I was born and raised in the West Texas town of Midland. I am blessed with two daughters and two grandsons. I joined the U.S. Army in 1971 and served four years in the Signal Corps. Three of those years were in the old town of Heidleberg, Germany.
I later began a career in the electric power industy which required me to live in places like China
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I was a little unsettled when asked to work in Communist China. After living there for three and a half years I have to admit that it was one of the best places I have ever lived in terms of history, natural beauty and the hospitality of the people. I hope that everyone can one day witness the majesty of the Great Wall and the Forbidden City.
To be able to live in a 4,500 year old civilization and learn their culture and way of life was an experience of a life time.
China has been the source of many inventions including papermaking, the compass , gunpowder and printing .
Paper money, pottery and rockets also originated in China.
In South America, I lived in Maracaibo, Venezuela on the lake of the same name. This lake and the local native Indians are depicted in Chapters 1 and 2 of Conchita's Eyes. Parts of both chapters derive from my experiences while living and working there.
There aren't many places where one can lay on a tropical beach in the morning and play in the snow covered mountains that same evening.
The picture below is of Jeju (Cheju ) Island off the southern coast of South Korea where I lived and worked for an year and a half. The statues are widely believed to grant you a boy child if you rub their heads while pregnant.
When I worked south of the border the people were friendly and offered great hospitality. Now, the drug cartels are waging war in the area where I lived. It is by far the most dangerous place in the western hemisphere. The recent activities and conditions there are the basis of my second book, Not Our Children!
