Hello! This is a picture of me, your humble web page author trying (unsuccessfully) to look "cool", taken in March 1984. I grew up in Vermilion, Ohio, a small town on the shores of Lake Erie (which to my knowledge has never seen a hurricane). I joined the U.S. Air Force and started Officer Training School in December 1980. By October 1981, I had my gold second lieutenant bars and my silver navigator's wings. My first assignment out of navigator school was in the 54th Weather Reconnaissance Squadron (WRS), based at Anderson AFB, Guam. I was there during 1982 and 1983. Then I went to the 53rd WRS in Biloxi, MS (today, the 54th WRS no longer exists and the 53rd WRS is a reserve unit that still flies hurricanes). In 1986, I left the Air Force to became a civilian air traffic controller. I used to work at the Boston ARTCC ("Boston Center" for you pilots out there) in Nashua, NH, and I retired in May of 2007. But enough about me...