About the Ranter

This is the short version. The long version is scattered throughout the blog. Read long enough and you’ll probably learn more about me than either of us intended.

I am the Ranter, a middle-aged guy who has lived a bit of an unusual life and occasionally feels like his head will explode if he doesn’t write some of it down.

Over the years I’ve worked in hospitality, tourism, retail, and a handful of other fields. Along the way I’ve managed hotels, served on tourism boards, cared for a parent with Parkinson’s disease, and found myself in more strange situations than I ever expected. Some of those experiences have been funny. Some have been heartbreaking. Most have been memorable.

I grew up in Michigan’s State Park system as the son of a Department of Natural Resources employee. Being a DNR brat meant spending much of my childhood surrounded by forests, campgrounds, wildlife, and people who always seemed to have a story worth telling. Looking back, that probably explains a lot.

Rants of a Cog exists because life is full of stories. Some are about hotel guests trying to leave with furniture. Some are about unexpected encounters with wildlife. Some are about family, caregiving, grief, and loss. Others are simply observations about a world that often seems determined to become stranger by the day.

Despite the name, this site isn’t really about ranting. It’s about sharing stories, observations, lessons learned, and the occasional attempt to make sense of life’s absurd moments.

If something here makes you laugh, think, remember someone you love, or simply feel a little less alone, then the blog has done its job.