What’s your full name?

Aaron John Kevin Rainbolt

Were you named after anyone?

It’s a funny story. My mom and Dad were huge Elvis fans and I was very very close to being named Elvis at one point, but they both decided it would best not to name me after the King of Rock n Roll so I didn’t get crazy teased. I did however get his middle name as my first name. My older sister Lisa Marie was not so lucky.

What’s your average day like?

I work for a State agency here in Texas in the IT division. I start at 7:00 am and leave at 4:00 pm. At the end of the day I leave the work at work and try to enjoy a few of my hobbies.

How far away do you live from where you were born?

1,388 miles exactly.

Is that distance something you think about? Do you have any connection to your place of birth?

All my family still lives in California. My Mother, sister, uncles aunts, and cousins. It always makes for an amazing visit home because I really make an effort to try and visit as many family members as possible. Plus a lot of long time friends I grew up with get visits also, so yes I have a huge connection to my birth place.

What do you consider to be your “home”?

I was born in Burbank California, raised in Los Angeles until I as 15, moved to Orange County California until I was 37 and then moved to Austin Texas. I don’t know what took me so long to get here, but I am home now.

What’s your ideal way to spend the holidays?

With my Daughter and my two little Grand babies. Yes, I’m old.

What items do you always take with you when you leave the house?

Cell phone, my wallet my pocket knife and my watch. My step father bought me an expensive Timex watch for my 13th birthday because I was never on time coming home from school activities, or playing at friends houses. He sat me down one day and told me a story about respecting other peoples time and when I wasn’t where I was supposed to be when I was said I would, it was as bad as lying to that person’s face and that I should never leave the house with out my watch. A few weeks later I lost that watch, but I never forgot that lecture and I follow his words religiously as an adult.

When you look in the mirror, what do you notice first?

How old I am getting.

If you could change something about your appearance, what would it be?

My weight.

What do you first notice in strangers?

Their eyes. The eyes are truly the gateway to a person’s soul. I can say that I am able to tell how a person is going to be just by looking at their eyes. I usually don’t judge a person but 99.9% of the people I meet I can read them right away and I adjust my keel going forward.

What do think people say about you?

I honestly don’t know.

What would you hope they would say?

What I hope people say about me is that I am a genuine person that they would like to have in their lives.

What is your proudest moment? Biggest victory?

I would have to say my daughter Stephani. I recently had sort of an epiphany after my daughter and I had another little argument. I wondered why are we arguing? Well, it was ME trying to parent her. She is 26 years old. She is an adult and I’m trying to parent her?!? I know we never stop parenting our children in a way, but she was making adult decisions and low an behold they made sense.

Again she is only 26 years old, and she is making a living as a successful Realtor in Colorado springs, all the while making an impact on the world with her love and kindness. She is also a Military spouse and mother of two. We have now stopped arguing once I realized she is all grown up.

What is your biggest regret? Biggest failure?

If I look back at my life I have very few regrets, a lost love, bad spending, but the ones that made the most impact on me are the things I never even tried.

If you could change anything about yourself, what would it be?

Nothing really. We could all find something they want to change, but I pretty much love myself right now.

What makes life worth living?

Everything. But if I had to pinpoint one specific thing. My Freedom. “Life without liberty is like a body without spirit.”

What is the one rule you try to live by? Do you feel successful at following it?

Mutual respect for my fellow human and animals alike. Dwight D. Eisenhower once said, By mutual respect, understanding and with good will we can find acceptable solutions to any problems which exist or may arise between us.