I have one brother and three sisters. Both of my Grandfathers died when I was two-years old, but I was able to enjoy having Grandmothers until just recently. My youth was a mixture of severe emotional problems, that influenced a traumatic scholastic experience caused by firstly; an immaturity to my classmates (too young emotionally and mentally) and secondarily; a dysfunctional family life complicated by alcoholism on both sides of my sires. The mix is a family life of effluence from my fathers high stature in the community, that allowed my siblings and I to enjoy freedoms and comforts not accessible by most. My teen years are associated with my own alcohol addiction and usage of drugs, partying was my goal and I did achieve it.

Reading was an early escape from the harsh realties of the world. I started with the fantasy exploits of Edgar Rice Boroughs (Tarzan, Pellucidar, Mars and Venus series', and later appreciated the rambling scientific conjectures of Isaac Asimov and Arthur C. Clark, amongst a few. I now consider myself a student of the physical sciences, a skeptic as to anything that differs from the apparent physical perimeters that rule this universe. While I view the paranormal with skepticism, I yearn for the unexplainable, I search for the events that I can not readily explain by scientific study. That being said, I do believe, I know that there is a force amongst us, that connects all in this Universe, before-during-after birth-life-death, animate and inanimate call it spirit, and I touch it by an inner feeling or sense, such as what I get from groups or crowds. It's that same warm/tingly feeling I get from reading a good book, or the end of a good movie, or expression of love.

My theological beliefs are more of an acceptance that all is possible, that is in fact, my own faith. I do believe that after death there is more......, somehow we will all survive, not necessarily our "selves" but our essence's. Our future after death is a living that is based on our own beliefs, we will live our own Heavens or Hells, and what defines Heaven or Hell is our very own perspective. I strive to be a good man/father/citizen and I believe that only good will lay before me in that pursuit.

My own EHE experience has happened just recently and is why I have joined this group. It's listed under my name in the BBS archives under the heading of TIME. I believe it is the first time I've bean flabbergasted by a personal experience. I can't explain it, and my conjunctures as to the cause reason for this experience have implications to me that are a source of frustration if not fear. In 1989 I married a wonderful woman with two kids from previous relationships and through our eight years together we produced two more children. Our lives together were generally happy, especially after my abstinence with alcohol. I have continued successfully in sobriety for the past eight and a half years, I consider this one of my crowning achievements in life. My wife and I divorced, amicably in 1997 and to this day we consider ourselves the best of friends. My children our the prime motivators in my life, their future is very important to me.

After high school, I launched myself on the world, I spent two years living high up in the Colorado mountains learning much about life, and the struggle for existence. A struggle it was, and I soon became aware that additional education would be necessary. I returned to Minnesota and enrolled in a two-year vocational course in Carpentry, that was followed by a two-year vocational course in Energy Engineering Technology (This school was a product of the 1970's Energy crises.){The Reagon era ended up closing the school along with the Energy credits.} Professionally I continued as an Energy oriented Contractor/Carpenter.

In the early 90's I surgically allayed bilateral Carpal Tunnel which prompted me to seek more education in pursuit of a more non-labor intensive occupation. I completed a two year vocational course in Building Inspection Technology, and after a disappointing attempt at that field I returned to Carpentry. In 1996 I fell of a roof and spent the next year in crutches with a debilitating broken ankle. I than became an Underground Utility Locator, which proved quite enriching and at the same time quite stressful. Now I am unhappily employed, third shift, at a company that produces parts for the computer industry. Recent new medical problems (a paralyzed vocal cord that forced me to whisper for five months, and a clasped lunge) has lowered my position in that company to a non-progresive capability. I am currently seeking other employment.

The outdoors has played a significant role in my life/desires/future. I started as a camper (YMCA camp) and continued to a counselor, and than a brief, enriching experience with Colorado Outward Bound school. I am an avid outdoorsman/fisher/biker/hiker. In 1991 my father inherited an Island in a lake in central Minnesota. We promptly cleared the brush and I constructed a two-story cabin. In 1998 (during a winter lay-off) I finished the building of this cabin, it is wired to a Generator-Storage Battery system, Telephone and Internet connection, propane/wood heat, water, indoor plumbing, washer dryer, etc. The Island represents a grand extension of my personality, and I take great pride in what it represents, as to my capabilities.

I spend most of my free time on the Island, enjoying the majesty of nature, the peaceful solitude that are inherent in such an isolated location. When I'm on the Island, the outside world has little interaction with me, and my troubles can be left behind. I have solved most of my personal problems in my own form of meditation there.