- Born in Syracuse, NY
We only stayed a year. One winter was enough. Since then, I've migrated south away from the snow and the cold. - Raised in St. Louis, MO First on N.21st. St. in downtown St Louis until I was about 7. First on N.21st. St. in downtown St Louis until I was about 7. We lived in a brownstone owned by my mother's parents. 'White flight' and inner city decline had transformed the neighborhood my mother grew up in from a blue-collar working class one into a low income, largely minority one. We moved to Fenton, Mo. which is now a legitimate suburb of St. Louis, but and the time it was a very small town. The move was prompted by the lure of better schools, safer surroundings, and being closer to my father's parents. We first moved into a small mobile home in a trailer park less than a mile from my grandparents. Lots to explore, plenty of kids my own age to run around with. My father got a job driving a bus for Greyhound. You start at the bottom filling in when they need extra drivers or someone's called in sick, you drive where they tell you to drive. As you gain seniority, you have the option of getting a regular route. The money's better, more consistent, but if you don't have the seniority to hold a regular route in the city you are in, you get one in another city. My father worked summers out of Kansas City, and winters in Chicago. Financially things were much more stable, but he was gone a lot. With money in a good place and the chance to buy a house next door to my Grandparents, we moved to our own house. My brother and I shared a big upstairs room, and Battlestar Galactica was the new hot show... Life was pretty good. - Found a new horizon Many people, not all, but many at some point in life find a horizon that is bigger and farther away from that of their parents. Usually it's college, particularly if their parents did not go. For me it was high school. - Grew up in Amarillo, TX - Was a Boy Scout until age 18 - Spent 3 years working backstage on theater productions - Spent 8 months writing sketches for and performing in a comedy improve troupe - Spent 3 years working in video production - Found a voice - Produced and hosted a series of access television shows - Spent 2 years teaching video and multimedia production to "at-risk" youth - Spent 10 years developing CD-Rom and web content - Spent 10 years in individual and group therapy - Married and bought a house - Spent 10 years in a series of failed entrepreneurial ventures - Fathered 2 children - Spent 3 years as a stay-at-home dad |