The Attrition Colonies

Ralph was born September 9,1941 in Indianapolis, Indiana, where he grew up living with his parents and one brother. After graduation from high school, he joined the Army, serving a three-year tour of duty, mostly in Germany. After his Army tour, he returned to Indianapolis, where in 1965 he met his wife-to-be, Francine Apostolos. Ralph and Francine were married in 1966, having two children, Tom and Maria. In 1968, Ralph, along with his wife Francine and son Tom, moved to California, where in 1970, their second child Maria was born. Upon moving to California, Ralph started his career in the moving and storage industry, and is still working in that industry after thirty-nine years. During his career, he has owned his own business and was elected as Chairman of the Board of the California Moving and Storage Association for a one-year term in 1985. As the reader will readily see, Ralph has woven the experience of being the Chairman of the Board into the plot of The Attrition Colonies. In 1993, when their son Tom was murdered, Ralph began writing seriously, first poetry as an outlet for his grief and then this book as a diversion from it.