One quiet evening at home, I sat down with my dad to learn more about his life and the experiences that shaped him into the person he is today. Even though I’ve lived with my dad my entire life, I realized I had never taken the time to ask him about his childhood, family, or his most memorable moments. This interview gave us that chance to talk about the stories that usually get lost in everyday life.

My dad is the most extroverted introvert you will ever meet, and he surprised me with the things he told me about his past. Some of his stories were funny, and others were more serious and thoughtful. As the conversation continued, I began to see my dad in a new light. I saw him as someone who had his own dreams, challenges, and memories. By the end of our time together, I felt closer to my dad and grateful for this opportunity to better understand his life. 

Q– What was your childhood like? 

A– I had a really good childhood. I don’t know. Um. I grew up in a very similar area to Minnetonka in Carmel, Indiana, and we had a lot of fun playing with my neighbors and doing a lot of sports and outdoor activities and all sorts of good things. 

Q– Who were the people you would hang out with?

A– So the Paserelli’s. Who you know, were my next door neighbors and the Molars, the Hammers. There was probably about, I don’t know, 12 to 14 kids all within, you know, three or four years of each other. We played a lot of football. I broke my bones haha. We did, We did Apple Wars. We had an apple tree in our backyard and we had a water balloon launcher and we would shoot crab apples at each other. It was nuts. (Laughing)

Q– How would you say your childhood was different from mine? 

A– Um Probably because we didn’t have technology. I mean, the most we had was cable TV. And so generally we just get up in the morning and get on your bike and get out in the neighborhood and go find somebody to go hang out with. And luckily, no videos or pictures were taken (Laughing). Also you moved quite a bit. We didn’t move, really at all. I grew up and stayed in the same city for the most part. I mean, I was born in Knoxville, Tennessee, but I don’t remember it because I moved back to Indiana and I was like two years old. 

Q– What was your relationship with your siblings like and how was it different from mine?

A– Hmmm, my relationship with my siblings. So I was a middle child. Jonie was my older sister and so she was three years older than me. And so, yeah, we didn’t, I mean, it was kind of a love-hate relationship with her (both laugh). We got along pretty well, but at the same point in time, I annoyed the crap out of her every chance that I could and made a lot of fun of her. And so she didn’t appreciate that. My brother and I were only 17 months apart. So we were, you know, one year apart in school. So, you, we, we were around each other a lot and got along okay and, you know, fought a lot. (Laughing) A lot of fights. But at the same point in time, we always, you know, stood up for each other, which was fun. I think that you, Brady, Emma, and Sam just seemed to have a better relationship than I had with either of my two siblings. I mean, I was always like super independent, so I always just wanted to do what I wanted to do. And so I just kind of, yeah, didn’t really, you know, pay much attention to my siblings, but I feel like you Emma and Sam, you know, you guys hang out, like, you socialize together, you do things together, you get along, you know, really, really well at times. 

Q– What was your high school experience like?

A– Yeah, we had a lot of fun in high school. I mean, I was kind of a nerd. I did a lot of studying and like you, homework and was part of the National Honor Society and I had almost a 4.0 (laugh). I got early acceptance into Indiana University, so I got accepted in my junior year in in high school, which was pretty fun, because that way, my senior year, I didn’t really have to worry too much about getting accepted into college. So that was neat.

Q– And then would you say like you still, like, you’re still in contact with most of the people that you were, like, friends with at that age?

A– I mean, you know, I get together with the guys, all my high school friends, umm every year and still stay in touch with most of my high school friends, which is kind of unique and pretty cool. So. 

Q– When did you know you wanted to go to IU?

A– Yea I knew I wanted to go to IU, forever. Well, I grew up in Indiana and Indiana University was a very cool, you know, school and it’s, I mean, it’s an awesome campus. And so I’d gone down there a couple, you know, a handful of times for basketball games and different things like that. And I loved it. And I knew for a fact that I wanted to go to IU and that’s where I wanted to go to school. And yeah, and I loved IU basketball. It was Bobby Knight. IU coach Knight was the coach. He got fired when I was a sophomore in college, but he was like a legend, so yeah, it was pretty cool. 

Q– What would you say your college experience was like? 

A– Um Yeah, I mean, I enjoyed college. Like everybody, took about the first year, my freshman year, to kind of get my feet underneath me. But then after I figured things out, I did really well and, you know, got into the Indiana Business School, Kelly School Business, which is a top 10 business school in the country. So that was a big deal and I double majored in Econ and finance. So I enjoyed, you know, doing my math. Umm, I did four days a week, like hardcore school to the fact that I was like, on campus at 7 a.m. and I didn’t get home until like 10 or 11 p.m. And so I was like just on campus, studying, nailed all my classes in those four days. But then I didn’t have any Friday classes for my sophomore to senior year. And so then it was like Friday, Saturday, I could, you know, have a good time and hang out and then Sunday was back to study, get your stuff done, and get to bed early. And then, yeah, back on campus for like 13, 14 hours on Monday. I also got an internship at an investment bank in New York, my junior year in college. The summer of 2001, in New York City and had a picture at the end of August at the base of the World Trade Center. And so it was only like two weeks later that, yeah, the World Trade Center, you know, deal happened. But I realized pretty quickly, I really enjoyed my internship and it was challenging and fun, but I realized I didn’t want to live in New York. (Laughing)

Q– What’s your favorite college memory?

A– College memory? Hmm. Oh, I mean, this was always fun. So, my college roommate, he had a bulldog named Romeo. And we would take Romeo to this park and we would just walk around and it was like the easiest way to pick up girls.They’re like, oh my gosh, is that a bulldog? Yeah, his name is Romeo. Oh my gosh, that’s the cutest dog in the world. Yep, and you’re just that from that point. But yeah, they just like Louis. They didn’t like me. 

Q– What do you recommend I do?

A– I think, you know, I think you’ve got the right idea. Like, get out, challenge yourself, you know, try something new, put yourself in a situation that you’re uncomfortable and see how, you know, how you do and how things play out and, you know, do what you’re passionate about. Like if you’re passionate about sports media, like dig in and make sure that you understand, you know, college is fun. And there’s a lot of things you can do socially and you want to take advantage of all those things. You can do socially and you want to meet, you know, really unique and new people. But at the same point in time, college is there because you’re preparing yourself for the real world and for your first job and where you’re going to take your life and your career. So you got to kind of balance like, how do you socialize and like, how do you meet new people? But at the same time, you got to make sure that you don’t, you know, forget about your obligations and what you’re there to do and making sure that you’re setting yourself up for success because a lot of people forget about that part and it can be a tough road to come back, you know, from if you, you know, have a hard time, you’re a freshman or sophomore year, you know, getting back into, you know. 

Q– How did you and Mom meet?

A– Yeah, so mom mom’s older brother was my best friend from kindergarten. And then we went to elementary, middle school, high school, and college together. And then we lived together after college. And then I went to California and he went to Arizona and mom graduated from Arizona and they were living together. And so I went and visited Uncle Lance after, yeah, for New Year’s Eve for like the Notre Dame, Ohio State football game. And mom and I hadn’t seen each other for probably, I don’t know, five or six years at that point. And we just hit it off and hung out and was like, oh, yeah, you’re not Lance’s a little sister anymore. Yep, and I lived in Newport Beach and Mom lived in Scottsdale. And it was only like a 45 minute flight between the two. And I was, you know, like I told you, traveling a ton for work. And so I was like always, you know, going somewhere. So I had a lot of airline points and hotel, you know, points and all that type of stuff. So I could just get flights to Scottsdale through my airline points. So yeah, I don’t either flight to Scottsdale for the weekend or mom would fly to Newport for the weekend or we’d just go places. We went to like Hawaii, we went to San Francisco, we went to Boston, Chicago. We went like all these really cool places and just, um, you know, had fun and explored new places together. And then when we came time to like, well, you know, proposed to her and we got engaged, we had to figure out where we could get together. And so that’s where we ended up in, Minnesota. 

Q– What were your favorite things about mom at that time? What about now? 

A– At that age? The one thing about your mom that you probably wouldn’t even realize is she is mischievous. Yep. So, like I said, we traveled a lot. So we were always going to places like, like Vegas or whatever. And we’d go places and mom would always just like, like duck into like the employee only, you know, part of the building. And like punch people’s time clocks in and out. Yeah, mom is like, she’d tried to steal golf carts when we were in Palm Springs. Of course I went along with it. I was just laughing. Mom was like leading the charge. My favorite thing about her now is just, how organizedized and consistent she is. You know, she’s always got everything lined up, you know, all of our stuff on our calendars, and like she’s super consistent and making sure that we stay, you know, on track and get everything done. Yeah, yeah. So she keeps us, she keeps us in, you know, order organized and move in. 

Q– What do you think she would say her favorite things about you were? 

A– Nothing. No, you have to ask her. I think I make her laugh? I think that’s what she likes, is that I can kind of take the edge off of her very organized and consistent self. That’s all I’m good for! 

Q– Where do you see yourself in about 10 years? 

A– Myself in 10 years? Ooh, Sam will be in college. You guys will all be, like, graduated except for Sam. I don’t know. Mom and I will just be having fun. After he graduates from high school, I think we’ll bail, I’m hoping somewhere warm. Mom and I have been saving a lot of money, too, so we have a lot of savings for retirement. Lake house in Knoxville or somewhere in North Carolina? Who knows? But you guys aren’t allowed to know. We’re not gonna tell you. 

Q– Would you get another dog when you were retired? 

A– Yeah, we’re always going to have dogs. Maybe a bulldog. Romeo!