PERSONAL PROFILE

IMPORTANT EVENTS

Three things stand out in my mind as the most significant events of my life. They are, in order of importance, my life with my wife, Margarethe; the birth of our son, Jon-David; and the fire that destroyed our home in Laguna Beach.

Truthfully, I do not know where or what I would be without Margarethe. She offers counsel and comfort. We can work together as a team or each go off and accomplish our own little speciality. I truely enjoy her company and have for over twenty years. What a great person she is!

Neither of us felt any giant urge to have children. Margarethe was the oldest daughter in a family of seven children so she knew about raising young ones. My youngest brother, Dan was born when I was nearly 11 so I had a major share of his upbringing and did many of the normal parenting chores. However, after we both had tenure and had survived the fire trauma, we felt that if we were going to do this, now was the time.

Margarethe was the perfect mother-to-be. She took her daily walks and ate all the right things. Everything was in moderation. Jon-David was born at 5:55 A.M on 5-5-95. He was your basic trouble-free baby. However, as a toddler, he has certainly developed his own set of behaviors and actions. He isn't perfect by any means, but we love him dearly. He and I do many things together as I am the primary care provider. We read a lot and play a lot and go places. He loved watching our house get built and delighted in watching the cement trucks and cranes and talking to the plumber and electrician. He is a trip and I look forward to the challenges of parenthood. We do have our moments of conflict and non-understanding and he certainly has his own opinions about many topics, but I really feel that we are now a family with the three of us together.

What can you say about an event that reduces everything you own to two dumpsters of ashes? The Firestorm that swept through Laguna Beach in 1993 certainly grabbed my attention and gave me a lesson in the fury of certain natural events. It is tough, but it made me realize the value of people versus items. It still is sad sometimes when I think about it and I do whenever I hear sirens or smell smoke. I will always be a bit different in terms of my outlook on life and the fragile nature of our immediate surroundings. My activities with the fire prevention specialists at the local, state, and national level are my efforts to be certain that my son never has to go through what happened to his parents.