Mom and Dad weren't expecting me...they had three kids already, and #4 was not planned.  Ooops!  Anyhow, here are a couple of photos of my parents, one of their wedding in 1947, and another that looks like their honeymoon.  Dad was 100% Italian, his parents coming from the small town of Biella in Northern Italy.  Check out dad's hair, teeth and dark skin.  I'm lucky to have inherited those from him.  Mom was Irish, English, and German.  It's easy to see both their faces in all their children.

So, after a few years of wedded bliss, look what we got!  Four kids!  I'm the youngest.  My sister Cindy is on the left...blonde, blue eyes...we don't claim her...milkmen in those days delivered, you know...Fred is my brother, and on the right is my sister Nita.



I went to public school for kindergarten, then after that, it was Catholic school from grade 1 through grade 6.  Here are the little angels in their uniforms.  I'm on the right, directly in front of the blonde girl with the pigtails.  Once I figured out that dad would pay 10 cents for every A on my report card, it was straight-A's the whole way through.  I was rich!



Ok, so lets fast forward a few years to about 1977.  What a motley crew, for sure!  We lived in Salinas, California, where it was foggy all the time, so no tans!  I was a runner, and I ate everything in sight, but never gained any weight.  It was like that until age 40, when I finally filled out a bit.  Good gosh, are those the same glasses on my brother as he was wearing 13 years prior??? 



High School Graduation!  Alisal High School, Salinas, California, 1979.  Valedictorian, 4.0 GPA, English Department Key, Senior Scholar Athlete (Athlete with highest GPA), Bank Of America Award, Mathletics Award, Cross Country Team Captain.  In my sophmore year, I became the third fastest person in the history of my school in the 1/2 mile run at 2:09.6.  While getting all this high school stuff done, I worked at my dad's gas station most days after school, and every Saturday.  Busy days!



Did I mention that mom was a men's barber in Salinas?  No man in the family was allowed to have shaggy hair...it just wasn't happening!  I went to Arizona Automotive Institute in 1980, and since I'd never been to a barber other than Mom, I didn't know how to go get my hair cut.  Well, I was a little rebellious anyhow, so here's Shaggy in 1980.  All my high school friends were convinced I had turned into a stoner. 

Yeah, sure looks that way, huh!



Ok, who DOESN'T have an embarrassing 80's photo?  Dig the smoked, oversized glasses and that 'stache!  It's 1986, and I'm embarking on my first marriage.  Still super skinny at age 25.



The photo below was taken right when I got new patches on my letterman's jacket in 1977, after winning the Salinas City Championship in the mile relay.  I ran the 1/4 mile lap in 57.4 seconds, and I was the slowest of the four on the team.  I owe a great deal to the other three runners on the team!



So, fast forward to 2010, and an old high school buddy was in San Diego to cheer his daughters at their track meet.  What better time to break out the old letterman's jacket!  How many 49 year-old men still fit into their high school letterman's jackets?  On the sleeve are league championship and team captain's stars.



Ok, we've made it to the present day!  As you might have noticed by the previous photo, I'm about the same size I was in high school.  At 5'11" and 178 pounds, I'm about 3 inches taller and 30 pounds heavier than when I graduated high school.  Good genes and diet are the only explanations, since I don't exercise outside of the walking I do at work, and the home and car maintenance I do all the time.

Yes, I am Mr. Badwrench!  If it's broken, let me at it!  I do all my own home maintenance, with the exception of major construction.  Plumbing, electrical, appliances, painting...most everything.  Pop was a Chevron service station operator from 1957 until 1989, so I grew up working on cars.  We always had two cars for everyone.  Luckily, we had a big house on a big lot.  At one point, I think we had 10 or 12 cars, all in running condition.  Add that to the dune buggies, ATV's, motorcycles, campers, and trailers, and registration time was pretty confusing!  I always have at least two running, registered vehicles at all times, so that if one breaks down, the other is ready to go.

Since dad loved cars, it was just second nature to be involved in cars and dune buggies growning up, and now in adulthood.  There is always a project car in my garage, and for fun I ride a Honda 3-wheeler in the dunes.




I'm lucky to be working in a job I love, in an industry that is shrinking--aerospace.  In the mid 1980's, I worked on Air Force One, building the "airstairs" that the President of the United States uses to walk out of the aircraft when there are no rolling stairs available.  My current job allows me to help our country defend itself at home and abroad.  I am proud to work on the Predator Aircraft. 



So, it has been now established that I am employed!  By having a great career, I'm able to have a nice house too.  Here's an overview, and a couple of shots of the back yard.







I love to entertain in my private back yard.  The pool is solar heated, so in the summer, the pool water is 90.  In the winter, it's too cold to swim anyhow, and the spa is hot all the time.  Here I am, doing what I love best about the pool!  Float!



Most of my hobbies have revolved around cars and ATV's.  Lately, with the price of gas, and beach parking at a premium, I've decided to take up motorcycling.  A guy traded me an old car for this Harley VRod, so I'm starting to ride on the street.  This thing is really fast!



If I'm not outside going somewhere or relaxing by the pool, I like to read non-fiction, specifically the exploits of those who fought World War II.  One of my favorite pastimes is Scrabble, and I've even invented Gerard's rule for starting the game.  Rather than relying on chance to start the game, each player draws their 7 tiles, and whoever has the longest word goes first.  If it's a tie, then the normal, lowest-letter-drawn goes first.  This prevents the first word from being really short.  Having a short first word crowds the board and makes the game longer. 

One of my crowning achievements in Scrabble is making 7 words with 7 letters, for 90+ points. The words were: infused, ti, an, if, nu, es, and re.



A little more about me:

I have no children and don't want any.  I have no pets, and don't want any right now, because without them, I have freedom to come and go as I please.  If I start out on an adventure Saturday morning, I can just keep going until it's time to go back to work Monday morning!  The pool cleans itself, and if my trip is more than a couple of days, I have neighbor friends who will watch it.  I don't smoke, have never done drugs of any kind, ever, and drink only at home, usually Bailey's Irish Cream or Wilson Creek Almond Champagne and dark chocolate of some sort.  That's the drink of choice during evening Scrabble games!

I don't watch broadcast TV any longer.  After LOST finished, I had the cable company remove the DVR's, saving $100 per month.  This allowed me to finally start reading all the books and magazines I had piled up all over the place.  I don't miss TV at all.  There is still basic cable coming in, so I can watch the news or a sporting event on occasion, but that's about the limit of my broadcast TV watching.  I do like to watch DVD movies, though.  Films that make you think are my favorite.  Independent, French, and Italian movies are great, two of my favorites being "Wages Of Fear," and "Open City."  The films of Jim Jarmusch are fantastic, especially "Night On Earth".  I listen to mostly old-school rock and R&B music.  My favorite artists include Steely Dan, Chicago, Blood Sweat & Tears, Tom Jones, Harold Melvin & The Bluenotes, and many others from the 60's, 70's and 80's.

Sometimes, it's just fun to mess with people!  I normally NEVER wear ties, but this tie at Kohl's just caught my eye, so I wore it to work one day for no reason.  It was so fun fielding all the questions: "You're interviewing for a new job," "You're going to a wedding or funeral," and my favorite, "You have a hot date."  Nope, just wanted to mess with people!



Well, this is unfinished, so keep checking back!

Gerard