I was born in Michigan in the fall of 1966 and was immediately taken to Vail, Colorado. We lived in Vail until I was 8 1/2 and then we moved to Los Angeles, California for a year. We then went to St. Louis, Missouri where my Dad's Family had been for 100 + years. I spent the better part of the next 9 years in St. Louis with the exception of Boarding School in Canyon City, Colorado for 1 1/2 years and Summer Camp at Culver, Camp Zoe and Deerfield. Then came the biggest move...Seoul, Korea.
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I first went to basic and advanced training in a town called Fort Benning, Georgia and soon was selected to join the Honor Guard in Yongson, Seoul, Korea for my "tour of duty" in the U.S. Army. Seoul was an amazing place and I look forward to returning often throughout my life.
The next move was to St. Paul - Minneapolis, Minnesota for College. The "Twin Cities" were vibrant when I was there and brought me to the Art world, my first love, and taught me much about "growing up" and learning to live "life on life’s terms"..... not mine. While living in Minneapolis I began to visit New York City....Ahhhhh..The City of Lights....the energy would pulse through me when I stepped off the plane and when turning off the Bridge into the city......touching the pavement would energize me as nothing I had ever known. I soon found myself living in Soho, a beautiful place at a time when Keith Haring, Basquiat, Jasper Johns, Makos and others were at their prime. After a big downfall in the Art market, I found myself in Washington, D.C., our Nation’s Capital. Between a Film Studio and a Home improvement business, I rebuilt and....of course....went home.....New York City. I am still here, although I have my house in New Jersey with my three beautiful children and Chrissy......... it is a wonderful place to be.
Where we live on the Jersey shore is a beautiful place, just near the beach with horse farms around us and two rivers that spill into the Ocean. The Rivers are the Shrewsbury and the Navesink and between them sits Rumson & Fairr Haven. We boat on the rivers often in the spring, summer and fall when it is warm and the breeze is at our backs. The beaches start at Sandy Hook and go to Cape May about two hours south, so there is always a place to surf, sit in the sun or play in the water. I don't know what most people think about New Jersey, but once off the turnpike, it is really one of the most beautiful States in the US....no wonder they call it the Garden State!
Yes, my friends....what can I say? I must be one of the luckiest people alive when I think about how magical they are. I have be blessed with friends who are all truly loving, caring people that have brought me through rough times and whom I have laughed with for endless hours. When I thought I could count two or three on one hand I said "I am truly blessed" but to think I could count with both hands and feet the friends in my life I consider part of my soul.....and now I have new families in my life brought to me by Chrissy. Tom & Sherri, her parents, are the kindest people you could ever hope to meet, her mother an Angel from heaven with Grandpa Bear there to protect and guide the family. They have brought a spirit and tranquility to my life that I had forgotten people still had in this day and age. Then there are David and Wilma, our other "parents from Oregon" whom we have so much fun with and learn from every day. The values they exemplify are a "light' to us all in the night and touch us deeply.....and Ole Farmer Dave, what a smile to see, it warms my heart every time I picture it......He reminds me of my Father whom I lost when I was just 11 years old, I guess God thought it was time to send a piece of Grant back to me. Wilma, well she is an Angel on Earth full of love and hope.....we are all blessed to be in her warm embrace.
More to come.....