Born and raised in Missouri, I left MO in 1976, never expecting to live in the ShowMe state again. But in mid-2011 I moved to Springfield…my 3rd time living here.
I lived in Oregon twice (a total of 17 years) and in Florida twice (18 years). My heart is in OR, and my 2 kids and ex are in Floriduh.
I am retired, after never figuring out what i wanted to be when i grew up. My triple major in math, journalism and sociology from SEMO in Cape Girardeau, acquired after a stint in the Army, didn’t help me figure it out. I taught high school for a while, before going to grad school at Oregon State in Corvallis.
I spent 14 years at Arthur Andersen, half in the Portland office and half in their tax software business in Sarasota.
Then it was back to PDX with a niche consulting firm. Four years later, I was living back in FL in a job where I racked up way too many frequent flyer miles and hotel points.
I took a leap into the world of franchised businesses for the next 8 years. That was “an experience”…enough said.
Retirement for me includes listening to lots of music, a vegetable garden, keeping in touch with friends that I’ve made along the way, lots of walking, following the OSU Beavers, and traveling with my girlfriend Shelly.
On 9/18/23 everything changed when I woke up paralyzed from the shoulders down in the Critical Decision Unit at Cox South Hospital. The diagnosis: Idiopathic Acute Transverse Myelitis. So now there is lots less live music and much less walking. There is still a garden, calls to and visits by friends, and Shelly. I can’t imagine life without her,