I’m a writer, and have been for most of my adult life. Without making this sound too much like a resume, I wrote creatively in college: poetry, short stories and plays. Later, I used my skills to become a journalist, public affairs specialist, copy editor and eventually a guy who ran his own newspaper as editor-in-chief.
Now, I’m back to letting my imagination run wild in some new creations including a science-fiction novel. Somehow, I also managed to teach English to high school kids, and, as a field historian, tell the story of our troops in Afghanistan. Field historian may be a misnomer considering all I did was write abstracts summarizing military unit profiles and missions that included hundreds of interviews of troops and contractors in combat.
On the personal side, I grew up in a small town called Gering, Nebraska, before escaping to Pomona, California, where I spent my last two years of high school before graduating from Ganesha High School in 1983. I have a Bachelors in English from the University of La Verne (1987), and a Masters in Education from UNLV (2007).
In between, I worked for government – the Army and TSA. As a soldier, I served tours in Panama, Washington, D.C., and Tokyo, all thanks to a teacher who encouraged me to see the world before I settled down.
As for hobbies, I run, hike and bicycle long distances. I have also been known to surf and ski.
I moved back to Gering in June 2015. I get to see family on a regular basis, breathe fresh air, and not have to ride the D.C. Metro or get stuck in traffic. In fact, I ride my bicycle whenever I can. I’m happily married to my wife Lisa, and we watch over a pack of fur babies, our dog Charley, and three cats Spike, Bootsy, and Franky (their shelter names).
If you should ever visit me in west Nebraska, be prepared to feast your eyes on paradise.