I began writing in Highschool, but the rigors of raising and providing for a family took me away from my passion for several years.  Now, I'm back at it and enjoying it more than I ever have. Through the years, as a professional musician, a truck driver, a farmer, a gas fitter and a business manager, I tried my hand at songwriting and poetry, which tend to go hand in hand, with some sucsess.  When my father died in 2000, I realized that he would never again relate any of his wonderful memories to anyone.  Those memories would also die with the last person to hear them.  For the most part that was me.  I decided to writedown some of Dad's stories, as well as some of my own, in the hope that they would survive beyond my lifetime.  That enterprise grew into  a collection of short stories that will never be finished, as long as I live and gain new friends and experiences to write about. I hope I can bring a smile to your face as you enjoy my "Anecdotes from a Commonly Uneventful Life," or interest you in your own heritage as you read about the adventures of my great grandfather and his travelling companion, as they make a new life on a new continent, in "Francis: A North American Adventure." Here you will find some exerpts from both books and maybe even a poem or two.