This page is the dedication and information for those closest to me who have made an impact on my life in the past and some who will impact my future.

And some who, if they had their way, would impact my future by blowing my hands off.

First off goes the family. Shown here is me, my dad, and my brother at his wedding. Obviously, I was named after my father. He was born back in 1946, graduated high school and several jobs. He ended up working at Ford Motor Company for many, many years until his retirement a couple of years back. He still has plenty of hobbies such as his winter cities, his model cars, and his California Raisins. Growing up, he worked long hours and then came home to work on the house or mow the grass. I like to think I got a lot of my work ethic from him. Like most others, he wasn't a great man, but he is a great father.

On the far left here is my mom, Norma Jean Skillern. Again, at my brother's wedding (guess who the middle two people are...I'll get to them later). She was born on March 13 (a Friday), married my dad just out of high school, and also held down several jobs before she became a mother and housewife for a while. She now works with me at Best Buy as the Administration Senior. More than anyone else, she's always been there to encourage whatever decisions I've made. From work to school to relationships, I trust her advice as much as anyone's.

My brother (as seen in both pictures), Eric, was born April 21, 1982 in a government conspiracy to make me get gray hairs before I hit puberty. In all honestly, we had a great childhood. Plenty of fights, plenty of....well, I'm sure we got along sometimes. He's actually made me exceptionally proud of him: graduating near the top of his class, joining the Navy, and not being as much of a self-concerned outlaw forever.

The second picture also features his wife, Zandria, and her mom, Pam. They (Eric and Zandria) were married back in October of 2001, though the ceremony with the family didn't occur until February. They both currently live in South Carolina.

As for my friends, I figured I'll go the alphabetical by last name method that way everyone is an easy look-up, and I'm showing no preferencial treatment. Although some deserve it.

Roger Burns-Technically, I've known Roger since like 1994. He was one of the first people to sign up for the Comic Book Club I started at the Academy. Got to know him a little better 95-96 as he joined the Marvel campaign that Joe ran. Segue to five years later when, after the reunion, he comes over to Joe's to play....well...Marvel. Anyway, since then I've actually hung out with him outside of Joe. Big sci-fi fan and can't handle a merri-go-round well, but at least he's been on TV, that's cool, right?

Jim Davis-The creator of Garfield has....wait, that's another Jim Davis. This Jim Davis helped give me my foot hold with Best Buy. He offered me a senior position if I went full time despite my being only 19. He was then kind enough to start staying staying the hell away from the store and thus leaving me in charge, the fool. In any case, he is now my District Manager, and I am a supervisor. But with Top Guns and NSOs, he's still watching my back helping me try to advance.

Jen Dodge-Jen is actually the person that helped get Desiree and I together. If this was an analogy, Joe is to me what Jen is to Des. She is the much more outgoing of the two and works to try to get Des out of her shell. A big fan of dancing, especially in the rain. She has the rare combonation of being sweet and innocent and also very flirty and willing to show it.

Joe Faust-The Scavenger to my Mr. Negativity. Joe has done a lot for me over the years. Probably more than he would ever guess. A friend at the Academy, I actually had met him by chance the summer before at Tom Sneva's School for Safe Driving.

I actually got to know him a bit better when I asked him if he'd be interested in a Comic Book Club. Turns out the guy had at least 10 times more comics than I did and enough knowledge to curl mine around his little finger. He initiated me into the Marvel role-playing game which gave birth to Mold (the verb not the noun), my most favorite character ever. EVER.

Admittedly, I used to be a little jealous of Joe for the same reasons as I was my brother. Joe was probably the most popular guy in our class. Fun-loving, outgoing, charasmatic, and generally the guy I would have liked to have been. I've always been a guy with few friends at a time, so sometimes I get a little possessive of them. Shoot me.

In any case, when I left Wabash for Best Buy and moved out on my own, Joe played the largest impact on me. He was also home for that time and we usually got together once a week. I'm sure that if Joe hadn't been there, I would have lost my mind from loneliness or have buried myself in work until I would have lost all interest in it.
Far from a sidenote, Joe is also the author of "The Story", the greatest story ever. EVER. You can read more about that by hitting the link that will be there when I put it there. Otherwise for now, just know that if you like comics, it rocks!

Coolest thing ever for ANYONE, but it happens to Joe: Okay, so Joe and I go on this roadtrip to Wisconsin for like four days and had a blast. While visiting the House on the Rock in Bowling Green, WI, we come across this really cool machine that makes little star luck badges that you can engrave. So, I make one 'Mr. Negativity' for me and a 'No Powers Boy' for Kyle. Joe makes a 'Scavger', realizes he screwed up and throws it away. Then he makes a second one, 'The Scavenger' and puts it in his pocket. Later that day, we're walking through downtown Madison and this bum asks us for change. Joe immediately reaches in, pulls all the change from his pocket and just gives it to the guy. About five minutes later he realizes he also gave the bum his 'The Scavenger' badge. At which point we realize how cool it was since the evil "Scavenger" used to be "The Terrifying Mitch" who was a bum. So it all worked out.....but that's not the end of the story.

Two weeks later, back at work at the IMAX, Joe's closed everything down, but this guy walks in and wants a Coke. Joe tells him that the registers are closed down and he can't. The guy pleads, and Joe's kind heart gives him a Coke for free. To thank him, the guy gives him all the change in his pocket. Joe casually holds it without looking, not wanting to count or anything while the guy is there. When the guy leaves, he opens his hand to find the freakin' 'The Scavenger' badge he made in Wisconsin. The damn thing traveled 500 miles in God knows what fashion and made it back into his hands. It was so cool.

Tony Goodwyn-Ah, my TKE brethren who matches me tit for tat. I've never seen someone before of whom I am so equally matched physically and mentally. Ounce for ounce, we're an even match. I'm sure that between his wrestling and my martial-arts, it's even more so.

Tony accompanied me on my first road trip down to Nashville back in Janurary of 1998. We had a fun time, and I only wish we could get together more often. Unfortunately, he lives way up in Hammond, Indiana which is a hell of a trip from Shelbyville.

Andy Hayes-My cheese-loving friend from Waldron. Andy was a quiet little fat boy when I met him (sorry Andy, but it's true). But he had a good sense of humor and we became pretty good friends. Somewhere along the way he lost the weight and became one of the few who challenged me at Thunder & Lightning.

Andy introduced me to computers as well as chatting and letting me take Reader's Digests from his house so I could read them. The little bum has been to Texas and is now in the Northeast, so I haven't seen him in around two years. Who knows, maybe he's advanced where he's beyond giving hot sauce to his dog?

Best thing he ever did for me: Writing an angry letter to Cracker Jacks over there not being any boxes that had the Gambit card inside. He then gave it to me for my collection. What a bud.

Amy Hopkins-Despite namesake, this pretty girl is no relation. In actuality, she's one of three girls who I could say that I loved. She was also the very first girl I met and dated from online. Besides names, we shared a great love of music, both country and oldies, as well as a deep trust that has never been broken or matched. Much like a movie, our first date involved her almost falling into a lake as we walked alongside, but things turned to the better when we shared our first kiss on a Ferris Wheel at the Mall of America. Eventually, outside influences seperated us, much to both our regret, but today, we still keep in contact and help each other out with our newer relationships.

Andrew Jones-I've known Andrew since the Academy, but admittedly, I knew little about him then. He hung out with a seperate group affectionately entitled "The Sticky People". In fact, my own link with him was that he played Marvel with us for a short bit my junior year.
Going to Wabash, I met him again at the TKE house. And soon found out about his love of comics, RPG, MUSHing, and the fact he has nearly every Quantum Leap episode on tape making him one of the coolest people I know.

Andrew has a great mind, and if it wasn't for the fact that he has such strong thoughts and I have such unwavering beliefs, we might have had some really cool discussions on everything.

Aaron Kaucher-Fly boy! Aaron, or as I call him, Kaucher, is amongst those I call friend at Best Buy. I don't get to see him much, since he's at college learning how to fly a plane. One thing I'll say is that his devotion and work ethic are hard to surpass. I think of him almost like my Doc Holiday (which ticks me off becuase I like to be Doc Holiday). He never fails to catch your back when you need help.

For you ladies out there who are looking for a 6' tall blond haired pilot, you're out of luck. He's taken. Although he often talks about his beautiful girlfriend, I've yet to see her. Could be all that flying has messed with his head.

Nykki Keim-Nykki was my first true girlfriend. At 17, it was a little later than most for their first kiss, but I had eagerly awaited that time forever. Unfortunately, it was a short relationship, but it helped me be more comfortable around girls and thus make later relationships easier. And no matter what anyone else says, she will always be my Serra Angel.

Summer Kingery-My second girlfriend and longest running relationship as of yet. From November 11, 1995 to September 2, 1996, she was the woman in my life. Nykki helped me be more comfortable around girls. Summer helped me be more comfortable with everyone. She brought me a long way out of my reclusive shell, and for that I will be forever grateful.

Definitely a flirt at heart, when I went to Wabash, she couldn't handle the long-distance relationship and broke it off. Unfortunately, the rebound effect caused me to go into my third relationship which just didn't work at all, but it did help shed my rose-colored glasses.

I occasionally hear from Summer now and then, but she is always so busy, I'm never sure when I'll talk to her again. Funny in a way that when I moved back down to Shelbyville, she had just moved back up to Indy around the same distance from my apartment that her house had been from mine in Shelbyville. She was my first love and though years have past, hers are the feelings I've judged other relationships from...and none have stacked up.

Christina Layne-One of the few females who befriended me before I went to the Academy. I had a crush on her from the seventh grade and naturally had to show it by teasing her some. I think between Matt Watson and myself, we had to have given her over twenty different nicknames. Anything from punchlines to jokes to random words pulled out of a history book... "We will not drink this accursed dutied STUFF!"

Christina is the first current friend I have that was married. Despite not inviting me or even actually letting me know about it, I'm not too upset. It may be ending, but I don't know. In any case, she'll always be STUFF to me.

John Mattheson- Joe met John on our Myrtle Beach trip. Joe made it into my top 5 coolest people ever list when it turned out that not only was he an artist, not only a comic book fan, but a KICKASS artist who loved to draw comic stuff. Okay, that didn't put him in the to 5. When Joe came back with drawings of the Supercools...that put him in it. Turns out he's also really cool, has a good personality, and is taller than Joe which makes Joe a little uncomfortable.

Naomi Mayo- A true lady at heart and friend from the Academy. Although we never dated, she was my senior prom date during a fiasco that could have put us in the running for a Jerry Springer show. A naturalist and mentalist, she has been assisting me with furthering my talents beyond the realms of luck.

Rob Money-I've worked with Rob for over 5 years at Best Buy. Started having lunch occasionally with him about 2 years ago. He's one of the few people I've hung out with outside of work. Big gamer, big fan of Buffy, Angel, and Smallville, and when you get him in the right mood - a very funny guy. Little on the lonely side at times, so if you know of any ladies who want to go out with a nice guy, let me know and we'll hook him up.

Barry Nassif-This frosty friend of mine also went to the Academy. From outside of Greenwood, Indiana, this phallic-fiend was a really close bud of mine. We shared a lot of great times together despite his off-beat sense of humor. He and I dueled over who would get to date Nykki Keim in a battle of ping-pong. I thoroughly trounced him, even after switching to my left hand, and rightfully won her heart.

Barry is one of the few people I've encountered who shows signs of paranatural powers. Barry can lower the temperature of the air around whatever he concentrates on. Cold fronts seem to travel with him and the room he's in always tends to be colder than all others. I'm proud to say I worked with him for a short bit to help advance his abilities. He is also the rightful owner of the legendary Plunger of Curtis, one of the rare artifacts of the Daly legacy.

Most notable quote: Daaaaaaaaaaah!

Alex Radnovich-This behemoth of a man was first my friend at the Academy and then later my pledge-father at the TKE house at Wabash. Earning the name Ox at Wabash describes his size. Earning the title Radno(insert term here) at the Academy describes his tendency to be belittled by his friends.

After attempting to get me in a headlock and watching me flip to the ceiling instead, Alex began telling everyone that I could defy the laws of physics. Wouldn't that have been cool?

Most memorable line describing his girlfriend: Come on guys, she's not that bad. If she takes off her glasses and doesn't say anything. Guys?

Kyle Reeser-His 'No Powers Boy' character amazingly suits this red-headed Superman-idoler. Kyle is very quiet (moreso than I) yet his alter-ego, the Sheeted Kid, is bold and capable of stopping all crime as long as it's around the level of jaywalking. Even then, he may be ignored.

Of those who are in classes below mine, Kyle is definitely my best friend. I've shared with him my paranormal background, and he's shared with me the fact he may have been kidnapped by aliens. While Joe and I pushed Kyle into the Marvel world, Kyle helped bring me back to those DC characters I loved as a kid. Despite all of them being dead and replaced by new people.

Playing Marvel, his character "The Apparition" is the only character to match Mold for both duration of playing and power. We also thank him for being the X-traitor as well as adding deep emotion and depth to the phrase, "Oh, damn." Please make it clear who you are aiming at.

Most impressive thing done in the story: Hard to say since beating Galactus is kind of countered by the fact he ran away screaming from the Juggernaut. Then again, Joe ran away screaming from Mr. Beasley, so the Galactus thing probably tops the charts.

Christ Short-Like Andrew someone I didn't know that well at the Academy, but I had the chance to know them better at Wabash. Christ is a talented musician and writer and has a tendency to shave odd parts of his body at any time.

Admittedly I hadn't seen him since I left Wabash, but I'm including him for three reasons. 1-I have over two hours of video footage of him and Joe, some of which he is grabbing his crotch. 2-He was at my birthday party in which 3-he gave me a small container of Dill Weed which I hold as the greatest gag gift ever. EVER. I also need to thank Christ for being the guy who introduced me into the genius of Dave Barry.

Phillip Spalding-Phil is a hard guy to describe. He's my longest-running friend, befriending me on the schoolbus back in seventh grade when all I wanted to do was read my joke book.
We had a lot of fun growing up (well, getting older. I don't think either of us has grown up). We used to make medieval battle items and adventure through the woods as well as beat the living hell out of sand-filled jugs.

Phil is odd in the fact that he's generally really quiet, but he loves heavy metal and alternative music. He's also gained a little fame in strategy games for sitting back quietly and then attacking with fury after everyone has forgotten that he was there.

Most memorable line from a Marvel game: Well....then you die.

Jennifer Teising-As is the case, with a lot of friends after college, I met Jennifer through Joe while we were living near Greenwood. She's actually the first parent that I've hung out with and considered a good friend. Her daughter, Maggie, is very hyperactive, but also pretty cool and smart. Jennifer is never afraid to speak her mind and give honest feedback, even if you don't want it. She's a very loyal friend to people she trusts and would go the extra mile for them. She also holds the title of being the only person who's ever been inside a changing room with me.

Stacy Vannater-I met Stacy through Joe as they both worked at the IMAX and she usually came by Thursday nights to watch ER. One of the few "friends of a friend" that I've hung out with on a regular basis. Actually, hanging out about once a week, she's been with me more than Joe over the summer. Which became really amusing when she had to call me up because she forgot Joe's phone number. Having phobias with heights, deep water, roller coasters, and interstates/highways-never moreso have I wanted to put someone under hypnosis to see if I can cure them.

Ben VanSickle-Pretty much one of the only coworkers with whom I've had strong communication outside of work. He's big into comic books, has a sick and twisted sense of humor, and likes death. In fact, his Marvel counterpart I created from him was Deadpool. You couldn't ask too much more in a person.

Matt Watson-Number two on the list for time-wise friendship. I met Matt later on that year. Definitely a more outgoing person than anyone else I befriended at Waldron. Matt was cool because I was smarter than him at some things and he was smarter than me at others. He was stronger, I was more agile. But more importantly we shared the same sense of humor, and we're the only two people to know the joke about the fat bird falling off the wire (don't ask me to explain, because you just won't get it).

Matt joined me along with Jeremy "Scratch" Whisker as those who left Waldron for the Academy. The Academy definitely put us through some trying times because of the girls. If I thought the senior prom mix-up was bad, you should hear the whole confusing link of me-him-Summer-Nykki. It's a little odd, but it includes a girl-with-girl scene so most guys will be interested to hear it.

In any case, we survived our trials and tribulations. He's now at Purdue, but now that I'm home with E-mail, I can actually keep in contact with him more. And if you want to know how good a friend he was, I can still tell you that his lucky numbers are 7, 17, and 103.

Desiree Wilson-It's rather sad that Des ends up on the bottom of the list as she has impacted my life more strongly in a shorter amount of time than anyone. I met her through the hotornot site early in 2003. We went out a couple of times and started dating. She is now the mother of my daughter, Emma Rose. She has the largest family I've met, short of my parents. Outside of herself and her parents, she has four sisters. Yes, four. Her personality matches mine very well as she is quiet and shy around new people but begins to become a little more prevailant the more she gets to know people.