My wife Mary Ruth and I live in a restored Victorian house in Strasburg, Virginia at the North end of the beautiful Shenandoah Valley. Although we have no human children, we share our home with four of the furry kind - twenty-year-old cat curmudgeon Zee, who at this point is primarily decorative, fifteen-year-old useless Cocker Spaniel Toby, (the adjective says it all), six-year-old painter's apprentice accident and sports fan Caly (we brought her home from a Strasburg High School football game), and three-year-old problem child Gracie, who planted herself in Mary Ruth's shop on an unseasonably warm Thanksgiving eve (hence her name) two years ago and grew roots. Caly and Gracie are semi-professional kitty wrestlers, partners in crime, and an endless source of amusement. Caly is perfect, Gracie is NOT; her main jobs are to be beautiful and to make mischief. Suffice it to say that life is absolutely never dull with Gracie around.

      Mary Ruth is a first-rate nail technician, whose shop A Touch of Class (unquestionably the social hub of Strasburg) is also the home of my therapeutic massage practice, Gilead Massage Therapy. I have been a practicing certified massage therapist for twelve years. Apart from being an ideal portable skill, massage therapy keeps me in tune with healing energy which has a very positive effect on me and on my clients.

      Theatre is a shared passion for us. Both Mary Ruth and I are devoted theatre fanatics who frequently attend amateur and professional productions and who derive great pleasure from following the careers of our actor friends. We have both been known to tread the boards on numerous occasions; I am frequently on stage at nearby Wayside Theatre in musical and character parts. My undergraduate degree in Theatre Arts from Hofstra University and the skills I learned there have really served me well!

      In addition to acting, writing and performing folk music has always been one of my greatest loves. I have been kicking around the folk music world for twenty-five years as both appreciative audience and singer/songwriter. I have had the pleasure of hearing my 'song children' performed and recorded by many celebrated folk artists, and recently had the thrill of hearing one of my songs arranged for and performed by a forty-voice chorale. My CDs A Place in the Circle and Christmas In My Heart are featured items on Amazon.com and a new CD is being recorded for release in 2002.

      Without question, the greatest accomplishments in my life have been made as a teacher. I teach English 9, Theatre, and Speech at Warren County Junior High School (Go, Wildcats!) and Theatre for Youth at both Shenandoah University in Winchester and the Wayside Theatre. There have been teachers on both sides of my family for as far back as our recorded family history goes, and I just naturally perceive the world in terms of teaching and learning. My great-grandmother handed down a Victorian postcard which, for me, says it all. My life has been about learning from the moment I entered the world, and nothing gives me greater satisfaction than the privilege of being a learning guide and a learning partner for my students.

      Although my vocation and my many avocations leave me little time for hobbies, I have managed to acquire a few joyful triflings along the way. I am a dedicated collector of vintage ceramic flower pots and figural planters (primarily McCoy) and a zealous grower of African Violets. Thankfully, these two interests can happily share the same shelf space! I am also a lifelong fan of poetry and have had several poems published in magazines, anthologies, and journals. I recently became the poetry editor for an on-line African Violet newsletter. I read and re-read Shakespeare whenever I have even a free moment, and have acquired a sizeable collection of vintage books by and about Shakespeare over the years. It never ceases to amaze me how these 'passions petites' intersect with one another to create a unique and full existence.