when you do. We can agree to disagree and leave it there because that’s what adults do. I just highly doubt that there’s an actual adult in the whole mess of y’all. Maybe that’s why you’re so dead set on keeping tabs on me. Either way I don’t care, but I just wanted y’all to know that I am aware of your surveillance efforts and thank you for caring. I’ll be sure to leave a box of Kleenex on my front door if you need something to dry your tears after reading my latest Substack post. I might even leave some Johnson and Johnson baby shampoo since its jingle is all about “No more tears.” It will be the actual real Kleenex box and not the Walmart brand, because I can actually afford that minor expense.

Best wishes,

Your favorite Chuckie doll

Hotel Felix and the Magnificent Mile

Staying at the Hotel Felix was an excellent decision on my part, because it’s located on Huron Avenue in the heart of the Magnificent Mile. It’s also just two blocks from the Chicago Red Line station, so it’s easy to get all across the city using the CTA trains. The staff was friendly, and the rooms were small but comfortable. Plus, there are tons of restaurants and other great venues within walking distance. I strongly recommend dropping by The Kerryman for a taste of what a real Irish pub is. I didn’t eat a bad meal the entire time I was in Chicago, and I’ll definitely be staying at Hotel Felix again. Just be aware that it’s about an hour on the CTA from O’Hare, but it beats renting a car or taking a Lyft or Uber from a financial standpoint. A $15, 3-day CTA pass is all you need to get around Chicago.

Wrigley Field and Wrigleyville rock

Section 232, Row 5, Seat 10 at Wrigley Field offers a great view of the Cubs playing, and the price was far less than I expected. It was a win for me even though the Cubs lost Wednesday afternoon. The $40 Wrigley Field tour is worth every penny, so if you ever have chance to take it, you’d better do it. As a lifelong baseball fan, attending a game at Wrigley Field was one of those things that was on my wish list, but I never thought I’d have the opportunity to do it. Well, I did it, and next time I’m bringing my son because I want him to have the Wrigley Field experience. The whole neighborhood around Wrigley known as Wrigleyville is amazing and everyone was extremely friendly even White Sox fans. After the game the Red Line was packed leaving Wrigley, but it wasn’t any worse than the DC Metro during rush hour. Plus, my hotel was only three or four stops from Wrigley Field, so it was an easy trip back to my hood. Wrigley is a true piece of Americana, and even if you’re not a diehard baseball fan, it’s worth the visit.

The Navy Pier and the Green Door Tavern

No visit to Chicago is complete without a visit to the Navy Pier and the Green Door Tavern. The views from the pier are amazing and the walk from the pier to the Green Door offer you a chance to stroll through downtown Chicago and get a taste of all the great things that come with living and working in a major downtown area. I could spend at least two days in downtown Chicago and not get bored. The weather was perfect, and downtown Chicago is beautiful. The Green Door Tavern is one of those uniquely Chicago venues that has a great vibe with great drinks and the food is on point as well. I highly recommend both to anyone visiting Chicago.

I maybe country, but I love big cities

Maybe I shouldn’t have been as surprised at how comfortable I felt in Chicago compared to how I feel in Hutchinson, Kansas, but I was. Yes, I have small-town roots, and I have an appreciation for small-town living, but I feel more alive in big cities than I do small towns. Maybe that’s because of my three years living and working in Washington, D.C., where I excelled both personally and professionally. Not only did I earn eight performance bonuses in two years for my outstanding excellence on the professional level, I was also in the best physical and mental shape of my life during those three years in D.C. Those were my peak years on every level as I look back at them. Yes, I was running 100 mph and constantly locked into work mode, but I loved every second of it. I loved the diversity, the culture, the mindset, and the variety of things to do all within an hour or less on the Metro. Not that small towns don’t have their pros, but there’s something about big city life that just really works well with me. Plus, in D.C. I didn’t have anyone other than my executive director keeping tabs on me because I was her rock star and righthand man who she knew would have the answers when no one else did. In Hutchinson, I have people keeping tabs on me, which is hilarious, because I’m not working for anyone but myself. That’s a story for another time though.

I love my Freedom Era, and I am looking forward to seeing what’s next as I prepare to make more trips over the next few weeks: Texas, Mississippi, D.C. and Cincinnati before the middle of October. I might be in California and South Carolina before the end of October as well, but those trips haven’t been scheduled yet.

Chicago, you took a piece of my heart, so I’ll be back. Don’t know when, but I’m definitely coming back for a full week next time.

‘

CHICAGO- After two days of intense final preparations the Hutchinson Fire Department led by Fire Chief Jeremy Unruh received its second five-year accreditation from the Commission on Fire Accreditation International (CFAI) Thursday morning.

“It's great to have the feeling of that, that we're a premier department, and going into this process proves that,” Unruh said.

The accreditation is a five-year process that is data-driven and focuses on continuous improvement throughout all areas of the department, he said.

“It takes that time collecting that data and changing our methods and our ways of doing things to improve. It's the continuous improvement model is what we're following,” he said.

Hutch Fire is one of 356 fire departments that is accredited by the CFAI, and one of only 128 that has an ISO1 rating in addition to CFAI accreditation, he said.

“Absolutely I would say that we’re a premier department,” Unruh said.

For a long time, I thought there were things that I wasn’t doing right or things that I should have done differently. Correcting those perceived mistakes would have made things better for me and I’d be able to fit in better with those around me. The people who’ve lived in one place for more than a decade, the people who’ve been married for 20 years and have kids and are expecting grandkids, the people who’ve been at one job for their entire careers, the people who sunk roots and never wanted to live anywhere else and only traveled sporadically to different locales. That’s the societal expectation for the average person, but I’ve never been one to adhere to anyone’s expectations.

Yesterday morning I woke up with the concrete realization that my path is more like David Carradine in the TV show Kung Fu than it is anyone else’s. As I reflected back on the last 30 years, I was able to clearly see that I was where I was supposed to be for a specific reason and purpose and once that purpose was fulfilled, I moved on to the next destination of my journey. Ninety-nine percent of the time I go into a place knowing one reason for my presence there, and when it’s all said and done, I see where that one reason wasn’t even a tenth of the reason I was brought there, but it was the reason that got me there. Even on all of the trips I’ve taken to places I haven’t lived there have always been unseen purposes for my visits that I didn’t see when I planned the trip. It’s just simply how my life has been.

I’m heading to Chicago today because a good friend of mine asked me if I’d like to go to Chicago for a visit for a Substack post. That was reason enough for me to get a plane ticket, make a hotel reservation and go for it. Yet I know that there’s more to my visit to Chicago than a Substack post. What it is I don’t know yet, but I’m looking forward to experiencing it and embracing it for what it is. If I wasn’t in my Freedom Era, I wouldn’t be able to make the trip, and this one is the first of many I have planned over the next seven weeks. I’m looking forward to each of them.

One thing that I have learned along the way and especially over the last four months in working with my good friend, Nandi Edwards, is the importance of setting boundaries and asking myself the why when it comes to helping others. I’m not Jesus so it’s not my job to save the world, and I’m not a knight in shining armor who rides in and saves the day. (That’s Captain Save a Hoe, and those days are behind me.) I’m just a mere mortal who has to remember that unless I’m helping someone because it’s a calling and not a Prozac pill, then I probably don’t need to rush in and help. No is a complete sentence, and it’s perfectly fine to use it.

While I haven’t accumulated a ton of material possessions over the last 30 years, I have made more memories and gained more lifelong friends across the country than most people have, and to me, those are worth more than any accumulation of material possessions could ever be. Some people want to build mansions; I’d rather make memories. There’s more freedom in memories than mansions, and that’s why I’m thankful for the path I’m on.

Eventually I decided it was time to leave the D.C. area just to get away from all the visible reminders of what I had lost when the Trump administration took over. I lived, breathed, ate, and slept my job in D.C., and when I decided to retire under less than ideal circumstances, I lost my identity and sense of purpose. I was a man with nothing. Nothing but uncertainty and an unimaginable sense of loss, so I took the first ticket out of town and landed in Hutchinson, Kansas of all places. I arrived with hopes and dreams of being able to provide the local community with a real community newspaper like I had in Bremerton, Wash. before I began my federal civil service career, but those dreams quickly turned to nightmares as I was never given the flexibility and freedom to implement the things that had made me so successful in my prior newspaper career.

Thankfully, Project 1180 had finally become more than just a crazy idea to write a book for an Army buddy of mine and transformed into a budding way to do something positive for my fellow veterans. It’s still not up and running, but the groundwork has been laid enough to where I know that in a few months it’s going to take off and soar. I’ll be sharing more about in the coming weeks and it’s even going to have its own Substack channel, so stay tuned. In it I have found a renewed sense of purpose that has me reinvigorated and ready to get back to fulltime work. It’s also working with someone I know and trust completely, which is one of the things I said I had to have before I’d even think about returning to full-time work. That was one of the biggest lessons I’ve learned here in Hutchinson. Do your thorough research on your prospective employer before deciding whether or not to work for them. Fortunately for me, things worked out because I’ve been blessed financially to be able to sit back and pick and choose my next gig.

In the past four months I’ve been able to get back to helping out my friends and former federal employees across the country on a moment’s notice instead of having to fit them into my schedule. I’ve gone back to D.C. and kept my word to my bestie, Smoke, that I would be there when she graduated from the police academy. I’ve spent more time fishing with my Dad than I had in the previous three years. I’ve been able to fully speak my mind on local issues where I wasn’t able to do so before. I’ve had a hand in the creation of the Beans and Rice Mafia and strengthened existing relationships and bonds of brotherhood in the local community. I’ve been able to schedule trips, many of which are coming up in the next few weeks, without having to worry about asking for time off. I have learned where home is, and it isn’t where I imagined it is. I’ve discovered what it means to be free to be me and my authentic self again. So yeah, I guess my good friend was right Friday morning, things really have worked out for me.

When I was a federal employee, anyone who knew my pay grade could go online and find out exactly what my salary was in any given year. For the record I retired as GS-12, step 4 with Washington, D.C. locality pay, which put me at around $111,000 annually at the time of my retirement. If I had worked anywhere but D.C., my salary would have been adjusted lower to match the cost of living in that other location like Las Cruces, N.M. It sure would be great if all local governing bodies and nonprofits would do the same with their salaries because taxpayers have the right to know where their taxpayer dollars are going and nonprofits that receive taxpayer funding should have to do the same for the same reason. Tax dollars aren’t private individual donations, so the public has a right to know.

I agree that leaders of organizations deserve proper compensation for the jobs they do, and the larger the organization and the larger the scope of work done by the organization, the greater the salary should be. The leader of 10 employees shouldn’t make as much as the leader of 100 employees. Bottom line. Plus, if you’re working at nonprofit for financial gain, you’re doing it for the wrong reasons. I’m not saying your salary and benefits package shouldn’t be enough for you to live reasonably comfortably. I’m just saying that if your salary is in the top 10 percent of salaries in your area or that you make more than a leader managing 10 times as many employees, something is severely wrong with that. Your salary needs to be in line with the cost of living in your area, so if you’re in Wichita, you should make more than you do in Hutchinson and Reno County and not the other way around.

That’s just my two cents on the subject and two cents in Hutchinson and Reno County might be worth just half a cent in D.C., but those are my thoughts. In a time where people are asking for financial accountability from government, transparency is the first step in making it happen.

For people to say that I’m mad at my former employer and mad that I got swept up in the DOGE disaster in D.C. is pure and utter nonsense, because trust I’m not mad. I’m free and no one in their right mind would be mad about being able to enjoy the freedom that I do now. I just think that Hutchinson and Reno County have some vocal and visible dumbasses, and I’m not afraid to say so with examples of why I think their level of stupidity surpasses the level of freedom I now enjoy in my wonderful life. Every place I’ve lived has had its share, but per capita, Hutchinson and Reno County are near the top of my list.

Yes, I think Donald J. Trump is a walking talking dumpster fire of a President, and yes, I would have loved to have stayed in my wonderful job in D.C. for another 10 years before I retired. Eight performance bonuses in two years shows that I was pretty damn good at what I did on the national level. BUT I’m not mad. After the shock wore off, I realized that it was the absolute best thing that could have happened to me, so now I’m walking on sunshine and smelling the roses everywhere I go. Who could be mad about that?

As for my former employer, if you think I’m mad at them, you’re smoking more crack than a strawberry or a cluck on Skid Row. I didn’t make enough dough to be mad about it. Time is more valuable than money, and it was taking too much of my time away from more important things that I had been doing prior to deciding to work for pennies. I wasn’t able to have the positive impact that is my No. 1 priority for any partnership that I enter, so I resigned. No, I didn’t get fired for those of y’all who still believe that nonsense. I resigned, so I could do things that have a positive impact on people’s lives in big ways and small ways. I’ve done more to help more people in the last three months than I was able to do in the first six months that I was here, so I ain’t mad. I’m living that Prozac life on my terms.

If you’re mad at me for what I write, don’t read it. If you read it and it upsets you, let me know and I’ll gladly deliver you a box of Kleenex or a roll of Charmin. I don’t do this for paid subscriptions, and you don’t have to pay to see what I post on here because I make it free to everyone. I just ask that you subscribe for free so you can comment on my posts. Any donations will be reserved to pay for the Charmin and Kleenex for those who cry over what I write, because I ain’t mad. I’m happy and glad to be living that Prozac kind of life.

At 22 I thought I had my life figured out and planned out to the smallest detail, but three decades later it definitely hasn’t turned out the way I planned it. It’s turned out to be a beautiful life in its own unique way, one that’s been lived on the road less traveled. One that I wouldn’t trade for anything because if you change one thing, you change everything. Here’s the letter to the 22-year-old me from the soon-to-be 52-year-old me.

Big C,

You think you have it all figured out as you’re on the downhill side of your college career out in West Texas: a long career in newspapers, marrying a beautiful Texas angel, moving up the newspaper ladder and finally settling down, raising a family and sinking deep roots in small Texas town. Look at those bangs and that shirt! Makes me laugh knowing that was the style back then. It’s you 30 years later writing this letter, and you have no idea how completely different your life is going to be. Let me give you the highlights so you can be prepared for an amazing journey.

Let’s start with all the places you’ll go. Waco, Fort Benning, Ga.; Munsan, South Korea; Fort Lewis, Wash.; Port Orchard, Wash.; Bremerton, Wash.; Kingston, Wash.; Silverdale, Wash.; Barstow, Calif.; Phoenix, Ariz.; Columbus, Ga.; Metarie, La.; Slidell, La., Washington, D.C.; Silver Springs, Md.; Pensacola, Fla.; Baltimore, Md.; and Hutchinson, Kan. Those are the places you’ll live for brief stints of time, and you’ll visit many more. You’ll keep visiting Texas, but you won’t live there at least not yet. Everywhere you live you’ll discover a close circle of friends who will be your friends for life. It just always seems to work out that way.

You’ll be a copy editor, an Infantryman, a landscaper, a warehouse worker, an electrician’s apprentice, a ditch digger, a general laborer, a newspaper editor and reporter a couple of times, a community information manager, a public affairs intern, a training manual editor, a public affairs specialist, an editor of Secretarial correspondence, and a federal retiree. All of that in three decades, and you’ll end your career at the highest level with numerous performance awards to show for it. Early retirement will prove to be your most rewarding and challenging job, but you’ll figure it out in your Freedom Era.

For as successful as you’ll be on the professional level, that dream of a marrying a Texas lady and settling down won’t come true. Your failure in romantic relationships will mirror your success on the professional level. At least your son will eventually find his way as you learn to be the father he needs and as I write this letter, you’ll have the best relationship you’ve ever had with him. You’ll reach the point where you learn that the single life is the best life for you and when you reach that point life gets so much better. If you’re wondering how many failed marriages you’ll have, the number is five.

Once you get the crazy out of your system in your 20s that you’ll survive only by the grace of God, your 30s will be more settled, but you’ll keep making moves to find the next professional challenge. You’ll do more of the same in your 40s, but in your late 40s the constant relocating will begin growing old. When you hit 50, you’ll be ready to find where home is and quit moving, but finding home is going to take a few years. Just be patient and eventually it will happen.

You’ll have an impact everywhere you go and you’ll be one of those people who’s never forgotten. Some will love you; many will hate you; and you’ll be misunderstood by just about everyone. You’ll never neatly fit into anyone’s box, and eventually you’ll quit caring and trying to do so. Resilience will be one of your calling cards as you’ll go through things that would break most people. Some of them will be due to your own bad decisions and recklessness; some of them will just be life happening. Regardless, you’ll come out on the other side no worse for wear. Once you enter your Freedom Era, that’s when your life truly begins, so hang in there until you reach it in 2026.

My one piece of advice for you as you begin this journey to where I am now is don’t quit. Just keep getting up after you’ve been knocked down and keep believing that eventually everything will work itself out for your good. Enjoy the ride, young man, because it’s going to be one of helluva ride.

Chill Charles