A native of Brooklyn, N.Y., who was transplanted to Northeast Pennsylvania in 1973 at the age of 12, just when Brooklyn was getting really interesting. I went through sixteen years of Catholic Confinement (grades 1-12 and a Jesuit University). Rolling from the trauma of those experiences, I went into the United States Navy a week after graduating from the University of Scranton.

Join the Navy, see the world. Because 71% of the Earth’s surface is covered by water, I have seen a lot of water. My adventures took me to six of the seven continents, 65 countries (at last count), and into harm’s way a few times. All in all, 23+ years of relative calm and stability interrupted the equivalent of a few months of potentially deadly chaos. I split my time between Atlantic Fleet ships and Pacific Fleet Aviation support. I have crossed the Equator a few times. I felt the chill of air 300 miles north of the Arctic Circle, the warm breezes off the Indian Ocean, and the coarseness of a Kuwaiti sandstorm. I have tasted the salt air of the Atlantic, Pacific, Indian, and Arctic Oceans and weathered storms in the North, Black, Adriatic, Caribbean, and Mediterranean Seas. My safe place in my 20’s was the deck of a U.S. warship. And I loved every minute of the ride.

I am retired from the Navy. I work in Norfolk, Virginia. And that is all I will say about that. It is not terribly exciting.

I have loved and lost. A few years ago, I  found a love that I never saw coming and never thought possible in the eyes of a woman I have known since I was twelve. Because of that, my world stretches between the Tidewater of Southeast Virginia and the Georgia Low Country.

Having looked at the heavens from some of the most remote places on the Earth, I have seen the infinite beauty of the stars without the interference of man-made light. I am sure I know who generates that beauty and light.

I live in Southeastern Virginia with my youngest son.