Leslie is the consumate perfectionist, the one who wins prizes, ribbons, and approval. My earliest memory of my sister Leslie is from my kindergarten year and her second grade. We both attended Douglas Valley Elementary School at the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs. The school had what seemed like…

My Beautiful Mother When I told my siblings I was going to write about our mother, my sister Leslie said, “You’re braver than I am. You know she’s not going to like whatever you write about her.” Why would my sister warn me off from writing about our mother? Because…

My Debby Boone and Linda Ronstadt Christmas I would lie surrounded by my gifts near the tree in the living room for days listening to my records over and over again. I would then jump up and start singing along, dancing around the living room, dreaming I was Debby Boone…

Matthew broke the Martines mold when he was born. He is a hilarious prankster who keeps our family laughing everday! Matthew Lee Martines was born August 18, 1973 in the hospital at the United States Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colo. Our dad was a Spanish language instructor at…

Andrew has dreamed and achieved many seemingly impossible dreams. I have always admired his passion for travel and adventure. Most of all I admire his optimism. Andrew Lee Martines was born October 2, 1984 at Fort Belvoir in Fairfax County, Virginia when our father was stationed at the Pentagon. I…

Growing up, Michael was kind, soft-spoken, long-suffering, charitable, meek, and humble. Everything I wasn’t. Michael Lee Martines was born October 2, 1970 at what was then called Sandia Base in Albuquerque, New Mexico. It was later merged with adjacent Manzano Base and renamed Kirtland Air Force Base in 1971. Our…

My life has been shaped by what I call the Four M’s of my identity: Mormon, Military, Martines, and Mortensen. The Gary and Lorie Lunt family is connected to all of those defining aspects of my life. There is no time in my life I don’t remember the Lunt family…

My Father, My Hero By Catherine Martines Mortensen My father was not like any of the fathers I saw on television or read about in books. TV dads were usually goofy, playful, funny, or just plain dumb. In books, the fathers worked as farmers, doctors, lawyers, and policemen, what I…

Trump Needs to be the Listener-in-Chief With cities across the country erupting in violent protests and Americans feeling a combination of fear, frustration, pain, anger, and rage, President Trump must take on the role of Listener-in-Chief. He must listen to all Americans. Now is the time to seek unity, not…