I was born in Oklahoma City in 1948. My childhood was pretty unremarkable. I attended Corpus Christi Elementary School and Bishop McGuinness High School. I hated it at the time, as most boys seem to, but looking back, I guess it gave me a pretty solid start to my education. In fact, when I attend class reunions now, I enjoy high school much more than I ever did when I was there as a student. Anyway, I got my diploma in 1966, obtained a Navy ROTC scholarship and headed off to the University of Oklahoma to complete my education. I really didn't know at that time what I wanted to do when I grew up. Perhaps I still don't, but at least I stumbled into microbiology as something enjoyable. I completed my Bachelor of Science degree in that field, took a commission in the United States Navy, and headed off to Mayport, Florida to join a ship (the USS Bigelow) as a boot Ensign. That was December of 1971.
For the next five years, I spent my time as a line officer in the Navy attempting to forget everything I had ever learned about microbiology. You may not know it, but there isn't that much micro to be done on a ship. What I did learn was how to drive a ship! I'm not complaining, mind you; it was actually a lot of fun. I was a single young man. While most of my peers were off to Viet Nam, I was forced to make two six-month cocktail tours with the NATO force in northern Europe. Tough job, but somebody's got to do it! I spent three years touring all over that area of the world. In between those two tours, I also met the woman of my dreams. We were married in 1973 and just recently celebrated our Silver Anniversary!
As if Europe weren't enough punishment, the Navy further castigated me by sending me to spend two years in Barbados, West Indies for my shore duty. Another paid vacation at the expense of the taxpayers! GREAT DUTY but at the end of that period, I had decided that maybe I'd like to relearn microbiology and pursue it as a career. That in mind, I resigned my commission and headed back once again to Norman, Oklahoma to attempt to make a run at an advanced degree or two. I thought maybe I'd like to be considered an expert at something! Well, I worked my tail off for six more years at slave wages as a Research Assistant there. During that time I received Master's (1978) an Ph.D. (1982) degrees, so I guess it was worth the effort. I also added a couple of members to my family with the births of my son and daughter. So, with a family to support I made the decision to rejoin the Navy as a microbiologist in the Medical Service Corps. I'd like to say it was my love for the Navy which prompted this decision. There was an element of that, but more importantly, they offered me more money than anyone else, even after a demotion from my reserve rank. Anyway, I have never regretted that decision. It has been a fun ride ever since!
My first assignment on my return to active duty was the Naval Hospital, Oakland, California as head of the clinical microbiology laboratory. Since I had had no previous experience in clinical microbiology, I suppose it was only appropriate that I should be the man in charge. I did have fun learning the job, but was there for only about a year and a half. In June of 1983 I was once again on the road, this time to the Naval Medical Research Unit #2 for a three year tour in Manila, the Philippines. I had a lot of fun there traveling all over southeast Asia. Oh, yeah! I also had a job to do. I carried out research in the rather disgusting area of diarrheal illness. During this time I developed a profound love for feces, which has carried with me ever since. What's that odor?!?
In 1986, it was back to the States for another clinical micro tour, this time at Bethesda Naval Hospital. The job was OK, but I just found out that I was not the type well-suited to a tour in the National Capitol Region. Not my cup of tea at all, and I spent the next three years there trying to get transferred to somewhere a lot less political where I could enjoy what I was doing a little more. That finally happened in 1989 when I was sent to teach parasitology and tropical medicine to physicians at the Navy's tropical medicine school which was then located in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Not only was that job FUN, but also, I developed a deep love for la musica latina. That's Spanish music to you who don't speak the language. In fact, I like just about all types, especially the female ballad singers. Easy to listen to and not hard on the eyes either! It was also a painless way for me to brush up on my Spanish, which I hadn't used since I took it in high school twenty-five years earlier. Have you ever tried to learn a language with Berlitz tapes? B-O-R-I-N-G!!!
After three years of learning to merengue in Dominican Republic where we did most of our field work, the Navy decided I'd had enough fun for a while and sent me to my third hospital tour in clinical microbiology. This time it was the Naval Medical Center in Portsmouth, Virginia. As opposed to Bethesda, I really enjoyed the Tidewater Area and still own a house in Chesapeake. I managed to finagle five years there - the longest the Navy has let me live in any one place. I probably would be there still if a carrot I couldn't resist hadn't been dangled before my nose - the ONLY MICROBIOLOGIST SLOT IN EUROPE!
So, in the summer of 1997 I was once again headed overseas to the position as the head of the laboratory at the Naval Environmental and Preventive Medicine Unit #7 in Sigonella, Sicily (Italy). I would still be there were it not for doing something really stupid. I got cancer! Lymphoma to be exact. I was diagnosed in the summer of 2001. After nine months of treatment in Jacksonville, Florida, I was again headed back to Portsmouth, Virginia to live once again in our old house. Once there, took a position at the Naval Environmental Health Center coordinating our world-wide microbiology efforts. It's not as fun as Sicily, I'll admit, but it ain't bad. I have been back now for almost a year and shall probably retire from here. All in all, the Navy has been a pretty good employer for me. Who else would let me be a Commander and be so greatly overpaid for having fun! I have traveled throughout the world and lived in four overseas countries. As the old recruiting adds said, it's certainly been an adventure.
The Navy and microbiology are not my whole life, however, as I do have some outside interests as well. I am an avid tennis player, and my racket is like my American Express card - I don't leave home without it. Now if I could just get good enough to beat my son again . . . Ah, well, time marches on, and it's definitely marching all over me. I am also a great spectator for sports such as football (American-style, that is) and basketball. I used to play a pretty good game of basketball, but my wife once threatened divorce if I got another basketball injury, so I quit. I also was a pretty good baseball player as a kid, but you couldn't pay me enough to watch it. Well . . . maybe the World Series if the Yankees are in it. (Mickey Mantle was my boyhood idol.)
As I already said I love Spanish music. In fact, when I was in Puerto Rico I developed a love affair with the Spanish language. Pretty amazing when you consider that I hated it in high school. Chalk that up to being a stupid kid, as I'm sure we all eventually realize that we were at one time. My wife once said, "You're stupid 'til you're 30." I now think that may be too young!
I am also an avid reader of just about anything I find interesting, but being a history buff as well, I really like history and historical novels, as well as classic novels. The stuff written now is often too shallow for me, though I don't avoid it entirely. My guilty secret is that my most favorite book series of all time is the Angelique series by Anne and Serge (AKA Sergeanne) Golon. Yup! I'm a guy whose favorite series could be considered romance. There!! It's out in the open! Really, though, calling those books romance does not do them justice. I always felt "historical adventure fiction" would be a better categorization. I can thoroughly recommend the series to anyone - man or woman - because it is just great, exciting story telling. Oh, by the way, during my first trip to Paris I had the great fortune to meet my favorite author, Anne Golon. (Serge died years ago.) She's truly a wonderful person, and for me, meeting her was a highlight of my trip to rival seeing the Eiffel Tower, Versailles, the Louvre, and the Arche de Triomphe for the first time.
Well, that's my story in a nutshell. Not bad for a person who just turned the same age as the old national speed limit. Now if I can just keep the cancer dogs at bay, maybe I'll reach the century mark. Who knows?
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