One HELLUVA Life

An apt description of my life would be a tattered masterpiece of jobs and careers that should have worked, but never did. It has been the pursuit of creativity wherever I could find it, interspersed with necessary occupations that included everything from naval aviator, government executive and gallery owner to salesman, bartender and truck driver – to name only a few. None of my many jobs, however, came close to providing the passion and fulfillment I received from art and writing. One Helluva Life begins with my enlistment in the Navy in 1965 and a tour flying F4B Phantom II fighter/bombers during the Vietnam War. An accident occurred that ended my combat duty and set the course of my future, although I didn’t know it until much later. The book is significant as a story of how Post-traumatic Stress Disorder, PTSD, worked its way insidiously into the fabric of my life. It is an intensely personal and honest account of good times and disappointments, victories and failures, perseverance and survival. Other persistent themes throughout the story are: the joy of the creative spirit; the important influence of friendship and personal relationships; and the power of caring and generosity by others when it’s needed most. My hope is that the reader will relate to this account as a compelling and sometimes inspirational story. Where we end up in life is a snapshot into our personality, but our journey to get there shows the world who we really are.