I entered the world feet first the same year Sputnik started the space race. It was also the year the USS Nautilus reached the twenty thousand league point of her nuclear travels. I was born in an age where all things were possible. Science fiction turned into reality, and fantasy turned into science. My father was an air force officer, so we moved around a lot. It explains much about me.
It was a time where there were fields for a kid to run through, trees to climb, and creeks to ford, just don’t let mom know. She was worried we could somehow drown in a foot of water. Sticks became spears, swords, guns, bats, or whatever a boy’s imagination could devise. Cattails, from the creek we weren’t supposed to cross, became furry cloud grenades.
It was the cold war, and every few months we would file out into the school hallways and practice the duck and cover drill. It seemed silly to most of us. We were on a military base. We were ground zero for a nuclear exchange. The teacher’s explanation that it would protect us from flying glass as the building melted around us never did make sense.
My father’s last duty assignment was in the snow belt. Pine forests and large drifts of snow introduced me to snow forts, snowball fights, and sled hill. My father decided he didn’t want to shovel snow for the rest of his life. He retired in New Mexico to golf. Some friends taught me how to rock climb and repel. I graduated from high school and spent my senior year and college time as a member of the Rio Rancho Volunteer Fire Department.
I graduated from High School and attended the University of New Mexico. Halfway through my studies, the temporary insanity of youth hit me, and I found myself wearing a uniform, and marching to “Anchors Aweigh.” I learned to sail and SCUBA dive. Seven patrols operating a nuclear reactor on the ballistic missile submarine USS Daniel Webster was tough but rewarding work.
I am honored to have served, but unlike my father, my destiny took me in a different direction. I returned to UNM and finished my Electrical Engineering degree. My chosen career caused me to jump between jobs and move several more times. I was fortunate that the most beautiful woman in the world had a moment of temporary insanity and married me, but then a man’s wife sets the definition of the most beautiful woman in the world for him. We currently live in Phoenix Arizona. Our two padawans are finishing their Jedi training at opposite sides of the country.
I have lived in sixteen different cities, in states bordering both oceans, on our northern and southern border, and in the middle of the country. I have hiked and camped in the desert, the snow, the swamp, and some more moderate environments. It is my hope and goal that the varied experience I have enjoyed in my life will add to the richness of my writing and the enjoyment of my readers.
Enjoy the Adventure
Pat