"I have always had an interest in unusual wildlife, with reptiles and amphibians at the top of the list. I cannot remember a time where I did not flip boards, look into bushes, or watch for critters on the road. My parents were fairly accommodating, and would often pull over on the highway to let me check out things like box turtle’s, and allowed me to keep some snakes and lizards even though they often escaped."

     "My Dad was a pilot in the Air Force, and we had many wonderful assignments. As a kid I spent time in Japan, Germany, and domestically in Northern Virginia and Texas, the families long term home. Then during my Junior High years we went to the Panama Canal Zone. Talk about throwing me into the briar patch. It was a wonderful introduction to tropical America, and I certainly took advantage of it. One of the problems of those days was that there was very little information available on the flora and fauna. Taxonomies were in flux, and there were virtually no books or guides, at least for lay people. I had a great number of critters that I had no idea what they were. Actually made things more interesting."

     "The next tour took us to Denver, where I went to high school and later the University of Colorado. My interests in Natural History were still strong, but other things did come into play. I graduated with a degree in Aeronautical Engineering, hoping to become a commercial airline pilot. Things fell into place, and in 1968 I was hired and flew for a major carrier for 35 years. Mostly living in Denver with my wife Cheryl and daughter Kelly and my son Matt. It turned out that Matt shared my interest and passion in wildlife, and is able to frequently go with me on wildlife adventures. I kept him out of trouble in those early years, and he no doubt keeps me out of trouble in these years."

     "I was able to travel quite a bit, visiting Central and South America (numbers of times), Australia several times and Africa once. Many of these trips were dedicated herping trips, but even if they were family vacations, herpetology was always close at hand if possible, as my wife will attest."

     "We moved to Tucson in 1999, a place I had visited many times. It has been a wonderful transition, living with such a diverse wildlife population literally in my backyard. Here are a few close neighbors."