About Me
Back when California still had water
Monsoon storm over Phoenix
A beautiful family day at the Pacific in Oregon
Back when California still had water
Traveling with family is one of my favorite pastimes.
These are all photos I have personally taken on my travels.
I was born and raised in Oregon. My family is originally from Tennessee and Missouri. My mother was a religious homemaker who worked very hard to raise her three boys. I have been married for 35 years. We have two grown daughters. A sense of humor is one of my best features. I love to laugh and watch funny cartoons like the Simpsons, SpongeBob, the Flintstones, Looney Tunes, and more.
As a child, one older brother, my parents, and I took a cross-country trip in a motorhome. It was an amazing learning experience and sealed my fate as a lover of travel. I even had enough down time to exercise my love of the written word by reading the entire Lord of the Rings trilogy. Sorry, there were no audio books back then! It took us three months and we visited family in Tennessee, swam in the ocean past the breakers in Florida, and got to experience snow in Phoenix, AZ. I had the opportunity to visit my grandfather who was in the hospital dying. He never spoke or opened his eyes, but he is the only living grand relative I have ever seen.
My mother died of cancer at 51. I had a beautiful new bride and soon a child was on the way. By moving to California, I believed my children could get to know their living relatives. I was soon injured twice in vehicle crashes caused by others. A cement truck rear-ended me which put me out of commission for some time. After a lot of healing, there was an opportunity to be retrained so I enrolled in college for the first time.
After graduation, we chose to move back to Oregon because we wanted our, now numbering two, children to grow up in a more rural setting. We could have a little land to raise chickens and grow a small garden.
Health insurance and a steady income were important because one of my children is autistic. The result is we sold our home and moved to Arizona for work. I later had the privilege of traveling for my employer to Japan. I saw amazing and beautiful places and I would love to return one day with my family.
One of the craziest things I saw was on a packed subway train. A white-gloved security guard was quite sure he could fit one more person in that particular carriage. He spryly approached the closing door, put his boot to a rider’s derriere, and summarily stuffed him in. The door closed behind him, and the train left. The appearance was of a tin of sardines, carrying valises. I would give almost anything to have been able to record that event.
Due to an injury following my trip to Japan, I was unable to work and was restricted to a bed and wheelchair. Having no ties to Arizona, we sought a place where homes were still affordable.
The place we chose is the southern part of Alabama, just above the panhandle of Florida. It was there we purchased a home for less than a down payment would have been elsewhere. It needs work, but it is our little piece of the American Dream. We have a garden, chickens, and possess real property for our children to inherit. I have lost over seventy-five pounds and have earned a bachelor’s degree online from ASU.
These little lizards are everywhere in the South.
I still enjoy cartoons and animated movies, but I also know when to be serious.
"Remember when you lie on your back and cry on your pillow, tears get in your ears. Boulders rule."