Few things in life are game changers.
Some of the more obvious ones are; a major illness, having children,
becoming unemployed suddenly, from a long-term employment and so on.

Less obvious events can also be life
changers, but they sneak up on you, such as: friendships, technology
changes, an inheritance and so on. The Appalachian Trail was such a
life-changer for me, I didn’t see it coming.

When Jane, my long-suffering wife,
convinced me I had to go hike it in 2007, I saw it as going off on a
long hiking/camping trip. It was on my bucket list since the ’60’s,
but I hadn’t really acted on it. My brother and I had promised each
other we would hike it together when we finished our military duty,
but he was killed in Vietnam, so that never happened. As most of my
readers know, I took his Purple Heart Medal with me on the trail and
I’m convinced it is what motivated me to finish, in spite of a
six-artery heart bypass operation.

The hike, the operation and the people
along that marvelous trail were life-changers for me. I could feel
the change, even before the hike ended. I felt different. I knew that
I was going back to civilization a different man, and hopefully, a
better one. I’ve spent most of my life as an electrical engineer, that changed, now I am an author. I only have one book published so far, Three Hundred Zeroes, but have two more in the works. Still, I’ll always be an engineer at heart.

I wake each morning now with a smile. I
know that, regardless of what the day holds, I will make the most of
it, not complain and enjoy every minute—even when the going gets
rough.

Modern technology gave me a new heart.
They didn’t replace it, but they did serious repairs on it. The
medical profession made physical repairs to my system, but
inadvertently, they gave me an opportunity to see the world in a new
light, and that light shines brightly!