About Me^*

career

• BS in Communications; BA in English
• Graduate of the Naval Nuclear Power School
• Reactor Operator
• Health Physics professional
• Substitute teacher

writing

• the first writing group I organized was in the late 1970s
• since then, I have participated in, or organized, too many groups to recall
• I am drawn to the quirky and unusual. I respect artists who try something new and different, even when they fail spectacularly. This means I continually encourage writers to try something different.

attitude

• I should warn you, I’ve striven to be “woke” since the 1970s, and I consider it a good thing. Woke to me means aware of the world around you and sensitive of how your actions affect other people.
• I strive to be an ally of any individual, or any group of people, especially those who are in need of support.
• I will refer to any person in whatever manner they prefer, as long as it’s not intended to offend others or be obscene. Pronouns, names, descriptions of whatever category a person wants is up to them.
• I try to avoid using the word hate, in an attempt to make myself more aware of my feelings towards others I don’t agree with. For example, I don’t hate walnuts in my chocolate chip cookies, but I prefer them to be absent. (You can add in a bit of walnut flavoring if you need to — it’s the texture I dislike.)

* the pertinent stuff, in as few words as possible
(but you can always ask for more)