I was born in Kearney, Nebraska, January 25, 1930, raised in the San Fernando Valley, a suburb of Los Angeles. My wife of 63 years and I moved into our Sun City West, Arizona, home on Christmas Eve of 1991. My present spouse and I celebrated our first anniversary July 11, 2021 (lucky seven-eleven).

I never studied journalism or aspired to be one. It simply happened thanks to an Army lieutenant colonel, the Fort Ord public information officer with whom I shared a midnight Greyhound bus ride as an 18-year-old recruit fresh out of basic training.

I'm an active opportunistic optimist with a strong sense of humor having a "target date" of at least 104 years. That's when my identical 18-year-old triplet great-grandsons will open a time capsule that contains my book among other treasures. P.S. Their brother also should be present. He's two years older.