A Little Background

    I was born in Philadelphia, the first of three kids. My parents separated when I was seven, and from then on we were raised by my mother. Mom tried to instill in us some faith in God and respect for others, but regular church attendance was not part of our experience, and the Bible was completely unknown.

    After graduating high school, I moved in with my dad a few miles away, and Mom took my siblings on a long ride in an old station wagon to California, where they settled for many years. My parents eventually made the divorce official and Mom remarried. This was a key time for me, during which I learned that Dad was not a bum, as I was brought up to believe, but just a man with weaknesses and strengths like any other. We became good friends, and made up for a lot of lost time.

    I completed one magical year at the Art Institute of Philadelphia, and just a couple of months into my second (not so magical) year I quit. I was intensely restless and eager to see something outside my dull hometown. I took a Greyhound bus to California in the midst of the Blizzard of '78. On the sunny West Coast I reconnected with family, made some new friends and spent a rather aimless year until I drifted back to Philly, where aimlessness became a way of life.

    In the months that ensued I actually returned to Orange County (via Greyhound!) - for a job that lasted all of three months - and the Fall of 1981 found me back in my dull hometown once again, a confused young man without any trace of a plan.

    Jobs and girlfriends (not moral relationships, either) came and went, my language could have embarassed a sailor, and I had no control over my anger or arrogance. I abused alcohol and other drugs, especially hallucinogens, with increasing frequency and recklessness. Despite all this, God seemed to be putting on my heart the idea that I needed significant change, and I began seeking Him in my own limited way.

    One thing that served to move me forward, temporarily at least, was the book Power for Living, which was advertised on television by Pat Boone. I tended to identify more with guys like Sam Malone (of "Cheers" fame) than with Pat Boone, but something in his sincere and honest invitation drew me. As I recall, the book was little more than a collection of testimonials by famous and influential people, but it convinced me that I was missing something - something really big.