to live, to love, to learn, to leave a legacy… and to laugh along the way
Before the Academy, my life was a jumble of momentary thrills, lacking any definite path, lacking a purpose in life. The Academy nurtured something deeper: a profound sense of discipline and a maturity that I hadn’t known I possessed. It was as if a door had cracked open, and light began to spill in, revealing a landscape of golden possibilities I had never dreamed of. I walked in a boy looking for an exit; I walked out a man who had found a calling.
This was supposed to be Oklahoma City’s moment. The Thunder had homecourt advantage. They had the newly-crowned league MVP in Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. They had momentum after steamrolling through the first 2 rounds of the playoffs with identical 4-0 wipeout slates. They now have a healthy roster, including the fully recovered Jalen Williams. And still, none of that mattered.
The best lesson basketball has taught me? That life is meant to be lived, not just survived. Yes, there will be missed shots, bad passes, tough losses, and days when nothing seems to bounce your way. But there will also be joy and laughter in the locker room, friends who celebrate your smallest victories, and moments so satisfying you wish the clock would stop.
Regardless of who wins, this much feels certain: the future of the NBA runs through Oklahoma City and San Antonio now. And the rest of the league should probably be terrified. Whosoever wins the West will win the 2026 NBA crown.
Fifty years have lapsed in a heartbeat, yet I can still smell the pine-scented air of the Academy, and feel the frantic thumping in my chest as we marched down those “51 steps.” We were just boys then – naive, unsure of ourselves, and miles away from the families who waved us goodbye at Camp Aguinaldo or elsewhere. We didn’t know that we would be stripped of our civilian antics and molded into the leaders we would later be. Today, the echoes of those barking orders still reverberate as cherished stories of old men, but the fire lit that fateful April Fools’ Day will never waver.
The pull toward the wild isn’t new to me. Rather, it feels more like a homecoming. I’ve always been an outdoor man. It is a desire I rediscovered during my days as a young lieutenant. Patrolling the mountains with the elite Scout Rangers wasn’t just a duty; it was where I felt most alive.
Color My World 