My Story
For much of my life, I have been a traveler, a photographer and a teacher. I have lived in four different countries in the past ten years.
On my webpage nearly all the photos you see were taken by me. Having worked for my college newspaper as a photographer and being a huge fan of bicycling, you will see these hobbies have meshed and grown.
I wasn’t born a foodie, but my family has patiently pulled me along as my own food and drink interests have morphed into a fairly healthy and happy love for “good” food. My mother, a botanist, brought me up with my own vegetable garden (elementary school age) and plenty of fresh-from-the-garden produce.
I am a bit of a computer geek. I have taught students and teachers and schools how to use technology to engage, delight, and challenge our assumptions. Most of my work has been with younger students. I have two Masters Degrees in instructional technology. At one point I made several leaps into private business as a techie including my own consulting business.
I have a soft spot for the disadvantaged. At one point I was the director of a camp for children and young adults with special needs. My empathy for the parents and the children grew as I learned how children coped with autism, Down’s Syndrome, Cerebral Palsy, TBI, and a vast collection of unusual mental and physical challenges.
As for exercise, my grown children added yoga, rock climbing, and pilates to my interest list. They are all trainers and I became a trainee. My most passionate hobby is mountain biking (I share this love with my wife and my son.) Additionally, I have completed several triathlons and two marathons.
I might say that I am most grounded, most centered, by being in nature. I always return thankful, humbled, and anxious to do more. I was brought up by my father to be a Colorado hiker, backpacker, and cross country skier. Then suddenly he sent me off to a Canadian canoeing camp at the age of 14. At the age of 17 I paddled and portaged 300 miles of abandoned hunting grounds through hidden wilderness, shooting rapids and listening to loons on quiet, moonlit lakes. We saw no one for 7 weeks. In college I celebrated New England beauty by ice skating on frozen ponds.
At age 29 I lived in Edinburgh Scotland for a year as an exchange teacher. Eating haggis, wearing a kilt, and walking through heather are now part of my history. Five years later my wife and I moved to Vienna, Austria for 2 years where our first daughter was born.
Eleven years ago we again left the US but this time for an education post in Borneo where my wife and I learned to explore the woods on mountain bikes. Of course we still love to bicycle tour. The family joke is that “vacation” or “holiday” means our family will go on an extended activity that is guaranteed to involve some kind of workout. As a young couple the bicycle theme was ever-present as we hauled our new baby girl through various European countries both in a backpack and in that cute little kid seat tucked on the back of a bicycle.
We are still living in Southeast Asia, adding sea kayaking, tennis, and swimming to our schedules. As I write this we are on a Yoga retreat learning new flow movement and even some Tai Chi. Getting into nature and celebrating cultural and diversity awareness are consuming agendas for both of us.
