Background
(updated 6/21/03)
Having been born on the second floor of the hospital in Los Alamos, New Mexico,
my world was a mixture of science (Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory was the
name of the town's single industry at the time) and nature (our town was
nestled among mesas and canyons in northern New Mexico). Although I respect
the scientific mind and the irreversible role of technology, my interests
in truth and being truthful about non-quantifiable matters led me into studying
and teaching literature. Life has never seemed self-explanatory to me, nor
has it seemed self-justifying. At the same time, life has never seemed without
meaning, nor has treating it carelessly seemed justified. Well, there were
the dark years--a period of juvenile delinquency, which has provided
good bed-time stories for my kids ("wow... that guy was messed up; I think
I'll try to sleep it off!).
So I have spent time thinking and reconciling and accepting and rejecting
and trusting and thinking again. We all do, one way or another. It's a greyscale
from then on out on accuracy and no one holds the ultimate swatch.
In addition to holding a Ph.D.
from the University of Colorado, Boulder, I also hold the current championship
at table tennis in a basement in Ft. Collins. However, I was recently whipped
(figuratively, to be sure) in the basement of another friend, who lives in
Golden. Which makes me want to change the subject to other jobs. I was an
ice-cream man in Tulsa, OK for nine long days. And I was deckhand on the
Mississippi, Ohio, and Cumberland rivers in the late 70s. And recently I've
been replacing kitchen sink faucets for friends.
Like many of us, I look forward
to better times, both personally and socially. I look forward to burgeoning
expressions of non-religious Christianity, which may be discernible only
to those who realize their ultimate helplessness and find themselves being
helped by others who may or may not recognize the spirit that guides them.
And although I have no dreams of a peaceful political world, I do hope that
the United States learns to focus on becoming internally strong and healthy,
setting a super-power example to this world.
Here is myself after running
the 2002 Golden Gate Half Marathon.
Post Script: Here's a picture
of one of my best friends (the Golden guy) rising from the dead...sort of. 
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