My bio is extremely diverse, I've done things many folks only dream of doing, and music has been with me since age 5 when my father brought an old, out of tune, upright piano home. Like any 5-year-old, I was curious and had to plink on the keys. I heard Tennessee Waltz on the radio one day, sat down at the piano and played the song. The next day my mother sent me to a neighbor's home for piano lessons. After six months the teacher told my mother to save her money--the boy will be a piano player because he cannot comprehend the musical notation.

I plinked on that old piano until age 12 when I picked up a guitar. For me, the guitar was a natural and I learned to play several songs the first week. Country music is easy when you only have to learn three or four chords and be able to sing.

My first paying job was at age 17. I was a skinny kid (145 pounds) and in the employ of Uncle Sam's Navy. There were four of us in a rock band, three guitars and drums. We played throughout the Mediterranean area, mainly for free booze, and of course the ladies. Four years later reality struck. I was out of the Navy and had to find a real job.

I went to work for NASA as a sub contractor for a field engineering firm located in the Baltimore area. After four years of sailing around the world, two days after going to work they put me on a plane and sent my skinny butt to set up radar and satellite communication systems throughout the world. The job didn't last long, but I sure got to see and do some neat things while I was there. Russia sent up Sputnik and the U.S. sent up Mercury--the race was on.

When I got back to the states music was still not in the picture--at least not for a full time living. I had a few jobs playing guitar and singing country music in bars on weekends. The pay was lousy, you had to put up with drunks and dense cigarette smoke, but I enjoyed every minute.

Then it happened--I met my wife of nearly a half-century. The first four years were spend moving around the country while I worked for the aerospace industry. We were both tired of moving to a new location every few months. When I had an opportunity to switch fields I jumped at the chance.

The next 15 years were spend working in cardio-pulmonary medicine, a job that often entailed long hours in the operating room, very little sleep and no family life at all. I still picked guitar in the bars once in a while, but one a month was about all the time I had to spare. I finally burned out, was down to 130 pounds and looked like death warmed over. One day I walked into the hospital at 6 a.m., my usual time, and discovered the 5-year-old we performed surgery on the day before had passed away during the night. That was the end of my medical career. I said goodbye to my boss, walked out the door and never looked back.

Lots of other neat jobs during the ensuing year, and when the first arranger keyboard came to the local music store I bought it. I was blown away by the 15 styles and 10 instruments. Within a few weeks I figured out the operating system, contacted some other friends who I jammed with once and a while and formed a 5-piece country band. We played a lot, had a ball, never made enough money to make expenses and we all had day jobs.

I wanted to play more and work less, but at the time I was self-employed, owned a fishing tackle store and had two young children. The economy went to Hell, the store went out of business and I became a full-time outdoor writer. I was one of the few that actually made a good living writing about their favorite pastime--fishing, boating and other outdoor activities. This also gave me more time for music.

Like most folks, I've had some jobs that didn't last very long, but I was never fired from a job. I worked for the Maryland State Police, a major sound and communications company, owned a gas station and taught cardio-pulmonary technology in a community college.

Fast forward a couple decades or so, I'm still playing keyboards and singing, writing less, and still enjoying everything I do. I'll be 70 this Fall, the kids are grown and married, I'm a grandpop, and as stated on another thread, I have the greatest job in the world--I'm an OMB entertainer.

I'm going sailing--it's a nice day to be on Chesapeake Bay.

Gary