Biography

The first time I thought about taking the road less traveled was in fifth grade as I walked the worn brown carpet in the library.  I flipped through a book on the United States Air Force Academy and was hooked.  I read it on the small cement porch of our row home in Northeast Philadelphia while my friends played stickball in the street.  On that fateful day, I decided to do something my parents had not done…go to college and do something none of my relatives had ever done…join the Air Force.  Despite being oblivious to the odds of actually getting accepted to the Academy, I held that dream through Catholic high school and to my parent’s surprise, received my acceptance notification from Congressman Borski on a summer day in May.  Four years later in 1988, I threw my hat in the air in the shadow of the Rocky Mountains.  I spent 20 years serving my country although I did most of my service overseas.  I lived overseas for 13 years in 13 different countries. 
       While in the military, I married and we had two children.   When my children reached school age, I retired to keep them from bouncing around four schools before 8th grade.  After retiring, I could have done the easy thing and took a government job, but the dusty road was calling me again. I became a high school JROTC teacher in South Carolina.  I thought I knew what I was getting into, but wow, was I mistaken. Compared to teaching teenagers, the military was a breeze.  I plan on keeping at it though and at some point getting off this road and back on the main road in a nice house on a lake with grandkids running around.