- Name: Brad Arterburn
*(no middle name; his father said middle names weren't practical)
- Age: 67
Born and Raised: Louisville, KY
*(use to sneak into Freedom Hall to watch the young Cassius Clay box)
- Status: Single
*(been married twice and has decided he better keep things simple)
- Occupation: Contractor/Land Developer
- Reason for Hinking the AT: An Eagle Scout, always loved the outdoors, and has dreamed about through hiking the AT for years.
- Children: 7
- Grandchildren: 15
Following are some biographies written by friends and family about Brad.
My Dad
by Malcolm Glen Arterburn (son #3)
I am a lot like my dad (a bit of a critical, micro-managing, perfectionist)... so that makes writing this very difficult. Not to mention that I know he'll be critiquing this on his Palm Treo from the trail, so I must be careful with what I say and how I say it. :)
Brad Arterburn, my dad. Well, I'm not sure what I can say that would best explain who he is? Let me start with this... he is a son, a dad, and grandad.
- SON: He is the son of the late Malcolm Glen Arterburn, my grandfather. My dad loved his father very much. I know this because I have seen it in my dad's life. He loved and honored his dad. I admire him for that and hope that I can learn to love and honor him in the same way.
- DAD: He is a dad... 7 times to 7 boys, all men now. Gil, Sam, Glen (original batch), Chad, Bret (step-batch), Ben, Luke (second-batch). All of us know that he was not perfect. But we also know without a doubt that he genuinely cares for us and loves us very much. He has been a good dad and we love him for that.
- GRANDAD: He is a grandad to 13 children, and a proud one at that. He loves his grandkids. He is always available to babysit, and the grandkids love to be with him. He reads to them, plays with them, and sometimes disciplines them. They know he means business, and they love him for it. I think one of their favorite things is listening to his fictional, ad-lib "Mister Balloon" stories... "everything Mr. Balloon has is yellow, but nobody knows what color his underwear is."
There is no way to easily sum up quickly who my dad is. Anyone who knows him can undoubtedly agree with the following:
- He is a man of his word
- He does what he says
- He is a leader
- He is always on time
- He is a hard worker
- He is self-sacrificing
- He has high expectations
- He is intense and focused
- He gets the job done right
- He is knowledgable
- He is a faithful servant
- He loves his family
- He loves Jesus Christ
He also finishes what he starts... including the Appalachian Trail!
Dad, thanks for being a good example for us in so many ways.
Granddad
By Makala Faithe Arterburn ( 1st grandchild -age 10 )
We all love our Granddad very much. He does many things with us. There is one game we all love to play with him called bear. We play it on the trampoline. He is the bear. He chases us and tries to pull us down. Sometimes he gets a little too rough for me.
We also like playing hide and go seek. He is always “it“. I don’t know if he is being easy on us or not but he never can get us. .. well sometimes!
We love to hear his Mr. Balloon stories. He is such a good story teller.
We all miss him very much and can’t wait until he gets back.
You are the best Granddad!
"Granddad plays a game with us called "bear" and we play it on the trampoline. He is the "bear" everyone else has to run. I love my Grandad. HE IS GREAT!!!!!!!!!"
-From Grandson Elijah (age 9)
"Playing "Bear" is my favorite thing to do with Granddad. I also like him to tell Mr. Balloon stories (which he makes up). They are always about all us grandchildren and about animals escaping."
- Grandson Wil (age 7)
"On our Birthdays he takes out to eat breadfast and then to a store to buy something we like. He doesn't order his own breakfast and will eat what we have leftover, but now he has to buy his own breakfast if he wants to eat!"
- Granddaughter Emilia (age 5)
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