I have been married since 1989 to a [very patient] woman with whom I share many interests and enthusiasms. She and I have a 29-acre piece of Central Virginia paradise we call Willowtree Farm, of which we maintain four acres as farm and pleasure gardens, and 25 acres as woodland. In addition to loving all sorts of pets, we share a strong interest in organic and sustainable gardening and farming, and a desire to support wildlife and wilderness conservation in whatever ways we can, starting with our own property. Willowtree, I'm proud to say, is recognized by the National Wildlife Federation as a Certified Backyard Habitat, and our gardens, vineyard and orchard are all organic. I am a birdwatcher, and we maintain feeding stations for wild birds as well as bluebird and finch housing throughout our property. Neither of us can imagine life anywhere else.
I have been writing fiction since I was a child, with now a number of published poems and short stories, as well as several novels and short stories in various stages of completion, including one in collaboration with my wife, who is also a writer. I write in the genres of science fiction and young adult, primarily, but also have done some nature writing, and have some historical fiction and a mystery in the works. Since a writer must also read, I am also a voracious and catholic reader. I am particularly fond of science fiction, non-fiction about any of my various and many interests, and young-adult fiction.
I love music as a listener, particularly classical, country, and rock 'n roll. I really, really, really dislike hiphop. Unfortunately I'm no singer, but one of my chief ambitions is to learn to play the piano beyond "Jingle Bells".
A very important part of knowing me is understanding that I love animals. I mean, really love animals. I'm fortunate to have a wife who's equally nuts about them!
Since a childhood visit to the Boston Aquarium, I have been absolutely bonkers for turtles and tortoises. I take great interest in the survival of the many endangered species, and get great joy from the [non-endangered] tortoises and freshwater turtles I've acquired as pets. I take great pride in providing the best diets and housing for them, and enjoy reading in the shade while they explore their outdoor habitat. Their quiet presence is like a soothing balm.
An equally early interest was in freshwater aquaria, begun when I got my first aquarium and first fish as a present from my eldest brother. It is sometimes a challenge to achieve and maintain a balanced ecosystem in a small container, but it's a fascinating challenge, and when it works aquariums are both beautiful and good for the keeper's soul.
I've always been a cat-lover, so the fact that we have multiple cats is no surprise: to me their charm is half about their beauty and affectionate natures, and half about their haughtiness and the fact that, really, they don't actually need me---they stay with me because they want to. All of our current cats are rescues.
Since my marriage I've also come to know and love dogs. I have adopted the various varieties of the Parson Jack Russell's terriers as my particular interest. Once I had my first Jack Russell Terrier, I knew I would never again be without one. Since my wife is equally devoted to the various breeds of spitzes, we have a lot of dogs. Of our current group, four are rescues. We do not breed, but one of our dogs is a show dog, and several are show quality.
Somewhat surprisingly, perhaps, I also love vintage Ford cars. I had to sell my 1966 Mustang to fund my graduate degree, but someday I'll have another.
Obviously, my tastes are for the most part quiet and simple. I like the company of my wife and of a few close friends, I like to play board and card games, I like quiet time spent with a good book, I like a good movie, I like the sound of birdsong, aquarium aerators and windchimes, I like building primitive furniture (not that I really mean it to be primitive), I like a brisk swim followed by good Italian food, I like Mozart with a cat on my lap, and I like to sleep with my dogs. I like living in the country, and I'm quite content to be by myself.
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A couple of years ago I gave a reading of one of my short stories at the Charlottesville Barnes & Noble. Family and friends showed up for support, and a couple of people did sit down to hear me read.
I have known Frances for over twenty years, and we married in 1989. Brilliant and beautiful, she is my mentor, my pal and my soulmate.
My mother at the charity held at Belk to benefit the Orange County TRIAD. She is very active in this program which works with seniors to educate and protect them against being victimized by criminals.
A wise and wonderful man, I am honored to call Cliff my father-in-law. He has taught me a lot over the years and has been the grandfather I never had.
Martha is one of a kind and remains deep in our hearts, though she has departed this world (I chose this photograph of when she was a young woman because it's Cliff's favorite picture of her). Frances, her daughter, came by her brilliance honestly; Martha had two Juris Doctor degrees by the time she was twenty-one. We miss her very, very much.
Beth is our dearest friend. Frances has known her for over thirty-five years; they were pals in school. Beth has seen us through the good times and the bad, through thick and thin. Her smile is contagious. Her ability as a punster is legendary.
The top picture was taken on the day Solace, my first Jack Russell Terrier, arrived in my life. From that moment onward, she has had me tied tight around her paw--she has ruled the roost, held my heart and been queen bee of her universe ever since. That's her a couple of years ago. She's now eleven years old.
Lincoln, our Siberian Husky, has left us now, and it still hurts to think that's so. As you can see, he was beautiful. I called him our "gentle giant". He loved nothing more than to take long walks around the property. He was named for Lincoln, Nebraska, where he was found as a four-month-old puppy tied up at a truckstop.
She is our newest feline addition. Stink came to us from the Charlottesville-Albemarle SPCA. I fell in love with her the moment I laid eyes on her, and I knew immediately I would be bringing her home. She has been a true joy--which reminds me of the next slide.
She is our newest canine addition, sitting here with her big sister, Bonnie, our first Pomeranian. They make a beautiful pair, don't they?
Frances and I finally started getting recently into birds, which began when I surprised her with two little finches in a small cage. Now that has blossomed into a flock of...let's just say, a lot. Polly here is a captive-bred, hand-raised Blue Parrotlet, which are the smallest of the world's parrots.
Oct is a Sulcata Tortoise, the world's largest mainland tortoises (only outdone by the Aldebran Tortoise, found on the Aldabra Islands off the coast of Madagascar, and, the world's largest, the Galapagos Island Tortoise). She will easily live to be a couple of centuries old.
Cynthia, Beth, and Frances all went to school together, so they've known each other forever. I am blessed these two dear friends have come into my life. They are two wonderful people, who have raised three terrific kids.
My greatest inspiration as a teacher is my late elementary school principal. Dr. Julian King was the kind of educator who cared about each individual student, who saw not a student’s grades or behavior, but abilities and needs. Dr. King was the first teacher in my career as a student who saw in me not a behavior problem, but a bored kid with a high IQ and a chaotic home life. Dr. King had my IQ tested, then set about making sure the school gave me useful and creative outlets. He turned my life around, keeping me from following in the footsteps of my two brothers.
I don’t know why it took me so long to realize I was born to be a teacher, myself, particularly after that stellar example of what a teacher can mean in a child’s life. Other people predicted a teaching career for me as early as high school, and I knew I wanted to work with young people, but I had to thrash around for years trying other disciplines before I could see the obvious. I was a perpetual student for a long time, directionless and underperforming because I had no goals. Once I got in front of a classroom, though, I felt I’d come home; it was only when I knew I was a teacher that I found focus as a student.
Language is my chosen field of study. When in high school I had to take a foreign language, I opted for Latin just to be contrary. I fell in love with the language, and with the learning of a new language, which is why I later added French. In college, I took courses in Classical Greek, Spanish and Russian as well, in addition to classes in phonetics and linguistics. While I retain almost no Greek and less Russian, I have enthusiastically maintained and enlarged on my command of my beloved Latin, as well as French, and I hope to reach fluency in Spanish someday. I believe a people’s language is a window to their culture and mind-set. Obviously, I love my own rich native language of English, and would be happy to teach English as a second language, or work with students interested in creative writing.
When teaching, I strive to unite the insight and compassion of Dr. King with my own enthusiasm for my subject and my joy in learning.
Enthusiasm is something I have in abundance, as it happens. I have been married for 25 years to a [very patient] woman with whom I share many of my enthusiasms.
We share a strong interest in organic and sustainable gardening and farming, and a desire to support wildlife and wilderness conservation in whatever ways we can. Willowtree Farm, our former 29-acre piece of Central Virginia paradise, was recognized by the National Wildlife Federation as a Certified Backyard Habitat and by the Project Monarch as a Certified Monarch Way Station. Our gardens, vineyard and orchard were organic, our poultry free-range. I am a birdwatcher, and we maintained feeding stations for wild birds, as well as bluebird and finch housing, throughout our property. We plan to find a new property wherever we settle on which to establish a true permaculture homestead.
My wife and I have both been writing since childhood. Reviewing one another’s work helped bring us together, and we continue to strengthen our writing and our relationship through mutual critique. I have a number of published poems and short stories, and also have several novels and short stories in various stages of completion. I write in the genres of science fiction and young adult, primarily, but also have done some nature writing, and have some historical fiction and a mystery in the works. A writer must also read, and we are voracious readers with catholic tastes and an extensive library for people in our tax bracket. I am particularly fond of science fiction, non-fiction about any of my various and many interests, and young-adult fiction.
I love music as a listener, particularly classical, country, and rock 'n roll--but I really, really, really dislike hip-hop. Unfortunately I'm no singer, but one of my chief ambitions is to learn to play the piano beyond “Jingle Bells” with one finger. My wife was a musical prodigy as a child, singing and playing multiple instruments. Her knowledge of musical genres obviously exceeds my own, but she dislikes hip-hop as much as I do.
A very important part of knowing me is understanding that I love animals. I mean, really love animals. I'm very fortunate to have a wife who's equally nuts about them!
Since a childhood visit to the Boston Aquarium, I have been absolutely obsessed with turtles and tortoises. I take great interest in the survival of the many endangered species, and get great joy from the [non-endangered] tortoises and freshwater turtles I've acquired as pets. I take great pride in providing the best diets and housing for them, and enjoy reading in the shade while they explore their outdoor habitat. Their quiet presence is like a soothing balm.
An almost equally early interest was freshwater aquaria, begun when I got my first aquarium and first fish as a present from my eldest brother. Coincidentally, my wife also took up keeping fish at eight, so we enjoy working on them together. It is a fascinating challenge to achieve and maintain a balanced ecosystem in a small container. When done right, aquaria are both beautiful and good for the keeper's soul.
We love vintage Fords, though neither of us has mechanical skill--we just like to drive them. We had to sell our ’66 and ’68 Mustangs, as well as our ’64, ’66 and ’67 Galaxies, to fund my graduate degree, but someday we'll replace them. We still have a ’60 Thunderbird and ’70 Galaxie awaiting restoration to get them running again.
We’re not always in lockstep. Sometimes, we complement one another: I like to cook, while she’s a baker; she’s older than I but a child at heart, while I’m a fuddy-duddy; she loves to travel, while motion sickness makes me happy to stay home and take care of things so she’s free to go adventuring; I make primitive furniture (not that I mean it to be primitive) while she does fiber arts. For me, it’s the beach; for her, a shaded mountain lake. Accepting the differences just makes us stronger together.
Our household also includes my father-in-law, an 89-year-old widower and retired soldier who loves books, cats, mysteries, comedy, woodworking, metalsmithing, clockmaking, history, classical music and target shooting. He has become to me the father my own father never was.
As a family, we like concerts, museums, flower shows, Garden Week, and cookouts.
My relationship with my creator is an important part of my daily life.
Obviously, my tastes are for the most part quiet and simple. I like life in the country. I like the company of my wife, father-in-law, and a few close friends; I like playing board and card games, being alone with a good book, and sharing a good movie; I enjoy a brisk swim followed by good Italian food, Mozart with a cat on my lap, and naps with my dogs; I enjoy family dinners and time alone with the sounds of birdsong, aquarium aerators and wind chimes. Our home is homemade, a retreat full of life and the things we love, by design a place of simple comfort and hard-won peace.
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