A Duk's Life, In 400 Words

Duk is a very good friend (on the right) of mine and he has taken my writing assignment to heart. Below is his biography. It was posted in the comments, but I thought that it belonged on a much bigger stage. Good job.

Born May 21, 1973, to the daugher of a farmer/carpenter and the son of a preacher, in Aurora, Missouri. My dad worked at the shoe factory, and when he brought his work buddies to see me, they kindly patted him on his back and said "he'll grow out of it". Shortly after my birth, we moved to our dairy farm, between the Mayberry like towns of Hurley and Crane. The solitude and hardness of farm life has affected me greatly. The family farm required a team effort, and I remember working a lot, even as a young child. This was the way of life, and it was sometimes very hard, but our family was very close. Two sisters, hellions really, five years on either side of me. My childhood memories are mostly of farm life and our vacations. Not every summer, but often enough, the whole family, including the extended family, would load up and head to Colorado. We would camp at KOA campgrounds, always excited when we stayed at one with a pool. Goodtimes. Highschool was difficult, I didn't quite fit in to small town life, and accept that my big mouth was not at all helpful. I loved basketball and baseball, the only two sports at Crane. Being part of a team suited me, still does. Oh, I was very sheltered, and did not get into any trouble in highschool, honor roll, scholarships, church 3 times a week. I was pronounced in the womb to be an attorney, and this has always been my goal, however, for I time I believed I was going to be a racecar driver. The shelter was removed and my life changed dramatically in college. First year was at College of the Ozarks (Hard Work U), where each student works on campus everyday to pay his/her tuition (1991). After one year, I decided that this place was too small, and decided to follow my Honduran girlfriend to Southwest Missouri State University(1992). The relationship did not last through the summer, but the move to SMSU was a good one. I immersed myself in Greek life, which has a lot of team concepts interwoven into its fabric, and thoroughly enjoyed myself. I would be remiss not to mention my summer employment in Branson, Missouri. I was a lifeguard at a water park by day, and a ticket salesman by night. I worked 70-80 hours per week, which paid mostly for my schoolin at SMS. Somehow, I still managed to experience a lot of life during the summers. At the end of my undergrad career(so I believed), I met my wife in the basement of my Fraternity house (1996). I heard a voice outside my door, talking to my dog "Daisy", with some familiarity, and commenting about feeding the dog a junior whopper the night before. This voice did not know that I had spent the day cleaning up dog shit. My first words to my wife were not especially kind, but when I saw her I became smitten and I knew that it was her. Somehow, I convinced her to marry me, and we tied the knot in August 1998, moved to Tulsa, and started law school and nursing school the next week. Marriage has not always been easy, but it has been extremely rewarding. In the middle of the first semester of lawschool, I discovered that there had been an oversight on my advisors part, and indeed I had not received a diploma from SMS. Usually, my luck is not good, but somehow my advisor corrected the situation and I received my BA in December of 1998 from SMS. This story mystifies and amuses the law school buddies. Also, amazing was my recollection that I did not have a traceable address for nearly 3 years of my life. Truly, law school was a magical time. It was difficult, but I met a group of men, and we seemed to go together like "peas and carrots". These men are still my closest and best friends, despite the existence of time and space. It was a motley crue, but it was as much a team as I have ever been on on. Life since law school has been good, but tough. Learning the practice is harsh. I am eager to be a parent, as is my wife. I believe the forced delay in being a parent will make it that much sweeter. We live outside town in a subdivision. I long for the days to be back in the country with some "elbow room". I often feel like I'm waiting for something, but I'm not sure what it is. I think I am waiting on my child now. For now, we wait with our dog Daisy, and try and enjoy each other as much as we can. I am certain I enjoy her much more than she does me. I can apologize for the rambling, but that is partly who I am.