P
E R S O N A L &
C O N F I D E N T I A L
Personal
Bio
| Interests | Hobbies
| memorials
OK. So you want to know more about me, the person. I was born on a hot June afternoon in Philadelphia, 1959 (at least that's what I'm told . . . I was too young to remember). That makes me the typical schizoid, manic, left-handed, artistic-type Gemini. I live up to the stereotype.
I won't bore you with the grizzly details of my childhood, but I will gladly put you in touch with my mother or psychiatrist who have uniquely different perspectives on the subject. They may be able to provide some insight into why I ended up with this particular career path.
While I come from a mixed Italian and German heritage, I am much closer to the Italian side (naturally, growing up in Philly)
My most notable life experiences have been in order of importance:
1) Meeting, dating, marrying and living with my wife, Helen. I am continually amazed that she has been able to put up with me for the past 19 years.
2) The birth of my son, Eric. Now 14 years old and going to 9th grade, he is the source of great pride.
3) The death of my mother (at age 74) and the death of my grandfather (at age 93). These people, more than anyone else, have taught me my most significant life lessons.
4) The rest are just details . . . .
Interests
I guess
the difference between an interest and a hobby is that “interests”
are things you think about and “hobbies” are things you actually
do.
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Jazz
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I love listening to Jazz in almost any form from Big Band to Dixieland to Hip Hop to classic Jazz like Ella or Count Basie to more progressive “modern” artists. Some of my particular favorites are Pat Metheny, Spyro Gyra and Benny Goodman. A few particular albums of note are Chuck Mangione's Children of Sanchez and Kitty Margolis' Evolution. |
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Historical
Fiction |
I like reading novels based in historical time periods. Specifically the Ancient World, medieval Europe and World War II. I have enjoyed the entire series by Mary Renault about ancient Greece. I also enjoy the works of Irving Stone and Noah Gordon, although the latter has a tendency to get into almost painfully tedious description. |
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Wine |
While I don't collect wine per se, I do have a well stocked “cellar”. I prefer a good Beaujolais or Bordeaux. Recently we have been drinking Syrah which seems to have a lot of the same qualities of the nouveaux's. If you like that sort of thing I would recommend trying it. I suppose I developed my love of a good red wine from my grandfather who always had a glass of wine with dinner. As children we would always be given that special treat at holiday meals. |
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Cigars
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So it's not the healthiest pastime in the world. I find a good hand made premium cigar infinitely relaxing.
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Hobbies
Besides spending
entirely too much time in front of a computer, these are a few of the
activities I enjoy.
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Cycling
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Like many other activities, cycling is something I can do alone. I use to compete in college, but that sort of took all the enjoyment out of it. To me, getting on a bike a pedaling for twenty or thirty miles is more like therapy or a spiritual experience than exercise. It give's me time to think while actually getting to see some scenery. My current bike is a Cannondale frame with mostly Campagnolo components. |
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Tennis
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A gentleman's (and ladies') game. Both my wife and I enjoy playing and we are hoping our son will love it at least as much. My only two regrets are my serve, which needs quite a bit of work, and not getting to play more. My personal favorite player is Goran Ivanisevic. |
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Model
Airplanes |
I have been building model airplanes since I was 10. I didn't really build any in my 20's, but now that my son is showing interest (especially after several visits to the National Air and Space Museum at the Smithsonian) we are building them together. |
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Music
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There was a time when I could have been a professional musician (bassist). During high school and college I played with several bands and enjoyed it very much. The problem was that I was also drawn to art and that either was an engrossing passion. There simply was not enough time to do both seriously. I decided to pursue the art end for whatever reason. I don't really regret it, but sometimes I think about how my life might have been different (although probably not “better”).
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My Grandfather
A good friend