In Memoriam: Michael McMorrow, My Grandfather

In Memoriam: Michael McMorrow, My Grandfather

My grandfather passed away earlier this year. Four generations gathered in Cleveland, Ohio to pay our respects to the patriarch of the great McMorrow clan of County Leitrim, Edwards Airforce Base – and infinite places spanning the globe. He’d been born into a house with no electricity, bathroom or running water – in what was then one of the most impoverished and conflicted regions of Ireland. When his mother died in childbirth, his father sent him and his brothers away to an infamous orphanage in the Salthill neighborhood of Galway. He escaped as a young teenager with the help of an allegedly exiled uncle in New York City. He made a life for himself and his future family in America – thanks in part to four decades of service with the American Airforce. So imagine my surprise this past week, when I discovered a forgotten interview with him, along with my Dad, in a pub in Glenfarne, Ireland – a couple kilometers from where his life began. The conversation starts with an amusing anecdote about training astronauts, but as he transitions to the different projects he worked on throughout his career, you also see the evolution of aerospace at the time of the Cold War and into the space age. It was the only time I ever really spoke with my Grandfather about his life in detail, so I hope you enjoy this as much as I do.

Hallie

Episode 13: Hallie is a Portland-based improv comedian regularly performing with the Mad Dash Sketch Group and Portland's all-female comedy duo, Secret Cervix. She joined me to talk about what inspires her to be a comedian, what it's like performing as a female in a male dominated field, and to make various amusing jokes about subject matter ranging from therapy to the 1989 Academy Award-Winning Film, Kolya.

Greg Beers

Episode 12. My pal Greg Beers recently visited me to flip the script on the Me And My Friends Podcast. In this episode HE interviews ME about the journey I've been on during the past four months. It began when I quit a job and a relationship last fall, then struggled to find direction and purpose, and finally blossomed into a last minute road trip spanning Oregon, Nevada, California and Arizona. I share what motivated me to take the trip and how it helped to provide new hope and perspective after a challenging time.

Whit

Episode 11. Eight years ago Whit owned nearly $100,000 in student loan debt. He worked as a grocery bagger, taking home 25% of the amount he owed each month to his debts. He knew there had to be a better way, and made the decision one day to sacrifice five years of his life to get rid of it, even living in a 27 sq. ft. apartment for a time. Now he’s paid off his debt and owns properties in Alaska and Portland. I chat with Whit to try to glean secrets to his financial success, and the conversation naturally evolves to gun control and civic duties.

In Memoriam: Jeff Douglass

Episode 10. Some people knew him only as the long-haired Gandalf-like figure in thigh-high shorts and a tee inhabiting various street corners on Taylor Street in Port Townsend. Others knew him as a sound engineer with a penchant for AC/DC. It was alleged that in the 70's and 80's he could hold down a pool table all night powered by LSD. To some he was a consistent bar patron with a quiver of witty comments that straddled the line between slightly devilish and potentially innocent, and any manner of places in between. He was incredibly kind to me over the years and I'll miss him forever.