May my profile find you in good health and spirits!

Thank you to all who have e-mailed and sent kind thoughts. I leapt into POF too quickly and I really need more time before venturing back into dating so soon after my wife's death. I have a nine year old daughter and I am struggling with single parenthood so I have little time remaining to develop new friendships.

-----///\\-----
----///-\\\---- Place a ribbon on your profile
---|||---|||--- if you know someone with cancer
---|||---|||--- or have lost someone to cancer
---|||---|||---
----\\\-///----
-----\\///-----
------///\-----
-----///\\\---- My wife Denise "Pony"
----///--\\\--- May 19, 1966 - April 27, 2009
---///----\\\--

Dee suffered much abuse as a child in foster care. At seven she was adopted into a family where abuse continued. Yet as an adult she gave so freely and she cared so deeply. I miss her laughter, her energy, her eternal optimism, and her wonderful love of others. She was a treasure in my life.

To explain my POF handle I would like to say that because I ride a Harley Davidson Fatboy and I am a big man, my wife frequently exclaimed: "Fatboys Rule!,” especially toward large men. Once, riding in late autumn, when asked if she was cold, my wife pointed to me and asked in return; "Have you seen the size of my windshield?"

I once described myself as a little bit of Elvis Presley, some of Patrick Swayze in Roadhouse, and a lot of John Goodman in Rosie. However, an individual's self image can very greatly from how others perceive them. I think most would describe me as a smart/educated, caring husband and father - as a good man. I once was active, exciting, and fun. Being recently widowed has quieted my spirit. So I hope to meet friends from whom I can learn to smile again, to live, and ultimately, to fall in love again.

I was born in Kandel Germany and adopted when I was one, by an American couple. My father was a career Army officer. My mother was a missionary before meeting my father and becoming a housewife. They were the most wonderful parents anyone could wish for. I was extremely fortunate to have been adopted by them. I became a US citizen when I was five.

As a young man I was a good artist. I loved to paint and draw. I enjoyed having that passion. As I approached adulthood my parents pressured me to follow a more traditional college education. I rebelled and found that passion again in martial arts. Upon reaching a point were I was required to commit to a career as a martial art instructor or a computer scientist, I chose computers, making mom and dad very happy. But I found again my passion in developing information tools that improved the quality of life for many. I had focused on software for healthcare.

The Taoist philosophy of leading a simple life close to mother earth, (which I interpret as non-materialistic and green), is my focus today. I have also been influenced by my wife who was of Cherokee descent and had that Native American connection to the earth and with animals. I think I am more "grounded" today. I lead a more modest life now.

QUOTES:

"Try not to become a man of success. Rather become a man of value" - Albert Einstein

"One hundred years from now it will not matter what my bank account was, how big my house was, or what kind of car I drove. But the world may be a little better, because I was important in the life of a child." - Forest Witcraft