My Greatest Hits

This is a compilation of experiences, accomplishments and adventures that I have enjoyed and from which I have derived pleasure and satisfaction.

* My Children

Despite the less than perfect marriage of their parents, Timothy and Kerry have turned out to be wonderful people with loving spouses and children, successful careers and happy lives. Truly, nothing is more important to me.

* My Granddaughters

And of course my perfect children have produced perfect children themselves. Annabelle, Kiki and Mackenzie are attractive, active and very bright. How fortunate am I.

* Working summers while growing up on my Uncle Lavern and Cousin Edwin's Michigan farms. 

I did this for several years in my early teens. Mostly I remember long days of bailing hay followed by simple evening pleasures such as swimming and fishing. My greatest enjoyment came from feeling I was making a contribution.

* Reading

I am seldom without a having a couple of books in progress, usually one each fiction and nonfiction. My son Timothy is the same way and his daughter Mackenzie shows some interest as well. I feel it is like being able to live not only your own life, but others as well.

* Peace Corps in Venezuela 1966-68

This two year plus experience was a seminal event in my life in that I was exposed to people I admired and found that I could reasonably compare my self with. Plus, it was a great adventure.

* Learning Spanish 

I have finally reached a level in Spanish where I feel I can communicate freely. I make errors all the time, but I am generally understood and can usually follow along in most conversations. I was not satisfied with the effort I had put into learning this language when I lived in Venezuela and have continued to work at it off and on, most successfully taking courses online with WebSpanish.com.

* Rugby 

  - Playing: I have often said that I was never more alive than when I was playing Rugby. It

was love at first sight when I first was introduced to the sport at Cal State LA. I was only a fair player but stayed with it until I turned 60.

  - Rugby Tours: I have been fortunate to have participated in Rugby playing tours to Canada, Mexico, the UK, Chile, and to continental Europe many times. Traveling to these foreign lands with groups of friends have been wonderful experiences.

 

- Rugby Friends: As I moved quite often for a number of years, joining the local club was a wonderful way of finding new friends in new cities. Today most of my friends are from Rugby and we all share a common bond that is greatly valued.

  - Rugby 7's: For many years now my friend David Cunningham and I have traveled once a year to various stops on the International Rugby 7's Tournament circut. We have now seen the competition in San Diego, Las Vegas, Hong Kong, Wellington, NZ and Vancouver, Canada.

* Travel

I have always enjoyed and put a lot of value on traveling. Although I did not make it to Europe until my early 40's, I have been back many times. I have also been to most of the countries in Latin America, but only New Zealand and Hong Kong in the Pacific. Here at home I have visited every state except Alabama and Delaware.

*Rotary

Although I joined Rotary fairly recently in 2013, it has become an important part of my social life. Especially since I sold my business I have been able to say yes to many of the club projects and, the more you put into something the more you get out of it. I was proud to be named 2015-2016 Rotarian of the Year for the Rotary Club of Boulder Valley.

 - El Trapiche Grant: One of the reasons I joined our particular Rotary Club was that they had a history of involvement in an area of interest for me, Latin America. Because of this I ended up writing a grant for a small village of 2000 inhabitants in northern Nicaragua to redo their water system.

* Colorado Affordable Health

I created this business from my kitchen one step and client at a time. After 11 years of steady growth and income, I was able to sell it and enjoy a post-employment lifestyle.

* Living in Boulder (and the Northwest and New England)

It has been my very good fortune to live in some wonderful places. At the top of the list would be the two years I lived in New England, with all its history, color and charm, my 12 years in the green, beautiful Pacific Northwest and my now 25 plus years in picturesque Boulder, Colorado.

* Euchre

This card game was first taught to me by my Coy Grandparents about age 5 when they visited us in Southern California from Michigan. Years later it is the card game I play with my Rugby friends In fact we have literally played this over much of the Western World.