About the Author

Born:

California

Parents:

My father is deceased. My mother is eighty and moves with a youthful grace as if she drank from Ponce De Leon’s fabled spring. Visiting her is a pleasure. I admire her positive attitude and giving spirit and I’m convinced she will outlive all her offspring. I hope I inherited her longevity chromosome and her outlook toward life.

Home:

I was raised in Oklahoma and since then have lived in Germany, where I have the most beautiful memories and fell in love with the cities and towns and mountains. Then I moved to the charming state of Louisiana, which some people consider to be a country separate from the United States. Also lived in the exceptional state of Texas, which I will never forget. The last thirteen years North Carolina has been my home except for occasional deployments to deserts that somehow leave sand in places where sand should never be.

Educated:

Embry Riddle Aeronautical University

Animals:

I had a beautiful fawn colored boxer that passed. Someday I hope to get another boxer or an English bulldog. We currently have an American Bobtail cat named Duncan who rules the house as if he is the lion king. He sleeps during the day, no doubt exhausted from prowling the house at night pretending he is a courageous hunting beast. Each morning he insist on receiving his favorite cat treats for protecting us from various ghosts, and haunts and imaginary threats during the darkness.

Publishing History:

I always wanted to be a writer, but desire takes second place to eating and paying the bills. Translating an aspiration into a reality requires commitment and long hours and support of friends and family. Now that my first novel is completed I want to thank them and all of you who have taken the time to read this book and sent comments and thoughts of encouragement. You have my appreciation.

Cars:

My first car was a 1968 Firebird that could pass everything except a gas station. Back then we dressed our cars with chrome wheels and wide tires and installed a lot of go-fast components under the hood and loud mufflers that rumbled and vibrated and a stereo that was heard before the car was seen. Gas was inexpensive and seat belts were not required and I have fond memories of the car and the girlfriend and the adolescence years of freedom and recklessness and am amazed I escaped without broken bones or mental disorders or incarceration.

Now we live in an eco friendly era of gas conservation and road rage. I conformed to this lifestyle with a small car that drives from here to eternity on a thimble of gas, but in my heart I am a rebel and in my garage sits a black and chrome Jeep too beautiful to take on the trails and too thirsty to drive to work. Beside it sits a partially restored 1972 Z-28. If I live long enough and save enough money it will have chrome wheels and a loud muffler and I will roll down the windows and take my wife for a drive and play classic rock and roll. As I accelerate, the wind will whisper tales of youth and there will be a reckless scent in the air and time will fade away and once more I will remember the irresponsibility of my early years.

Aircraft:

Helicopters and Airplanes and Jets are close to my heart and I spent years of my life skimming just above the tree tops or looking down on the earth from a height that changes your perspective of the world. To crest a hill and roll out on target and unleash rockets and missiles is an opportunity to be an adult and still play with toys like a child.

Skiing:

Friends and I skied Lake Tahoe, California in the 70s and I have loved it ever since. My wife and I try to ski every year. Unfortunately I don’t ski enough to develop any great proficiency, but there is enormous pleasure in navigating a hill without falling or knocking another person down.

Golf:

For ten years I lived on a golf course without picking up a golf club or hitting a ball. One day I tried it and discovered the most frustrating and brilliant game in the world. I absolutely love the challenge of golf, but am only learning the game and my busy work schedule doesn’t allow the time to practice. Maybe when I retire.

Exercise:

Weight training is a part of my lifestyle. This has been a way of life for me for over 37 years. There are other activities: I played rugby in Germany and competed in martial arts and boxed a little and did many other things, but the act of lifting and pushing and pulling of weights is therapeutic and I enjoy the process as much as the end result.

First job:

There were odd jobs while in high school, but the first serious job was the military. I entered the Army in 1976 and have been fortunate in my career. The military holds a special place in my heart, and the awards and medals and ribbons and military courses and schools and accreditations serve a purpose, but some of the best and brightest men and women in American serve in the armed forces and meeting them has more value than any award. It has been an honor to know and serve with these individuals who forfeit their personal comfort and relationships, and experience more adversity and privation in a single deployment than most people experience or understand in a lifetime. The friendship of these soldiers changed the way I view the world around me and I am forever grateful.

I have flown helicopters and airplanes and jets in support of catchy buzzwords like Operation Desert Storm and Joint Forge and Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom and Operation New Dawn and other freedom oriented names that often involve destinations with deserts and sand and lonely places far from home and loved ones.

During this adventure I visited over 90 countries in Central and South America, Africa, the Middle East, Europe and some of the Old Soviet Republic countries and each time I am left with the thought that I am fortunate to be born in the United States.

Second job:

In 1985 I lived in Louisiana and flew helicopters to the offshore oil wells. It was interesting flying with incredible food and great, warm-hearted Cajuns that embrace you with hospitality.

Third job:

A year later I moved to Oklahoma and flew Tulsa Life Flight. The people who ran the program were exceptional, and the flight nurses were brilliant. It is a profession where you often see people at their worst. I learned that some aspects of pain and suffering and death can only be touched by humor and I laughed at work and hugged my children at home and looked for another job.

In addition to these jobs I was in the Army Reserves or the National Guard and after flying Tulsa Life Flight I returned to the military. I never tire of flying. When you accelerate down the runway and climb through the cloud layer and break out on top and see sunshine above and clouds below you think “this is the best job in the world.” Except when you are far from home and you are flying into hostile skies and your missile detector is screaming and you know the abrupt maneuver required to avoid incoming missiles is going to spill your coffee. And there is your first dilemma of the morning. Don’t you hate choices like that?

1st published piece:

UNSPEAKABLE is my first novel. Several other books are stored in my head and early in the morning and late in the evening I begin the laborious process of extracting those thoughts and turning them into something I hope you find entertaining.