As a native of Port Clinton, a good part of my early life was spent in and around the water. I remember eagerly awaiting the arrival of summer vacation because that meant I'd be able to go fishing any day I wanted. But those lazy summer days of endless fishing came to an abrupt end around the time I turned fourteen. At that point, a previously recessive gene began to assert itself prompting me to trade my fishing pole for a cheap guitar with strings so high off the fretboard it's a wonder I didn't injure myself. I guess that shows how determined genes can be.
After high school, the guitar and I became inseparable. And a year later I took it with me when I made a half-hearted attempt at getting a college degree at Ohio University. The music scene in Athens in the 1970s was vibrant and seemed ripe with possibility, so the following year I dropped out and began performing in local bars and restaurants. Making a living as a guitarist in a small college town, however, wasn't easy and after a couple of years of barely getting by, I decided to attend a trade school and get a real job. Upon completion of the training program, I returned to Port Clinton and established my own home decorating business. Several years later I moved to Palo Alto, California where I again started my own business and played guitar in local restaurants. Feeling that life was somehow incomplete without Mayflies and mosquitos, I returned to the Walleye Capital in the late 1980s, enrolled at BGSU, and finally got that college degree.
After graduation I stumbled into a number of teaching-related jobs and soon discovered how much I enjoyed working in that capacity. I've had the pleasure of working as an instructor in adult education at both BGSU and the Whitmer Technical Training Center in Toledo. At BGSU I taught adult learners how to build their own computers and how to use them; at Whitmer I taught an adult math class for workers entering an apprenticeship program. I've also worked as a math tutor in an after-school program called Champions for Children in Port Clinton and have tutored junior high and high school students in math. Most recently, I spent the better part of a year teaching Tai Chi at a health club on Catawba Island.
I've often been accused of stubborness, which probably explains why it took so long for me to realize how fortunate I would be if I could find a way to combine my first love (guitar) with my strongest talent (teaching). When that realization finally hit me, I threw caution to the four winds, dove in and have never looked back -- at least not with any regrets. Five years later, I maintain a hectic schedule teaching guitar six days a week from my home-based studio in Portage, where I typically have around 40 students, from beginner to advanced, who range in age from 6 to 60.
Last but not least, for over 30 years I've had an abiding interest in health-related issues and have recently become a distributor for one of the best multi-vitamin supplements on the market. Be sure and ask me about them if you're concerned about maintaining or improving your health.