The author was born in Tucson, Arizona, in 1956 and grew up in northern Florida before moving to southern California, where he married and raised a family. After earning a degree in Aerospace Engineering from San Diego State University and an MPA from the University of Southern California, the author served thirty-five years in civil service with the U.S. Navy. The author has been married for over forty-five years to his wife, Terry, a retired nurse. Together, they raised two sons—Zach, a Classicist at Dartmouth College, and Grant, a physician in New Hampshire. They now make their home in Portland, Maine.