My name is Thomas Godwin and, although I have been interested in writing on Hive for a long time, this is my second post. Apparently, I've gone and done things backward, posting about Scotch whisky rather than introducing myself. Guess it shows where my priorities lie. 😁
I've been a freelance writer for going on six years now, quitting a lucrative, 11-year career in the shipbuilding industry. It was a frightening decision to make—giving up a 401k, paid holidays and vacations, health and dental insurance, and the security of a paycheck every week.
But, I've learned in my 42 years that nothing good comes to those who wait. I've since become a Contributor with, Outdoor World Review, Headless Nomad, and Blitz'd Magazine. Blitz'd Magazine is some of my earlier work and, as a men's alternative lifestyle magazine, make sure your kids aren't around if you click the link. But hey, everybody has to start somewhere and it shows that I can cover a pretty wide range of genres when I need to.
I’ve seen a lot in a short time. I don’t know if you could term that a blessing or a curse. I was in D.C. on September 11, 2001. During my enlistment as a US Marine, I spent time in Quantico, Virginia, and Washington D.C. 
Image by Russ McElroy from Pixabay
Everyone who was old enough remembers where they were and what they were doing that day. Half of my life has passed since, and I remember who I was speaking to and what we were doing.
I served one tour and decided against reenlistment. I was young and even though Parris Island changed me, I was still resistant to being told what to do. I settled in Fredericksburg for a time, absorbing the immense history of the area, spending time in allegedly ghost-filled bars, and camping out in haunted woods. The northern part of Virginia is full of incredible scenery in an almost eerie way. The area has seen its fair share of death and agony over the centuries.
Eventually, the call of home and tropical summers drew me back to Florida. I’ve grown quite the fondness for nature over the years and Florida’s is nearly unmatched. The sugar-white sands of the beaches fade away as you turn inland, becoming thick, ancient oaks, pine trees, and moss-covered canopies that practically beg you to sit down and rest your back against a trunk.
Florida sits on top of what might be one of the largest aquifers in the world, giving way to over a thousand springs. The water is so clear you feel like falling out of a kayak will mean death on the craggy rocks below. As fall gives way to winter, the manatees come calling. Florida springs maintain a comfortable temperature year-round and manatees flee the cold, taking solace in the clear springs—sometimes hundreds at a time.
As a lover of nature, I also hunt, which gets a quizzical reaction from some at times. I hunt for two reasons—it’s as organic as you can get and I’ve seen the horrendous toll that overpopulation takes on local wildlife. I’ve seen the skeletal bucks bounding from the woods, no bigger than my female Doberman, Athena, who weighs about 60lbs.
I am fascinated by history, especially 800AD to 1400AD England and the Ancient Egyptians. 
Image by Pete Linforth from Pixabay
I have an audiobook and Kindle library with over 400 books that cover some of the greatest philosophers in history, including G.K. Chesterton, St. Thomas of Aquinas, Plato, Socrates, Confucius, and Aristotle. My favorite biographies include John D. Rockefeller, Tesla, Andrew Carnegie, Julius Ceasar, Henry V, John Adams, Teddy Roosevelt, and George Washington Carver, who has to be the greatest agricultural inventor of all time.
I met my wife in 2011 and, without her, I wouldn't be here writing any of this. 
I'd probably still be laboring away in a shipyard, trying to drink enough water to avoid heat exhaustion. She's the one that convinced me to make the leap from a traditional job to freelance writing. Not the best picture of me, right after spending a day on the disc golf course. However, as you will probably discover, assuming you read anything I write now and in the future, I have no shame. I learned to let things like that go a long time ago.
As a freelancer, I've been rejected more often than accepted, which I have come to understand is pretty much how it goes. If I took every rejection personally, I would be a stressed-out mess of a human being. I don't. When I get a rejection, I shrug my shoulders and move on. A long time ago, a Marine Gunnery Sergeant gave me some of the best advice I've probably ever had—you can't worry about the things you can't control.
I'm also looking to return to my fiction roots. I have a BFA in Creative Writing for Entertainment and I've had a story bouncing around inside my skull for about ten years now. It's either serialize it here or on Substack and I'm still undecided. Perhaps some of you can provide me with a little guidance on that. Anyway, I appreciate the help and guidance from @traciyork and @lovesniper, without whom I wouldn't be writing this meandering introduction post.
I'm happy to be here. I hope the Hive Community as a whole continues to thrive and grow, whether I'm here or not. For all of my fellow freelance writers, I wish you the best and hope you all find success!
Hey mate, well ome aboard. It seems you'll have plenty to write about and it'll be interesting to see your Hive journey unfold. It's also good to have another hunter and outdoorsman type around and you like history too? Are you actually me?
Anyway, I have a couple little communities here you may like to post in now and then: Outdoors and more is about outdoors adventure stuff, prepping, hunting and firearms, equipment and stuff like that and the other is called: Weekend Experiences which is about anything weekendy, you know, Saturday and Sunday.
Anyway, I'll see you around sometimes I guess. Enjoy.
That’s sounds great. I’ll be sure to check them out. The outdoors genre is definitely one my more comfortable and knowledgeable areas.
No worries, and also, if you have any Hive related questions please feel free to ask, I,ve been here for over five years so learned one or two things.
Have a great rest of the week.
I'm happy you're finally here too - it's been a bit of a journey getting your account settled, hasn't it? 😁
While I'm not terribly familiar with Substack other than the basics, my gut reaction is...
I can't imagine there's a huge overlap in the audiences for both platforms, so I'd think it would work to start the serialization here on Hive (smaller but more engaged audience, in my somewhat biased opinion...lol), then maybe start it on Substack down the road to reach a different audience.
Oh, and nice to finally meet the man behind those non-confrontational tweets. 😂
As I said before, feel free to shout out to me either here, on Twitter, or on Discord (traciyork#4860) if there's anything I can do for you.
I'm working on gathering everything together and organizing it, what with Hive, Ecency, Wallets, mobile apps, and everything else. Right now, I'm reading about downvoting and upvoting. From what I understand, an upvote with the sliding scale at 100% burns all of my HP for several hours. I'll get there on Discord as well. I haven't been this slammed with clients in a few months and Hive has to play second fiddle to client's needs, unfortunately! Lol
At the risk of overwhelming you with resources, here's a few others you might want to check out. Among other things, they show you how much Voting Power (up & down) you currently have, along with your Resource Credits -
https://hive.ausbit.dev/@tdgodwin3780
https://hiveblocks.com/@tdgodwin3780
https://hivetasks.com/@tdgodwin3780 (hasn't been updated in a minute, so some things are broken, but love the voting pie charts)
They are essentially the same, but slightly different, so I use them all depending on what I'm looking for.
Good deal. There’s quite a bit to absorb. Thanks!
Now who can blame you writing about Whisky before that Introduction, needed it to pluck up the courage...
Take a massive leap onto Hive and Welcome!
Your wife obviously sees that inner writer emerge much more than the dockside dehydrated guy she may have originally met?
Have an amazing stay learning with brilliant communities and writers.
@tipu curate 2
Upvoted 👌 (Mana: 13/53) Liquid rewards.
Yeah, she has a much better discerning eye than I do, that's for sure! I appreciate the welcome and I'm working on a good bourbon post next.
That is the magic about the platform you will find communities that fall hook line and sinker for a good story told.
Welcome home! Just like everywhere else Hive has it's good, bad, and ugly lolololol There is something for everyone here! I was born in Florida and grew up between bouncing from there and SE Georgia. Reach out if you have any questions!
Thank you! Yeah, I love Florida and grew up here. I've lived in the Keys and the Panhandle, along with a few years in Tampa and Orlando. But the more I get up into the Appalachians, the more I want to haul up stakes and head north lol.
Welcome aboard.
We can be a tough crowd.
This is a very long game, though.
Just keep plugging away and you account will continue to grow.
Thank! I'm used to tough crowds, for sure!
nothing wrong with some good Whiskey , welcom to Hive
Thank you. Hope to have a bourbon post up soon. I'm more of a Scotch guy but I've been nipping at a bottle of 1792 for awhile now.
currently i'm enjoying Jack Daniel's Tennessee Honey 😏
Welcome to Hive, brother.
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STOPTo support your work, I also upvoted your post!
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You are welcome @tdgodwin3780
You are welcome to the most reliable hive community blockchain . Looking forward to what you have for us. Enjoy yourself,don't plagiarize and explore. Best of luck!
Hi, and nice to meet you. Welcome to Hive!
I'm a freelance writer and translator so: 'Hey colleague!'
Did you mean September here? Or was there something big in December as well? 😉
And writing about Scotch can definitely be an icebreaker so it's OK to start with that here haha. Anything goes!
You've had a pretty interesting life till now. Cool. You fit right in. We're a big bunch of 'everythings' here. All kinds of different people who have done and been all kinds of things.
I'm sure you'll love it.
You are correct. Thanks for catching that for me! I was stationed at Marine Security Guard Battalion, Quantico, Va at the time. I was still a young, dumb, Private First Class then! I'm looking forward to it and thanks for the welcome!
No worries. I've done quite a lot of proofreading and editing in my life so I find things like that when others wouldn't blink twice hehe.
I was actually in a phone booth in the Netherlands, calling my ex-husband in the US. He was watching the news, so that's how I heard what was going on.
Awesome and welcome to Hive, we are sure you will fit right in!
Thanks!