PERSONAL HOME PAGE

“It is easier to build strong children than to repair broken men.” - Frederick Douglass

Little Background

I'm 36 years old and met my wife over a decade ago through a mutual friend. She's now my best friend and we've been married for 10 years.

My life now revolves mostly around my family which includes our two boys... Elijah (8) and Ezra (4). They are a handful and consume nearly every minute of our evenings, but I wouldn't want it any other way.

INSTAGRAM

@mr.dellinger217

Ezra

Nicknamed "little red"
Very destructive small human
Complete daredevil [scary sometimes]
Wild Kratts & Octonauts are his favorite shows!
Loves fishing at the pond

Elijah

Enjoys fishing at the pond and playing sports
Likes to search for bugs and mushrooms
Excited to start second grade at LJM this year
Very helpful big brother
Wants to go hunting with dad

Hobbies and other Interests

USAC Sprint Car Racing

One of my favorite things to do is go to wing or wingless sprint car races with my dad and brother. These cars drive on dirt and the physics of this are remarkable to witness. The horsepower to car weight ratio is unrivaled and the skill of the drivers on a constantly changing surface is unmatched. Having an appreciation for the physics & forces involved in this style of racing and the connection that my father has to the sport as a one time crew member and now photographer makes it something I enjoy greatly! I try to make a few races each year.

Muddy Creek Trout Unlimited

Something that many don't know about me is that I am a part of Muddy Creek Trout Unlimited as Board of Director. We raise and stock over 4,000 brown trout into the nearby Muddy Creek watershed each year and have multiple incubators along small tributaries to Muddy Creek where approximately 80,000 brown trout eggs are placed each spring. These brown trout grow and then exit the incubator through a small tube and eventually find their way into Muddy Creek. It is through MCTU #575 that I am able to have the Trout in the Classroom setup.

Hunting

Some may find hunting to be a barbaric act connected to our "Neanderthal" past where hunting and gathering were a means of existence and necessity. I find hunting to be about far more than the harvest. It is a time for me to recenter myself, spend time with family, and connect with a world that is larger and more important than myself. Through the Pittman-Robertson Wildlife Restoration Act of 1937 all purchases of sporting goods related products have a special tax that hunters pay. That money goes directly to preserving land and conserving wildlife and totalled $1.2 billion last year alone. These dollars contributed by hunters go toward many things that benefit all of us. Lastly, whatever I do harvest is consumed by my family reducing our carbon footprint and while supplying many meals.

Fishing

I've been fishing since before I could spell my name or knew my address. I can fish from sunrise to sunset without a care in the world and completely disconnected from technology. I will walk miles to fish one particular 500 foot stretch of water or to catch a specific individual fish that resides under the large moss covered rock on the opposite bank alongside the railroad tracks. Trout and especially wild ones take me to beautiful places that most rarely experience. These are places I cherish and because I enjoy them so much I want them conserved, I want them protected, and I want others to experience them too.

Wild Brown Trout
- Fishing Creek

Stocked Brown Trout
- Muddy Creek

Wild Brown Trout
- Leibs Creek

Wild Brown Trout
- Spring Valley Park

Art of the Fly

I enjoy the artistic design and creative process of tying flies. This process is about using feathers, furs, and other material to mimic natural insects in order to full fish. Fly fishing is something that is both a science and an artform in that it blends the physics of the cast with the art of motion to deliver your hand tied fly to a very judgemental fish.

Music & Movies

“I have found that it is the small everyday deed of ordinary folks that keep the darkness at bay.

Small acts of kindness and love." - Gandalf

Lord of the Rings

One of my favorite books and movies is J.R.R. Tolkien's "The Lord of the Rings". I first read the complete trilogy in 7th Grade and have read it twice since then. The movies are very good and I own them as well as The Hobbit series. The epic battles, the heroic tales, the creatures, and the plot of a fall from grace, the strife and struggle of hardship, concluding in redemption are some of the best in all of literature.

Harry Potter Series

It's hard to go wrong with HP. I've read the entire series including The Cursed Child. I watched all the movies and have listened to some of the books on audio. It's a great story of friends finding their way through life and the redemptive power of friendship and love to extinguish darkness and hate. Something we can all learn from or be reminded of frequently. My favorite character is either Kreacher or Snape.