I was born in a small town in Northeast PA Anthracite Coal country. I had a very hard working Dad, a stay at home Mom, and older sister who I’m close to and an older brother who chooses to alienate the rest of us. I was born in Dec 1960 the week John Glen orbited the earth. A stamp denoting that is on my long lost birth certificate. I had a large extended family most within walking distance. A good percentage of them were alcoholics, but my Dad never drank anything stronger than a Pepsi. I followed in his footsteps except my vice for 35 years was Mt. Dew. Why Spiney? Well the last few years and much of my future has been defined by a big change brought on by 3 back surgeries and (1) neck surgery. I have 4 levels of my lower back or Lumbar fused together with donor bone and held together with plates and screws. I have the same done to 2 levels of my neck or cervical spine. So I am very aware of my spine 24 x 7. My back problems stem from a long history of unfortunate events. At age 7 I was hit by a car while crossing the street. I spent 3 months in a 1/2 body cast. At age 13 I was sledding and ran head on into the rear quarter panel of a car, leaving a dent with my head. Then the big one at age 21 I crashed a hang glider breaking a few vertebrae in my back.
I held a very active and full life up until January of 2000. My Wife and I owned a portrait studio for 15 years. Before that I was involved in electronics engineering and as a computer technician. We photographed babies, children, High School Seniors, and Families. We got to be together all day, and we loved it. At the time our daughter was a teenager. We got our baby fix from the babies, worked with a lot of children. Our motto was “We love Kids!”, and working with the High School Seniors kept us young. I also played drums in bands ranging from punk to r&b to a praise band in church. I loved playing drums and really miss it. That all changed when my back gave out Jan 5th 2000. I had 2 previous back surgeries in the 80’s. The 1st one in 1982 was a total failure. I had a very successful one in 1987 and had 13 years of normal life. But on Jan 5, 2000 I hit the floor and couldn’t get up. I had 2 surgeries that year. A semi successful back surgery in May, and a total failure neck surgery in December. I really tried to hang in and keep the business going for 4 more years but the chronic pain made me give in around March of 2005. I fought for and was awarded disability in July of 2007. I am in chronic pain and suffer from insomnia. I have always been a news / info junkie so when I am awake I watch alot of news, get information from the net, or listen to NPR & BBC plus lots of XM in the truck. This keeps me up on current events. But I went from being with my wife and others 10 hours a day to being alone except for my house rabbit, butterscotch and my constant companion Thomas J a tabby cat. He’s cool but he doesn’t like to discuss current events. So I figure this will give me a place to share my opinions. Hopefully someone will read them and give feedback. Two way intelligent discussions are what I’m really after.
I have a wonderful supportive wife, an fine adult daughter , my previously mentioned Jersey Woolie bunny named butterscotch, a wonderful cat friend Thomas J, and a pond full of goldfish. I’m also into Model Railroading, Anthracite Coal History, and History in general. I’m a Christian and a former Republican, now independent. I live in Cental PA with my very cool Mother-in-law, and I long for more temperant lands such as VA, NC, or SC. Spiney
