Conversations & Everyday Stories

Human moments, funny encounters, friendships, life lessons.

Sno Fun!!!! Pun Intended.

Story of hard work, small pay, big lessons learned.

Conversations & Everyday Stories

gmaylone

Sep 123 min read

Before the Digital Feed. We had Barns, Woods, and Fields.

In the Days Before the Digital Invasion. We had Barns, Woods, fields, and Each Other.

Yes, before the digital feed took over our lives, we lived in a completely different world, one much more connected in many ways.

Spiritual Roots & Ancient Curiositi

gmaylone

Sep 105 min read

In 1980s Iowa, mopeds weren’t just machines — they were a rite of passage. At 14, kids traded bicycles for buzzing two-strokes, Aqua Net hair met Walkmans in the wind, and a forgotten era of teenage freedom was born.”

When Mopeds ruled the roads! A forgotten era of teenage freedom.

Before the age when you could be trusted driving a car, truck, motorcycle, "hell even a motorhome," there was the magical, mystical time when the world (and by world, I mean at least in Iowa) saw the rise and dominion of the mopeds.

Conversations & Everyday Stories

gmaylone

Aug 296 min read

Garage Days: Where Grease, Aqua Net, and Forever Collided

A look back at a time now gone, when hands crafted machines, and we thought life would last forever.

Conversations & Everyday Stories

gmaylone

Aug 288 min read

Hornet Wars: The Battle for Hornet Gate – Final Dispatch

"For weeks, the Hornet Hordes controlled the only direct access between the grape harbors, blueberry groves, and raspberry fields. They held the chokepoint like Spartans at Thermopylae — fanatical, relentless, and perfectly positioned. It took fire, precision chemical strikes, and a final siege to break their grip. Now the gate is free… but for how long?"

Conversations & Everyday Stories

gmaylone

Aug 154 min read

There are moments in your life when the whole world seems to freeze.

Retiring with a bang! No, really....

One minute I was thinking about beer and fresh fish… the next, a 9mm was pointed at my face and someone was shouting “WE HAVE A BOMB!” in the middle of D.C. It all started with a thoughtful retirement gift from a fellow veteran — and ended with a traffic jam, a crowd, and my wife giving me The Look.

Conversations & Everyday Stories

gmaylone

Aug 147 min read

The Hornet Wars: Part I – The Grape Harbor Incident

Ground Hornets! Over the past decade, I’ve been at war with them every summer. I’ve faced them in the open field, being ambushed while mowing. I’ve battled them near tree stumps where they’ve built Jericho-like fortifications that have literally taken heavy machinery to dig up and eradicate a nest. Each nest is a tactical challenge. It’s an endless, recurring war against an enemy that is relentless and fearless. This is just the latest battle.

Conversations & Everyday Stories

gmaylone

Aug 127 min read

Operation Maple/Congo: The Family Invasion of 2025

Amusing Details of how the annual visit of my wife's Congolese family from Canada is managed as they descend upon our household.

Conversations & Everyday Stories

gmaylone

Aug 113 min read

33 Responses, 1 Launch:

Before I officially step into retirement this October, I asked a question. One word. That’s all I wanted—to complete a three-word description that’s been rolling around in my soon-to-be post-retirement head.

Conversations & Everyday Stories

gmaylone

Aug 83 min read

Over a Beer at "The Sink" in Boulder.

It was a hot, sunny afternoon in Boulder, July 2025. My other half was tied up in a work meeting, so I had time to kill. I wandered the historic downtown—old brick buildings, summer air thick with pine and pavement, the kind of day that makes you slow down.

Conversations & Everyday Stories

gmaylone

Aug 55 min read

Tales from the HOA Crypt, Vol. 2: The Forbidden Corn

They say if you touch the stove once and get burned, you won’t touch it again. Apparently, I’m the guy who tries the second burner. OK, technically, it was more like my employer forcing my hand on the burner. Not me willingly reaching out. Same burn.

Conversations & Everyday Stories

gmaylone

Aug 56 min read

The nightmare of living under the Home Owners Associations (HOA) Iron Grip!

HOA Chronicles, Vol. 1: The Driveway Inquisition

My first encounter living under the iron grip of a Homeowners Association. The absurdity of it all.

Conversations & Everyday Stories

gmaylone

Aug 45 min read

They say if you visualize it, believe it, and release it to the universe, good things will come. That’s Manifesting 101.

I Manifested My Ass Off! Well, I tried anyway.

“I bought a ticket, visualized the win, and released it to the universe. I got peace, a moment of clarity… and the cold beep of a losing ticket. But hey, there was coffee.”

Conversations & Everyday Stories

gmaylone

Aug 42 min read

Some weddings are beautiful. Others are revelations.

The Wedding Circle: Where Ancients Dance in Modern Threads

A celebration that transcended faith, culture, and geography — a Congolese-Nigerien bride and an Ethiopian-Indian groom united not just two people, but worlds. A reflection on love, humanity, and what it means to belong in the great circle of life.

Life After the Fed

gmaylone

Aug 14 min read

The Magic of the Mountains! Pain-Free in the High Desert!

Somewhere between the crisp air, blue skies, and the first morning I wake up without my hands screaming at me, I realize: I am hopelessly, pathetically, gloriously addicted to dry air—and some altitude.

Conversations & Everyday Stories

gmaylone

Jul 313 min read

Mike and Me. RADM Mike Johnstons retirement.

“Off the Clock, Still on the Mark: A Farewell to RADM Johnston”

On Tuesday, July 15, 2025, I traveled from Washington, D.C. to New London, Connecticut to witness a milestone in the life of a friend, colleague, and one of the finest leaders I’ve ever worked alongside—Rear Admiral Mike Johnston.

Behind the Scenes at Fed to Freedom

gmaylone

Jul 223 min read

"Man drinking coffee in a workshop, reflecting on dark roast coffee."

Coffee Bean Battle: Rediscovering the Dark Roast Coffee That Both Saved and Cursed Me!

"I thought I escaped coffee… until the dark roast pulled me back in. A story of Army nights, hard work, and one powerful cup."

Spiritual Roots & Ancient Curiositi

gmaylone

Jul 194 min read

Travel, Human Oddities, and Unsolvable Scents!

Amtrak Nightmare: The Legend of Uncle Baconstein!

A man smelling of bacon grease and Bengay boards the train in Jersey and turns an ordinary ride into an unforgettable sensory event. Meet Uncle Baconstein — a legend of snacks, soda, and haunting scent memory.

Conversations & Everyday Stories

gmaylone

Jul 175 min read

Just Waiting for the train (Got a Lifetime Movie Instead) Written/Lived by Glen Maylone

It was 7:45 a.m. on the AMTRAK platform in New London, Connecticut. Trust me, I was looking at my clock, not wanting to miss the train, wondering when it was coming, and wishing I was still snoozing in bed. A thin morning fog still clung to the bay, slowly burning off as the sun made its way up. Quite a beautiful scene actually, I was just wandering off mentally enjoying it.

Conversations & Everyday Stories

gmaylone

Jul 175 min read

Off the Clock, On the Mark™ – Why I Left, What I’m Building, and Why You’re Invited

In case nobody told you today: It’s okay to want more. More time. More peace. More you. If you're still setting alarms just to sit in traffic, answering emails that should’ve never been sent, or nodding through meetings that suck the marrow out of your bones — you’re not broken. You’re awake. And you’re not alone.

Behind the Scenes at Fed to Freedom

gmaylone

Jul 163 min read

🦅 Welcome to Fed to Freedom

This is where my next chapter begins—and maybe yours, too.

✍️ Writing My Story

After years in federal service, I’m building something new. Fed to Freedom is part journal, part resource hub, part blueprint for reinvention. Whether you're a retiree, still in the grind, or dreaming of what's next—you’re in the right place.

📰 The Blog

Read. Laugh. Think. Repeat.

🔗 Resources & Links

Looking for help transitioning out of federal service?
I’ve curated guides, official links, and must-know content:

OPM tools
SES & ECQ guidance
Acquisition, FAR/DFAR resources

🤝 Services

Need help with your ECQs, resume, interviewing skills. or just want to talk shop?

I offer:

Writing & editing support
SES coaching & federal consulting
Speaking or collaboration for events

🎯 Join the Journey

No hype. No hustle. Just honest stories, shared lessons, and real work.
Follow along as I figure out what freedom looks like—one cup of coffee, one story, and one step at a time.

✨ Blog Read Me

Conversations & Everyday Stories

Sno Fun!!!! Pun Intended.

In the Days Before the Digital Invasion. We had Barns, Woods, fields, and Each Other.

When Mopeds ruled the roads! A forgotten era of teenage freedom.

Garage Days: Where Grease, Aqua Net, and Forever Collided

Hornet Wars: The Battle for Hornet Gate – Final Dispatch

Retiring with a bang! No, really....

The Hornet Wars: Part I – The Grape Harbor Incident

Operation Maple/Congo: The Family Invasion of 2025

33 Responses, 1 Launch:

Over a Beer at "The Sink" in Boulder.

Tales from the HOA Crypt, Vol. 2: The Forbidden Corn

HOA Chronicles, Vol. 1: The Driveway Inquisition

I Manifested My Ass Off! Well, I tried anyway.

The Wedding Circle: Where Ancients Dance in Modern Threads

The Magic of the Mountains! Pain-Free in the High Desert!

“Off the Clock, Still on the Mark: A Farewell to RADM Johnston”

Coffee Bean Battle: Rediscovering the Dark Roast Coffee That Both Saved and Cursed Me!

Amtrak Nightmare: The Legend of Uncle Baconstein!

Just Waiting for the train (Got a Lifetime Movie Instead) Written/Lived by Glen Maylone

Off the Clock, On the Mark™ – Why I Left, What I’m Building, and Why You’re Invited

🦅 Welcome to Fed to Freedom

This is where my next chapter begins—and maybe yours, too.

​

✍️ Writing My Story

📰 The Blog

🔗 Resources & Links

🤝 Services

🎯 Join the Journey