When I graduated high school, I ended up in various jobs: flipping burgers, folding linen at a hotel, warehousing, and working in a plasma donor facility spinning blood in a centrifuge. It was at the Fred Meyer warehouse in Clackamas, Oregon, that I had a back injury that set my life in a different direction, […]

In December 2006, I graduated from Concordia University in Portland, Oregon. I received a Bachelor of Social Work (BSW) degree. As part of my senior year, I decided to take voice lessons for senior credit. My teacher was Konstantin Kvach. He was magnificent. 1 person likes this post. Like Unlike

When I was about seven years old, my stepbrother would take me around to the neighbors and bet them that I could spell any word they asked me to spell. Fortunately, his friends weren’t scholars by any means, so I never got asked anything I couldn’t handle. One of them asked me if I could […]

In 1980, I was working at a warehouse job. I went out to the dock to receive a case of cash register tape. I was standing on the dock and a truck driver was handing it up to me from the ground level. I felt a twinge in my back, but continued working the rest […]

I’ve always had an affinity for people and the things they deal with. My mother thought of me as mature beyond my years, and it’s probably true. I still was a child when I needed to be, but I’ve had a sense of social justice and tolerance that would have made for a good social […]