Biography

On the last day of the calendar, I relent and celebrate a birthday. Holiday spirits have been in high gear and gifts, good cheer and revelry are in the air. December 31 st is not only my birthday, known to my friends as Ritamas, it was the ancient Roman feast of Janus, the god of beginnings and endings. You might recognize Janus, depicted on a two-sided coin and honored by the month of January.

Crowned with this auspice, I look at life in two opposite directions, enamored by the past—antiques, history, genealogy, and fascinated by the future—far-flung concepts, untapped potential or distant stars who’s light has taken millions of years to reach us.

My first yelp sounded on the south side of Chicago in a neighborhood brimming with the sounds of Polish, Russian, and Slovak languages. When I started college at age sixteen, I quickly drowned in the sea of older students, and professors so distant they could have been lecturing from another continent. Sitting on the floor, crumbled by my failing second semester report card, I asked myself “What do you want to do more than anything?” Faster than a wasp to pancake syrup, I replied, “Travel.” So, I went to work to fund the trips to Europe culminating with a job for a year in London, England.

Back in the States, I climbed the corporate ladder by day and philandered through the sexual revolution at night. Two months before my 37 th birthday, I married a cute, intelligent, and tolerant Virgo who I met through a palmist. We moved to Northern California to soak in the great weather, sail the Bay, and attend cooking classes at the culinary academy. But by age fifty-one, life had other plans for me. My body started to grow weak and my evil twin roared with road rage 24 hours a day. On May 23, 2001, I collapsed, lost all muscle control and memory. On that day, doctors found a brain tumor. Benign is a beautiful word. The tumor was removed and now we watch over it, hoping it doesn’t hatch again.

While recovering, I again asked myself, “What would you like to do more than anything?” The answer was “Be an author.” In the tradition of Janus, I step away from the past and begin this journey.

Enjoy these short stories. Anticipate the books that will be published. We Live Two Lives is complete and waiting to be discovered by an agent and publisher. The historical fiction, Rushnyk is simmering. The year has just begun.