TrenchStories started with a clear goal: to share real stories. These are the real stories that don't often show up in textbooks, training guides, or polished presentations. It all began with a few talks I gave. I shared some behind‐the‐scenes stories from my TV and video production days. I'd written a couple of books about the industry. Several people invited me to give a few talks about those books over the years. The response surprised me. After sharing my experiences, I saw that people were curious. They wanted to know not only what we did but also how we did it. They wanted to know how we got from there to here.

I also began researching a new book. Talking to people reinforced my interest in how things evolved over time. While that book project stalled, I am resurrecting parts of what I learned on this site.


Working on many projects, big and small, taught me a key lesson. When you join an ongoing project, you often wonder, "What were they thinking?" But I found that the seeming lack of thought often wasn't true.

When you look back at a situation, you see that each decision made sense at the time! As a newbie in a situation I was lacking context. One of the things I hope this site does is provide context.


I'm talking about what came before. If someone tells the story well, people aren't just interested; they are curious. They often lean in when I talk about how things used to work. It wasn't nostalgia. It was more a hunger for understanding. It was about the systems, the mistakes, and the human factors often missing from textbooks and training guides.


Initially, I considered weaving real stories into a fictional tale. I aimed to craft a narrative from my own experiences. So I wrote a book. It didn't exactly light the world on fire. But the stories? People kept telling me, "Just put the stories out there. As they are."

And the more I shared, the more people came forward. Friends, colleagues, even people I hadn't seen in years. They said, "I've got one too."


So that's how TrenchStories was born. Not as a polished memoir. Not as a commercial play. But as a place to preserve real stories from the trenches of work, life, and discovery.

It started in media and field service because that's where I come from. But it turns out, every field has its trenches. Whether it's education, IT, military, travel ‐ you name it. People have stories that shaped them, tested them, and stayed with them.

This site is for those stories. For the grit, the lessons, the laughs, and the truth. And if you've got one… well, I hope you’ll share it too.