After leaving the Air Force, I got married and moved back to Alaska. There, I finished up my degree in Computer Information Systems, did some work as a self-employed consultant and eventually landed a part-time job with an engineering firm. With my computer degree in hand and a solid technical background as an inflight radar repairman and small computer manager, I promptly got a full-time job selling wine at Anchorage’s largest wine retailer, the Brown Jug Warehouse. The pay wasn't all that great, but the job was fun and the benefits were terrific!
This is a photo of my wife and I during one of our summer hikes in Alaska (it's the Eagle River valley, if you're really interested). We moved to Germany in early 1995, where my wife worked as a Test Manager for the USAF. We spent three and one-half glorious years with our cats in Böhmfeld, a tiny little village just north of Ingolstadt, halfway between Nürnberg and München (Munich).
After our time in Böhmfeld we were sentanced to two years in the Washington, DC area while my wife worked at the Pentagon. I say sentanced because neither Pam nor I care much for crowded cities filled with awful drivers. Beltway drivers aren't seen as other autos on the road with you, they're seen as adversaries to avoid. We saw all the sights and enjoyed our activities in the nation's capital, but we were happy to leave the crazy area.
Pam's next assignment was to Air Command and Staff College at Maxwell AFB in Montgomery, Alabama. We made a whole lot of good friends during our time there.
We're currently living in Beavercreek (Dayton metro area) in Ohio. Pam plans to retire in August, 2006 and we're looking forward to remaining in the area while we figure out where WE want to move instead of having the Air Force tell us where to go.
I’m very interested in wine and travel (surprise), but also have a great love for photography, cats and volleyball. I spent several years playing very competitive volleyball in Alaska and Oklahoma. I love beach volleyball for its demand on the two players, but I've also really enjoyed playing with various teams on indoor courts. There's something really special about an entire group of six players getting into a zone and crushing their opponents! (Sorry, I get a bit bloodthirsty when talking about volleyball.)
Much of my meager knowledge and love of wine came during a stint in a volunteer position on CompuServe’s Bacchus Wine Forum. The Wine Forum is a great corner of the online world, filled with wine-loving folks who are more than happy to answer questions, help educate interested people, or just chat about wine. 75% of what I know about wine has come from the great folks on the Wine Forum. Through the Wine Forum, I've learned an incredible amount about wine, found recommendations for great wine to drink and I’ve met many friendly, generous folks, both online and in person.
CompuServe's Wine Forum, along with all the other CompuServe fora, is freely accessible by anyone via the World Wide Web. Simply travel to the Wine Forum where you'll be prompted to assign yourself a screen name and password. Don't worry -- you're not joining CompuServe (if you aren't a member already). This is just a screen 'handle'.
Once you're signed in, you'll be free to participate in conversations
about wine, beer, tobacco, spirits and cooking, plus peruse the numerous
libraries loaded with great information. Stop on by and join in the
fun!