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I have tried to live my life fully, take chances, and go for my dreams. I never wanted to end up sitting there some day, saying “I wish I had”. This has certainly brought me some really unhappy moments at times but overall I feel I’ve really gotten my money’s worth. And its far from over, and even death is, to me, just the adventure of moving on to what is next. To me, it’s all good.

After THS, I went to Syracuse University. When I graduated I married the girl from Port Richmond I took to our senior prom. We ended up living in central Jersey, had 3 sons and a marriage that lasted 20 years.. 15 very good ones, then 5 just not working and parted as friends.

Along the way, I..

* Became a hard rock/blues guitarist/band leader of several popular East Coast bands, the best known of which was “The Disciples”. We ended up under contract to Don Kirshner, one of the 3 most powerful people in the music business at that time. I was so turned off by the morality and lifestyle involved in the route to fame that one day I just walked away, never to play again. Not that I’m complaining. I got to play hundreds of nights for hundreds, even thousands, of people. It was a wonderful experience I will treasure forever. It was also one of the things I felt I was best at in my life.

* Spent two years in the army as a military police officer. Another interesting experience, including nearly being shot to death twice. I was also a huge misfit for the military.

* Had a 13 year career as one of the information technology pioneers. Was the master designer of 3 very large business systems that ran around the globe for about 10 years. Another accomplishment I remain very proud of. Had Johnson & Johnson not insisted in promoting me away from the work, I might have spent my life in that career. In retrospect I’m glad they did, as the path I took turned out to be a better one.

* Started a real estate brokerage firm with a friend, built it to 5 offices and 120 people and ran it for 10 years. Became very successful, financially, and decided to pursue the dream of my life at that time.. to make movies. To write, produce and direct feature films.

* Enrolled in a one year crash course in filmmaking at NYU film school, one of the top two in the world at that time. Went on to write, produce and direct a small feature film over the next two years. Did a terrible job writing the script and a good job on the rest. The result was an incredibly educational but draining experience. And a really bad film. I had a good story idea but no idea how to tell a story in film form. Meanwhile, my real estate fortunes were doing a major 180 in the late 80’s and I ended up bankrupt. 50 years old and $240 to my name.

* Became a stock broker trainee Christmas, 1990, in retrospect the best time in the last 100 years to do so. Spent the next 10 years as a “hired gun” stock investor for private clients and cautiously rebuilt a satisfactory financial base for myself.

* Became burned out, saw the “end”, and sold my little investment business and half my stocks January 2000, 90 days before the Market cracked. Wished I’d sold the other half. Moved to Maui to enjoy life and learn to screen-write. Found out I wasn’t very good at it. Two years later, the second relationship (never married) of my life ended and I again needed to make some money. I’d been selling inexpensive sunglasses for fun in the weekend markets on Maui and became pretty good at it. Started a little wholesale company for the sunglasses and moved to Northern California, a place I have always liked a lot and all 3 of my sons (and several grandsons) were now living there. Four years later the company is still small, 7 people. But it provides a good income and has a great General Mgr so I don’t have to run it on a daily basis.

And now for the latest and best chapter of my adventure to this point. About 3 years ago I came to know that the person I was to spend the rest of my life with was in Thailand. I know that sounds crazy but trust me.. I knew it! I’d never been to Asia in my life, let alone Thailand. I began reading books on Thailand, learning some Thai, told all my family and friends and got on a plane. No tour, didn’t know a soul, just me. If I hadn’t learned some Thai I might not've even made it to my hotel. I was there for over 3 weeks and didn’t meet her. I decided to go back in 4 months and keep going back till I did.

About a month before my return the ground began to shake. It felt like a train coming down the track. I told all my family and friends I was about to meet her. To my credit, I guess, nobody suggested I commit myself. I got off the plane and less than 48 hours later she walked into the room. Because of the cultural gap I was cautious, so it took me two weeks to know for sure it was her. But when I knew, boy did I know!

As for her, when she was 8, a white skinned foreign man came to her village and she decided right then and there she was going to marry such a man someday. She always intended to wait for him but gave in under social pressure when she was 22 and married a Thai Man, had a daughter and he took off, never to be seen again. After that, she decided if I didn’t come she would never marry again. She stuck to her word.. never even went on a date. But after making no effort for over ten years, several weeks after I left she joined the same introduction service I had joined in Bangkok. I knew none of this, nor anything about her, really, before we met.

While she waited for me, by the way, she didn’t exactly just sit around. She couldn’t finish high school, had to go to work to help the family. Left her rural village and went to Bangkok at 15. Worked 80 hours, 7 days a week, for 19 years. Put herself through high school and college nights and weekends, supported her family, helped her older brother and sister start businesses, bought some land, etc. By the time we met didn’t need anyone, financially. Never knew till much later whether I even had any money or not.

Before I returned she met 3 men, each time putting on a t-shirt and jeans, going to meet them and easily deciding they were not for her. And then she got call #4. They said we have another man for you to meet, he’s from the U.S. I asked her if the U.S. mattered and she said no, just that he would be a white skinned foreigner. But when they told her, she said she couldn’t breathe, her heart was pounding. She couldn’t sleep all week, put on her best dress and heels, stepped into the room and knew it was me. Trust me, she KNEW it!

We have been together ever since, married in both Thailand and in Napa Valley.. live in Thailand 2 months a year, Northern California the rest of the time. I have no words for the degree to which we are a match, or to the degree to which I both admire her and adore her. Pretty overwhelming, really. This is my other half, my Soulmate, of that I am sure. She is 30 years younger than me but it really doesn’t matter. I now have a wonderful 13 year old daughter and, fortunately, the youthfulness, health and energy for what will be a long and happy life yet to come. And after that, no problem, as she and I will be together always. Who knows, maybe we have always been.

As I sit here writing this, I’ve reached the point where the business no longer really needs me. I’m free. So what’s next? I’d like to help the children of Thailand some, in the areas of education and healthcare. Other than that, I’m really not sure. But whatever it is it’ll be good. And besides, I already have all I could ever wish for.