I was born in upstate New York and moved to Southern California when I was 5. After three years of college as a music education and vocal performance major I enlisted in the US Navy as a Nuclear Electrician on submarines. i earned a BS degr and a master in systems management while I was enlisted. I commissioned in 1990 and served on a submarine tender in Italy and as the shipyard docking officer at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard in Bremerton Washington. I retired from the Navy in 1998 and moved to Alaska. I continued to work as an IT project manager. I have been interested turning for a long time, but never really had time to pursue it. In the spring of 2024, as I was preparing to retire, I was visiting family in Colorado and considered buying a lathe. I decided that before I spent that much money I should see if I enjoyed turning. I contacted the Alaska wood turning club on my drive home to Alaska. The club president contacted me and told me a club member had passed and the club was helping his wife liquidate his gear. In June 2024. I purchased his Jet 1642 and a few tools. initially, I mostly turned bowls from birch as it is the only hardwood that grows in Alaska where I live. I now spend several months a year mostly in Colorad and Texas visiting family living in a fifth wheel. While visiting Colorado Springs in early 2025 I was welcomed by the Pikes Peak Wood turner's club and Dr Bob Gibbs. In the spring of 2025 I purchased a Rockler midi lathe so that I can turn while on the road.