ABOUT_THE_AUTHOR There are two adages, which I have learned, hold a lot of truth. The first: "That with age come Knowledge" and the second, "What you do with that knowledge is what counts." As I have been "blessed" to have both of the adages present, on my life's resume, I can truthfully say, "That for me, being able to pursue what I love, and enjoy doing it, far outweighs the desire for monetary wealth." What I have found to be my true love is to write, and tell stories. Stories, like the ones I told to my daughter every night, stories that were never the same, and never planned, just like the books and poems I write today. As Yogi Berra put it, "Life is a learning experience, only if you learn." Well, I have learned from my experiences. I have explained my lack of knowledge of the rules of grammar and punctuation for the English language, by kiddingly saying that I have developed my own language and rules. My learning experience came along with many life experiences. I spent six years in the Navy during the Vietnam era, and then another eight years obtaining my various college degrees the hard way - at night, while working full-time, and trying to maintain a family life. I must have done something right, because I have been married to the same woman for close to fifty years now, a daughter who is an educator, and a granddaughter whose love is dancing, and music. As for me I never lost my urge to write, and often found myself writing during slow times at work. I had to retire in 2010, as work was getting in the way of pursuing my love of antiques and writing. One of the best things about retirement is that you get to re-invent yourself, any time you feel like it. While my 18 year stint as an antique dealer is coming to an end, . that space and time has already been filled by my lifelong desire to write. At present I have in excess of 30 works published, between poetry and prose. Many are under one of my two pen names, but for the last two years, I have written under my own name exclusively. During that time I have written and published two novels, a book of poetry and prose, two stand-alone poems, and my current novella series, "Jasper, Street-Fighter and Me."
