Andrew W. Barckley

The philosopher Popeye said it best, "I yam what I yam." What more are we than what we can say about ourselves? Our actions will be blended in with the actions of everyone else. The change one might've made in someone else's life is only temporary, and even then, as life-altering as it may be, there are still others. So what can I say about me in an effort to identify what and or who I am to a whisp of a passer-by?
Born the day before Halloween in '83, I travelled a lot. The Barckley's living a life that seemed a throwback to nomadic early humans. In retrospect, childhood was a blur, but then again, I'm not known for my terribly good memory. It was either that or the number of cranial traumas. I'm not known for being particularily careful, either.
Fast forward through the love-lorn stages of a hopeless romantic that were my teenage years. What I learned from being a "nice guy" helped transition me well into being a compassionate and intimate and cynical young adult. Plenty of self-induced heartache goes a long way in setting up character, afterall, what doesn't kill only strengthens. A gift of writing and humor and empathy were plenty to glean from the rigors of being a nerdy teengager. But then Adriann decided to ruin all of that. Girls are a silly breed.
Adriann came down from outside of Chicago to go to school at UAB to become a nurse. She and I met at Ruby Tuesday in Gardendale. I first saw her in the back booth going through the training videos and as per my usual, decided to irritate the newbie. Plus, she was a smoking 95lb peice of work. Nice dark hair. Smooth olivy-tan skin. I might as well check her out while I welcome her to the team, right? I made a joke about the video she happened to be watching and she immediately ignored me! Score! But I was just ast stubborn then as I am today. I spent the next year busting my ass for her. Being a busboy at the time, I was always able to help her clean her tables. It was my job... kind of. But then came the ice bin. Nowhere near the pinnacle of manliness I am now, I lifted countless 70lb cans of ice into the station for her. And then, one day, she broke. She and I actually started hanging out. Three years after a very bad day for her in which I presented her with flowers and asked her out on a date (a very hard task for me then), we got engaged. Two years later, and here we are. At the now.
Today, my shyness is gone, replaced with an unabashed self-assurance. I'm actually married to that fantastical nurse who started out hating me. I've got a swank house north of Birmingham. I'm the award-winning producer for the film team PKI who competes in the Sidewalk Scramble. I've got a pretty firm grasp on my beliefs. And frankly, I'm sitting on top of the world looking down as people do whatever it is they do, but I still have no idea what to do with my life. Funny how things work out, huh?
So take that, world! Viva Le Barckley!