In a way, my life has been a pursuit to accomplish a list of childhood dreams. I have had many great experiences and wishes that came true with hard work and fortunate circumstances… living and working at Walt Disney World, working in radio and television, meeting George Lucas at his Skywalker Ranch, and traveling to numerous special destinations. Exhilarated by the world of motion, I have experienced skydiving, hot air ballooning, actually piloting a small airplane, boating, and horseback riding. Most relaxing is a ride on my motorcycle. For exercise, I often ride my bicycle on the country roads or paddle my kayak on a nearby lake. I enjoy the arts, museums, classical music, old films, and nature.
Friends and colleagues consider me transparently sincere. I believe that strong mental force, adaptability, and faith can conquer many of the adversities faced in life. I also believe accountability is important for every person. The saying 'count your blessings' is essential to healthy thinking. I am very thankful to live in 21st century America. On life's highway, I believe hard times can either strengthen character or lead to defeat. Solving problems and overcoming obstacles gives me satisfaction. The paradigm that governs my life are these six simple words: Do what’s right. Make things better.
Overall wellness is important to me. What I now self-implement for much improved quality of life has been learned from primarily scientific discoveries and sometimes heuristic methodology. I maintain a healthy diet that includes avoiding any processed sugar, exercising regularly, and thinking positively by means of daily meditation techniques. I believe that true maturity comes from a spirit of curiosity by continually seeking wisdom and engaging in lifelong learning. I have been a fan of PBS educational and cultural programming since childhood.
I have fond admiration for all who contribute to society in meaningful and beneficial ways. In particular, I like Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, Andrew Carnegie, Thomas Edison, Albert Einstein, Walt Disney, Jim Henson, John Williams, Michael Landon, Steven Spielberg and George Lucas for the value given me. It was a thrill to once be just feet away from astronaut and pioneer Buzz Aldrin as he described his trip to the moon in 1969. The fictional character of Ben Cartwright of the TV show Bonanza has been a great mentor. Heroes are people that demonstrate courage, wisdom, integrity, and character in their daily lives. Providing value to myself through learning and to others through doing creates an engaged life.
Bucket List items (many from childhood) that came true!
I made my first bucket list as a very young boy. I knew then that life was short and to make the most of each day. Without goals and aspirations, we meander aimlessly.
My Mission Accomplished list below... and as a storyteller, I can elaborate on any of the following.
PEOPLE
Meet a sitting President or Vice President of the United States
Meet Star Wars and Indiana Jones creator George Lucas
Meet a celebrity (I've met so many 'celebrities' ranging from famous actors, musicians, singers, entertainers, athletes, business icons, politicians)
Date a Philadelphia Eagles NFL cheerleader
Have a dinner date with a (not at the same time) Christian, Catholic, Mormon, Jew, Muslim, Agnostic
See and hear maestro John Williams conduct an orchestra in person
To be Darth Vader (donned Lucasfilm Ltd officially licensed costume)
To be Santa Claus (dressed as Saint Nicholas for children's hospital)
EVENTS & EXPERIENCES
Save someone's life
Graduate from a university
Attend a major political event - presidential nominating convention
Attend a music industry VIP party
Stay in a Las Vegas hotel & casino luxury VIP penthouse suite (noteworthy because this was likely mistaken identity incident)
Climb/hike a mountain
Be a balloon handler and march in a holiday parade
Be heard in outer space (first announcing at an AM Radio station many years ago, the signal carrying my voice has long left our Solar System)
Survive separately a house fire, assault by gun, hurricane, tornado, earthquake and pandemic (these were never aspirations, yet I survived)
Unravel the great Forrest Gump mystery (this one is complicated)
WORLD OF MOTION
Ride a motorcycle in an epic journey
Ride a horse
Pilot a small airplane myself
Jump out of an airplane/skydive
Fly in an Army helicopter
Fly in a hot air balloon
Drive over the Golden Gate Bridge
Be a roller coaster operator (wild ride enthusiast)
Steer and pilot a bowrider boat
Go sail boating
Go kayaking
Ride in a tugboat's cockpit with captain
Sail aboard one of the Tall Ships
Ride in an airboat
Ride in a limousine to a major event
Ride a train
TRAVEL
Take an island cruise
Visit another country (other than the United States of America)
Visit at least half of the 50 States
Visit another continent (other than North America)
Visit or tour...
- Alamo - San Antonio, TX
- Appomattox Court House (Mclean home) - Appomattox, VA
- Boothill Graveyard and O.K. Corral - Tombstone, AZ
- CN Tower - Toronto, Canada stood by it, but didn't go up
- Empire State Building - New York, NY
- Freedom Trail - Boston, MA
- Fjords (boat cruise) - Stavanger, Norway
- Gateway Arch - St. Louis, MO
- Graceland (home of Elvis Presley) - Memphis, TN
- Grand Canyon - AZ
- Hollywood Sign and Hollywood Walk of Fame - Los Angeles, CA
- Hoover Dam - NV
- Independence Hall and Liberty Bell - Philadelphia, PA
- Kennedy Space Center - FL
- Mauna Loa Volcano - Hawaii
- Mayan Temples - Cancun, Mexico
- Monticello (home of Thomas Jefferson) - Charlottesville, VA
- Mount Vernon (home of George Washington) - Alexandria, VA
- New Orleans French Quarter - New Orleans, LA
- Niagara Falls - US and Canada
- Presidential Library (Carter) - Atlanta, GA
- Presidio - San Francisco, CA
- Redwood Forest - CA
- Rockefeller Center (NBC Studio Tour) - New York, NY
- Ryman Auditorium - Nashville, TN
- Sears Tower - Chicago, Il
- Silver Dollar City & Marvel Cave - Branson, MO
- Skywalker Ranch - Nicasio, CA
- Statue of Liberty - New York, NY
- United States Capitol Building - Washington DC
- Virginia City (Lake Tahoe, Incline Village and Ponderosa Ranch), NV
- Westminster Abbey - London, England
- World Trade Center (original, later Ground Zero) - New York, NY
- Yosemite National Park - CA
CAREER
Master all types of mass media and communications (published in newspapers and magazines, heard/seen on radio and television, create audio/visual content for distribution, disseminate thoughts to the world)
Inspire a TV show (I pitched my concept inadvertently to the future show host of my initial idea - series would eventually air on Discovery Channel)
Be on a live set for a film production, work with a movie studio
Work the Orlando theme park trifecta (Walt Disney World, SeaWorld, Universal Studios)
Work at a television station
Work at (and manage) a radio station
Become an entrepreneur, start a business
Have my own communications satellite transponder and broadcast to North America
Become a professional photographer
Plan a major event for an organization
LEGACY LISTS
From my former website of several years ago, this was a list of favorites. I realize that 'favorites' change over time.
and this is also a legacy list from Fun Interests and Cool Things
THEN AND NOW
In my own lifetime, I have experienced the many changes of modern technology. I am glad to have been in college just before the digital explosion (I have been a fan of the annual Beloit Mindset List). I learned how to do many things 'manually' which often required more skill and thought. Below is my personal list of things I have done then and now.
THEN: Drove a stick shift
NOW: Driving with automatic transmission
THEN: Learned to type on a manual typewriter
NOW: Typing on a computer keyboard
THEN: Edited video on tape cartridges (linear)
NOW: Editing video digitally (non-linear)
THEN: Edited audio on 1/4" reel tape by cut & splice
NOW: Editing sound digitally with Pro Tools
THEN: Developed pictures in a darkroom with chemicals (35mm SLR film camera)
NOW: Utilizing digital photography and Adobe Lightroom, Corel PaintShop Pro and other editing software
THEN: Used 35mm slides or transparencies for presentations, graphics done by hand
NOW: Using Microsoft PowerPoint, Apple Keynote, Google Slides
THEN: Used Rand McNally maps to find directions
NOW: Using GPS via smart phone to navigate
THEN: Filed papers in folders within a cabinet
NOW: Archiving to hard disk, cloud storage
THEN: Handwritten notes in cursive
NOW: Communicating through electronic devices, Microsoft One Note
THEN: Used Dewey Decimal System in library to research information
NOW: Google, Bing
SURVIVOR
Everyone's journey through life is unique in triumphs and tribulations. Although I celebrate the joys of life, I certainly have endured extraordinary trials. While some burdens are too personal to share, here are more newsworthy disasters I survived.
HURRICANE - I have been in a few hurricanes, but none so memorable as the 2017 Hurricane Harvey. While crossing the United States on my motorcycle for an epic camping trip, I got stuck in this Category 4 storm. I was forced to sleep under a bridge in the middle of the Texas desert. The extreme deluge had shorted out my cell phone and motorcycle stator leaving me stranded - alone.
EARTHQUAKE - I just happened to be in Los Angeles for one of their most severe quakes of the 90s decade.
LIGHTNING - A powerful strike hit an antenna just feet away from me, violently shaking the earth and scorching the immediate grass.
TORNADO - I was at ground zero for a geographically small but extremely forceful tornadic windstorm.
NOWHERE- A hike over a mountain and through the Arizona desert was fraught with dilemmas that included the scorching summer sun, deadly wildlife with rattlesnake encounter, and unfortunate lack of hydration.
FIRE - I survived a house fire as a child.
ASSAULT - As a teen, I was held up by street thugs at gunpoint.
ACCIDENT - I know a thing or two about motor vehicle and other accidents.
PANDEMIC - The coronavirus outbreak spawned a global Covid-19 pandemic. I had some friends who were not so fortunate to survive the health crisis.
Be strong and resilient. Be unsinkable!
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