There are many reasons I am grateful for having grown up in our little town. The people I had in my life early on were some of the finest folks you could ever expect to meet: classmates, class moms, den mothers and scout leaders to name a few. The nuns who taught at St. Joseph’s Catholic School and Father Victor, the parish priest, were some great positive role models for someone like me who needed constant motivational encouragement. That’s not to say there weren’t some stinkers around too because, just like today, there were a few. I dodged more than my share of bullets ...