I was born in the Jack Thomas House on April 15, 1947, in Leitchfield, Grayson County, Kentucky. Following World War II, my father was a town Marshall in Leitchfield, but the big city pulled him away and he went to work in Louisville. My early life was spent in Edmonson, Grayson and Hart Counties, but my teenaged years were spent mainly in Louisville, Kentucky. At age 18, I enlisted and served in the U. S. Marine Corps for twelve years, spending two tours in Vietnam as a Naval Gunfire Spotter (F.O.). Following, Vietnam, I applied and was accepted for U.S. Marine Embassy Security Group. Every U.S. Embassy around the world has a detachment of Marines that provide security for the Embassy staff and the highly classified materials stored there. I was assigned to the U.S. Embassy, Ottawa, Canada for one year and the U.S. Embassy, La Paz, Bolivia also for a year. I spent five years in Tanks and two-and-a-half years in Public Affairs as a U.S. Marine Combat Correspondent. Following military service I attended the University of Arizona on the GI Bill studying photography, journalism, political science and weather, I spent many long hours chasing lightning in Arizona. When I moved to Oklahoma I picked up tornado chasing. In 1992 the newspaper I was working for in Tulsa closed its doors and closed down, I retired and my wife asked me to stay at home with my two younger children. I volunteered at their school and conducted reading interpretation classes during the lunch hour. I lead a fairly tough life as a Marine, but staying home with my children, exposed me to the toughest job in America, raising children. My hat is off to you ladies.

I was born in the Jack Thomas House on April 15, 1947, in Leitchfield, Grayson County, Kentucky. Following World War II, my father was a town Marshall in Leitchfield, but the big city pulled him away and he went to work in Louisville. My early life was spent in Edmonson, Grayson and Hart Counties, but my teenaged years were spent mainly in Louisville, Kentucky. At age 18, I enlisted and served in the U. S. Marine Corps for twelve years, spending two tours in Vietnam as a Naval Gunfire Spotter (F.O.). Following, Vietnam, I applied and was accepted for U.S. Marine Embassy Security Group. Every U.S. Embassy around the world has a detachment of Marines that provide security for the Embassy staff and the highly classified materials stored there. I was assigned to the U.S. Embassy, Ottawa, Canada for one year and the U.S. Embassy, La Paz, Bolivia also for a year. I spent five years in Tanks and two-and-a-half years in Public Affairs as a U.S. Marine Combat Correspondent. Following military service I attended the University of Arizona on the GI Bill studying photography, journalism, political science and weather, I spent many long hours chasing lightning in Arizona. When I moved to Oklahoma I picked up tornado chasing. In 1992 the newspaper I was working for in Tulsa closed its doors and closed down, I retired and my wife asked me to stay at home with my two younger children. I volunteered at their school and conducted reading interpretation classes during the lunch hour. I lead a fairly tough life as a Marine, but staying home with my children, exposed me to the toughest job in America, raising children. My hat is off to you ladies.