I was born in Colon, Republic
of Panama in 1950; but initially left Panama at three
years old when my family went back to the Unites States
for about six years. I returned to the Panama as a fourth
grader and attended the Canal Zone Schools for the next
six years. I left the Canal Zone in May of 1966 before
graduating from CHS and finished my last two years of
high school at Andover High School at Bloomfield Hills,
Michigan. After high school I attended Michigan State
University off and on until my graduation in 1976 with a
B.A. in Telecommunication.
When I entered the full-time
work force in 1973 I never imagined I would choose so
many different lines of work as I continued what many in
my family claim is my real career as a "perpetual"
student. I have worked as a janitor, darkroom technician,
photographer, U.S. Army Reserve and Louisiana National
Guard soldier, radio and electronic technician, water and
wastewater measurement instrumentation technician, retail
salesman, court research attorney, and academic law
librarian. Along the way I have earned a J.D. from the
Detroit College of Law, an LL.M. from Stetson University
College of Law, an M.A. in Library Science from the
University of Arizona, and an M.S. in Criminal Justice
from the University of Central Florida. I am actively
licensed to practice law in Michigan, Florida, and
Louisiana and am an inactive attorney in New York.
I like to think of myself as
"retired" because my current job as a librarian at the
International School of Panama in the Republic of Panama
is so fun and interesting. Nevertheless, I work full-time
with a few ex-zonians and many teachers and students from
about thirty-five countries around the world. It is truly
amazing to listen to a group of Asian ninth graders flip
between Mandarin, Spanish, and American English in the
space of about three paragraphs. I wish I had studied a
little bit harder in Mrs. Gegg's and Mr. Stearn's Spanish
classes.
I was married for 19 years to
Jennifer Watson and have two sons, Nathaniel and Robert,
with her. Nate is a journalist in Alameda, California and
is the father of my first grandchild, William. Robert is
a veteran of the most recent war in Iraq and lives with
me in Panama City, Panama while he attends the Republic
of Panama Branch of Florida State University.
I am grateful I took a unique
opportunity to return to work in Panama. I had not seen
Panama for over thirty years and had not anticipated how
modern and vibrant parts of Panama City would become nor
how beautiful the Interior would remain. Several other
family members now live in Panama, including my sister,
Cheryl, my brothers Eric and Dan, and my Mother and
stepfather, Barbara and Bernie.
