Rick

Born in '60 in Madrid. Spent the better part of my prepubescent life in Spain, where my mom's family continues to live.

Got to see the world, or a decent portion of it, as an Air Force brat.

Met my wife in 1977. At that time, she was my first cousin's girl. That got a bit messy, but we've been happily married now since 1981. I don't regret for a moment the turmoil that began our relationship, or more specifically, the turmoil our budding relationship caused my family and my first cousin's family.

In 1985, my first son was born. My life changed, for the better. A wife and child had a calming effect on this rather wild boy. In 1987, my second son was born. The good Lord has gifted me in every way through these 3 very special people. God only knows where'd I'd be without them.

I've done a variety of things I think might be note-worthy.

In 1988, I solo'd in a Cessna 152. Simply breathtaking, I still consider it a highlight.

In 1990, I experienced a serious spiritual renewal in a charismatic Episcopal church. I had not been in church very regularly at all since my childhood before that time. I rarely missed a Sunday until some time in 2003. And then I rarely went to church until August of '09 when I found myself gravitating back to the church of my youth. Currently, the missus and I are attending mass at a Catholic Church led by a blind priest. There's a story eh?

My current spiritual state was probably impacted in some way by my stint as a potential ordinand of the Episcopal Church in 1998. During that two year Ordination Exploration Program, I learned quite a bit about myself, but even more about progressive Christianity. Needless to say, I was, to my chagrin at the time, found not worthy to continue toward ordination in the Episcopal Church. Seems I was a bit " too rigid theologically" as some were quick to point out. I think however that my downfall began when I inadequately expressed how I felt about my penis. Yes, my penis. It seemed that the ECUSA was very concerned as to whether I could talk freely about my member during the psychological phase of the program. I was literally speechless about it at the time, given that I had never really considered giving much thought to the notion before. I've written about that experience here.

I also involved myself in local politics. In 1993, I somewhat reluctantly accepted the position of local chairman of Michael Farris's failed campaign for lieutenant governor (Farris did win in my county) and fought off attempts by some the following year to draft me for the position of chairmanship of the local Republican party.

Today, I'm a government contractor leading a team of technical professionals and hoping that somehow I can survive long enough in the biz to beef back up those retirement funds and live as God would have me live from here on out.