1. Bio
I grewup on a farm innortheasternKentucky. BymonetarystandardsIgrew up inpoverty,butI
didnot feel poor. Ilovedthe extrastarsin the nightskyaway fromstreetlights. Ilovedgrowing
vegetablesbeforeorganicvegetableswere evenconceived. Ilearnedtoappreciate the quiet,natural
beauty,andthe wondersof creation. I wasblessedwithlovingparentsandone brother,withwhomI
was nevercompetitive. He wasthe athlete;Iwasthe student. Itwasmy mother’sdreamthatboth of
herchildrenwouldfinishcollege,whichwe didthoughshe hadnoideahow we wouldpayfor it. I was
fortunate toreceive one of the firstDavid Longneckerscholarshipstopursue acareer ina health-related
field. WiththatI became a pre-medstudentatthe Universityof Kentucky. Aftercollege Iwasfurther
blessedwithascholarshiptothe Universityof Kentuckymedicalschool providedbythe New YorkLife
Insurance Company.
I movedtoLexingtontoattendthe Universityof Kentuckyatage seventeen. Aftercompleting
medical school andresidencyIpracticedObstetricsandGynecologyfortwenty-one yearsduringwhich
time I deliveredclosetothree thousandbabies,savedseveral lives,and, hopefully,helpedtomake
manyother livesbetter. Idevotedmylife tomypatientsandinreturntheytaughtme muchthat I know
aboutlife,love,andhumanrelationships. Inaddition,theyrewardedme withtheirtrust.
Early inmy practice my fatherwasveryill. InNovemberof 1985 he passedaway. A few days
before he died,he gave all of usa gift. He veryanxiousandstrugglingtobreathe until whilewaitingfor
an X-rayhisheart stopped. A youngX-raytechnicianhithiminhischest,andhe recoveredwithno
otherresuscitation. Afterthathe was fearless,layflatof hisbackquietlybreathingwithoutdifficulty,
recognizedmysecretarywhomhe hadonlymettwice, toldme he had seenthe light,andcalmlydied
fourdays later. I had readabout life afterlifeexperiencesandpeopleclaimingtosee alight;he had not.
I decidedthatnomatter howirrelevantsome intelligentpeople believemattersof faithtobe,I believe
and I needtolive everydaylike Ido.
Toward the endof my practice,I attendedAsburySeminary,part-time. Iknew a numberof the
Asburyprofessorsfrommychurchand wantedto learnfromthem. I had onlyvague thoughtsof a
careerchange at the time. Aboutthatsame time a numberof eventscreatedanideaand passionfor
writinga novel. Ihadalwayslovedtoread. InretirementIstudiedwritingasanapprentice withthe
ChristianWriter’sGuildandI am happyto say that at the beginningof 2014 I finishedthe firstdraftof
No EasyWay Out, the tentative title of mynovel.
In myretirement,Ideliveredmygreat-nephew. Iwasthe laborcoach andmy niece’sdoctor
had anotherdeliveryatexactlythe same time. Whatare the oddsof that? I deliveredtwolittersof
puppiestomylittle Norfolkterrier,Glade. Inow live withMori,Glade’sdaughter,one of the puppies. I
motheredateenage girl fora year,an exchange studentfromGermany. She isnow a doctor inBerlin,
wife,andmotherof twobeautiful children. Anothernephew livedwithme,briefly, whenhe firstcame
to UK. I enjoyedhavingthese youngpeople inmyhome. Nothavingchildrenof myownisone of my
fewregrets,butI have learnedthatthere isnoscarcity of childrentolove.
Before retirement,Ibeganservingonthe AdvisoryBoard of ourlocal SalvationArmy. In
retirementIservedasvice-chairmanof the boardfor fouryearsand chairmanof the boardfor four
years. Duringthat time we developedboardmemberexpectationsthathave strengthenedourboard,
and we developedamajordonorsocietythathas significantlyincreasedourdonorbase. Throughmy
connectionwiththe local SalvationArmy,Iwasprivilegedtoserve atgroundzero inSeptemberof 2001

2. In 2004 I ran for State Representativeinmydistrict. Ihave never beenverypolitical,butIam a
goodproblemsolverandIthoughtI had somethingtooffer. Iwas rathernaïve. First,I decidedtorun
on the lastday before filing. Myrepresentative hadrununopposedinthe lastelectionsoIthoughtI had
until Novembertorun. Fortunately,someoneelsehaddecidedtorunsoI had to wina primaryin May.
Thiswas Januaryand I had notraiseda dime or developedapiece of printedliterature;myopponent
had beenworkingforayear. I thoughtI wouldhate running foroffice butlove doingthe job. Ifound
the opposite tobe true. I foundthe campaigningtobe veryrewarding,butIbeganto see that tryingto
change thingsinour political systemwouldbe totallyfrustrating. Thus,Isayfortunatelysomeone else
was runningandI lostinthe primaryaftermakinga respectable showing.
Perhapsthe hardestandmost rewardingof myserial jobsinretirementwascaring formy
elderlymotherinmyhome fora yearand a half. I was blessedthatshe hada longand happyoldage in
herown home until age eighty-nine. Iwasalsoblessedthateveninherlastdaysat nearlyninety-one
she neverlostherwonderful sense of humor.
I have spokentoa numberof groupsaboutvarioustopicsduringmyretirement. Ilove doingit,
and I hope to have the opportunitytodomore of itafter mybookis published. Ilearnedlastweekthat
I have a publisher,whichmeansIhave anew job. Hopefully,itwill be outbythe endof the year.