Answering Questions: Dan Head (2 of 3) "Tough Guy!"

You have made reference to being a tough guy enough times that I've started wondering why. Martial arts background? Gangland? Former golden gloves champ? -- Dan Head

Ha! 

I don't think of myself as a tough guy, just someone who forces himself to conquer his fears. You see my brother and I each get really cold when confronted by some new violence. Part of it was where we grew up. We had a murderer who lived next door, a rum runner who ran the market less than a two hundred yards from our front door, and wild animals tended make their way across our property from time to time. Then crack, meth, and heroin hit our area and we had a lot of friends we grew up with go down some incredibly dark paths - too many of them will never come back either. 

So we adjusted that way I suppose.

It also didn't hurt that our parents tended to push us into conquering our fears. I'm more extreme in that regard then my brother as I was afraid of more when we were little than he. As I got older I would move against things that bothered me directly and when things got 'intense' I just felt calm and kept going (like any number of times that I've had a knife pulled on me or a wild pack of dogs come after me). Sometimes I think that has to be a reflection of how my mom and dad dealt with his deployments to Iraq, Kosovo, and every other war and armed conflict since Vietnam. You don't panic; you don't let others see your fear. You just set that jaw and push on through.

Oh, and I have no tolerance for people just being mean to be mean or being bullies. I had a friend commit suicide when he was 12 years old because of that shit and I've confronted it whenever I've seen it since. Worst that can happen is I get my ass kicked.

That shit doesn't bother me at all.