A Truly Unexpected Life Story

Dan Carlson graduated in 1970 from Milwaukee Hamilton High School with a GPA of 1.9, placing him solidly in the bottom 25% of the class of 975. In seminary, he made the dean’s list. Very Unexpected. He then went to work at Ford Aerospace in Palo Alto California to pay off school bills. Within 10 years of high school graduation, he was appointed Test Conductor in Charge of Launch Operations at Cape Canaveral, Florida. Very Unexpected. 

As a boy, he experienced a very embarrassing and emotionally traumatic speech impediment that got him focused on words, particularly words minus the letter s because he could never pronounce s correctly. Out of his pain, words became a focal point. Languages became second nature and he studied five, including Spanish, Portuguese, Greek, Hebrew and English. Very Unexpected.

After Hurricane Katrina he hand-picked 10 Wisconsin professionals to do crisis counseling and debriefings with police officers in New Orleans. They were the first to whom the city allowed access. Very Unexpected. His entire life has been a series of very unexpected life stories. The hope is these stories bring you encouragement, hope, spiritual inspiration, and a good belly laugh.

December 1st, 2024