Greetings and Welcome to All,
I’m a baby boomer, married since 1978, living in southern Minnesota in a small town. I was born and raised in the Minneapolis area, except for a brief stint in LaCrosse, WI, when I was very young.
My childhood could be considered normal. Two parents, brother and sister, suburban tract home, middle-class neighborhood. I played sports, participated in band, got good grades, and was not a rabble-rouser by any means.
I graduated from high school and majored in music education in college. My first job out of school was teaching instrumental music in a very small town in northern Minnesota. That lasted six years. Since that time my careers have included: financial planner, commodities futures speculator, wine consultant (one of those geeks who knows everything about wine and helps you buy just the right bottle in the retail wine shop) and stock trader.
My avocations are wine, cooking gourmet food, golf, listening to music, cross-country skiing, ice skating,travel, camping, canoeing (especially in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness), politics and economics (to understand better the direction our country is headed and try to prepare for what may happen down the road. Also, to maybe influence the debate by changing some minds from the traditional, two-party mindset toward a libertarian, Austrian economic point of view.), reading, and lifelong learning.
The focus of a lot of my current energy is writing. I have written and submitted a few short pieces for publication, which haven’t been published, of course. I am working on a novel which takes up all of my writing energy. When I’m done, I will try to get it published. If I fail, I will keep revising and improving it until it gets published, or I discover that it has no chance of being published. In that case, I’ll start another writing project and begin the process again.
My other passion is being a volunteer Big Brother for the Big Brothers Big Sisters Organization. My Little and I have been matched since November 2000. He is a terrific kid despite his challenging home life circumstances.
Big Brothers Big Sisters is a fantastic charity and I highly recommend it for anyone who is tired of throwing money at a cause and not knowing if their contribution is doing any real good. As a Big, you will see every day how your effort is affecting your Little. It is extremely rewarding and the best volunteer work I have ever done. Check out the link to their website. It only takes a few hours a month to have a great impact on a disadvantaged child.
ChiTrader
