Retirement in 2011 meant the end of a long journey and the beginning of the rest of my life. I had been an engineer and a family man for most of my adult years. The time had come for me to walk away.

I left Vietnam and checked out of the US Army in 1969. After that fork in the road, I completed a BSEE and an MSCS. My first wife and I brought 2 daughters into the world and started raising them while I struggled to establish my career. She died unexpectedly in 1985. The two girls and I managed for the next 18 months. Anita married me in July 1986.

We blended a family of 4 children, 4 cats, and 3 dogs. Thirty plus years later, we have 6 grandchildren and 4 great-grandchildren. The original four kids have made us proud.

Those successes came at a price. I have always been a writer. Putting my thoughts down on paper came naturally. People generally liked my work. Just before Judy died, I was making a serious effort to publish some poems and short stories. Adding the responsibilities of a single dad to those of a senior engineer put an end to my writing career. I did continue to produce technical papers at work and inspirational pieces for organizations that I joined.

Catching up on my sleep was my first priority after I left the daily grind behind. Then I got my hips replaced and traveled to Scotland and Ireland, my ancestral home. That left me with a lot of time to fill over the next 20 or 30 years. A group of writers got me started on my first novel, “Survive.” Another group taught me about all the things that go into publishing my novels. That should keep me busy.