Who are you? Are you what came from the womb; how you were nurtured; both? How do those characteristics express when praised; when stressed; loved, ignored, justified, berated, honored, attacked? Who you are is as much about your environments, large and small, as your innate or nurtured character. Life, for all of us, will both cut and caress. Our several and immediate experiences are our truths of the moment, but, will they be the defining and summary truth of our lives when they end? This story, a personal account, is that of one young life moving from surroundings of care and security to chaos and cruelty. He is molded and tempered by the ever changing truths of his disintegrating micro and macro environments in a struggle to, at first, know those threatening persons and forces around him but, eventually, to use his unique and formidable gifts to balance the scales; to erase them and their kind! What would you label him; super hero or super villain; apex predator or apex avenger? What would you do if "invisible", privy to any piece of internet knowledge you desired, had a photographic memory, and, you were able to strike down a malignant psychopath just by pointing at him? From page one: "I suggest that it's a pretty good sign that the world is going hell in a hand-basket, as the saying goes, when a kid aspiring to be a virtuoso violinist morphs to later be on the FBI's top ten wanted list; as a murderer no less! And this person is not just any murderer but a serial killer who targets some of the most prominent socio-economic movers and shakers of his day!" [ ... ] "No, nothing in my youth would portend I would become this killer!" The rest is "between" the covers!
About the Author: I came into the world with a keen sense of the abstract and the "big picture" in life; one who can typically discern "the forest for the trees". I grew up in a cottage on the shores of the Maumee River in northwest Ohio. Hence, I love woods, water, and wildlife - nature! I am naturally spiritual, artistic and mechanical. I employ imagination and creativity in all three areas. I was encouraged in the visual and musical arts by my mother who was also my catalyst in spirituality. She was an avid reader generally and introduced me to the likes of the poet, Kahlil Gibran, and the spiritual seer and healer, Edgar Cayce; and more. I inherited my father's mechanical traits and began working with his hand tools from age four onward on various and imaginative and household projects. He also modeled a sense of duty and a strong work ethic for me. My varied interests generated varied occupational endeavors over my working life from music educator to industrial quality control technician to residential remodeling, traveling sales rep. and more. I always received kudos from family, friends and associates for various writings in all of my life's personal and employment endeavors so it became a natural creative pursuit when I retired in the nature-lush Bluff Country areas of Minnesota and now Wisconsin. You will find all of these elements, and more, in my stories and poems as I reach out to others through words. I have an affinity for conveying the synthesis or confluence of seemingly disparate influences and aspects of life. Life is often deliciously complex! If there is at least one idea, sentiment, concept or depiction that touches you deeply it is my soul speaking to yours; our greater selves from our greater source and destiny. Blessings!