The author of this book, in his present life, grew up in Erie, Pennsylvania and was raised mainly his grandmother of German descent, and his grandfather, a Scotsman from Paisley, who with his five brothers and two sisters came to the US with their parents as youngsters. Their parents did not like living in the United States, and went back to Scotland leaving the children here.

His grandmother allowed him cross the street to the ballpark at the age of three, and he has played baseball, pitching several no-hit games in high school, golf for 79 years winning his golf club's championship 7 times, and still plays softball at the age of 83. He acquired a Bachelor of Arts Degree from Washington & Jefferson College majoring in Literature and Mathematics and an Executive Management Degree from Pennsylvania State University. He began in the corporate world as a programmer and progressed through his 31 year career to Vice President of Information Technology until retiring in 1987, a year before the 2-billion-dollar company went bankrupt. He spent ten years as an officer and gentleman in the US Army, with two active duty tours. He attended the Special Forces School in 1962, during early Vietnam, thought about staying in and becoming an A-team commander, but his wife Ann taught his one year old daughter Sherri to say "like hell you are". The author is very grateful to them; He would have been dead many times by now.