Photo by Karsten Winegeart on Unsplash
Updated September 2025
I’ve worn many hats over the course of my life on this lovely rock. I am a husband, father, and grandfather. A brother, an uncle and, at times, a grumpy old neighbor. A carpenter, a contractor and a renaissance man. A pacifist and mellowed-out boomer. A business owner, designer, and jack of all trades. A writer and lover of wisdom.
Before I was born, a century’s old religious dogma had already defined my existence. Little room remained for personal choice. My last decade has all been about personal choice.
During the Vietnam conflict, my deferments disappeared before the war ended. I received a draft notice and a date to appear for a physical. Those of us called up at that stage were all excused when the war ended. I doff my hat to those who served or paid with their lives in that conflict and every war before and after. I was given the opportunity to remain a pacifist.
I discovered in middle school that I had an affinity for woodworking. An aptitude test at a community college suggested engineering as a career. I combined both to become an industrial patternmaker. I learned to design and build wood-patterns for the foundry industry. And I bought my employer’s company, retooling it with the latest computer-aided technology. The skills I learned overlapped with my creative side, providing a life filled with projects I both designed and built with my own hands.
I left college without a degree, eager to start a family, and found my secular niche. The church ordained me a half-year after marrying the girl of my dreams. She still lights up my world.
Our four children inherited our combined love and talents — the crown of our union. Each is gifted and industrious.
Religious dogma, three generations strong, permeated every aspect of my first 50 years. No area of my life escaped its influence. In my 30s, a significant mentor changed my world. Combined with the loss of my brother, and like the infamous butterfly effect, my course rerouted.. It was enough to help me escape my religious cave.
Storytelling has become my latest hobby, and in November 2024, I published my first book, a memoir entitled Go and Preach No More. It took five years to complete, and an unexpected twist in that pursuit was reliving my most challenging struggles as a minister. But I dealt with those challenges and prevailed.