Mike has been playing pickle ball for 5 years, and he thinks the most difficult part of the game is dinking – and generally short shots. What keeps him coming back to the courts is the social aspect. He enjoys all the people.
Mike grew up in Taylor, Michigan and graduated from Taylor Truman High School. He describes Taylor as a “rough neighborhood.” Mike joined the Air Force and ended up serving 10 years. He was in the First Gulf War, also known as Operation Desert Storm, and later was assigned to the U.S. Air Base at Oscoda, MI. When that base was closed, Mike took a buy out, and then a job at the VA hospital in Ann Arbor. He has worked in the lab there, and is currently working a 1 to 9 p.m. shift in the Grounds and Transportation Department. He is now 57 and eligible to retire.
Mike is the proud father of 4 adult children, ages 31, 29, 27, and 23 – three girls and one boy. His son just moved back to Ann Arbor, two daughters are in Chicago, and one in North Carolina.
Mike talks on the phone with his kids every day! His one big Bucket List wish is that he could go on a vacation with his kids. He never had that opportunity because he and his wife divorced when the kids were still quite young – 19 years ago. Mike says his daughters are planning the vacation for all 4 kids and Mike – they are considering Puerto Rico and the Cayman Islands.
Harvard University has a connection for Mike. His father-in-law, Richard Tyler, was the head of the Neurology Department there and treated a man who became very famous. His name was John Nash. The movie “A Beautiful Mind” (2002) starred Russell Crowe as John Nash. Mike actually met the real John Nash in a restaurant through his father-in-law’s connection to Mr. Nash. If you have not seen this film, it is a wonderful dramatic life story of a brilliant but asocial mathematician who was a Nobel Laureate in Economics. And, by the way, an acquaintance of our good friend, Mike Wiley.
The people most influential in Mike’s life have been his dad and his ex-wife. Mike says she influenced him in a very positive way. One thing that comes through in talking with Mike is his sense of humor. Give him a few minutes and he will bring a smile to your face.
Mike’s favorite color is red