\u201cAbout\u201d meaning \u201capproximately\u201d, here\u2019s the story.<\/p>\n
I\u2019ve been married since 2006, and my wife<\/a> & I have owned\/been owned by a succession of greyhounds, Rufus T. Firefly, Otis B. Driftwood, and Bendico<\/a>. We are currently owned by an Aussiedoodle named Birdy.<\/p>\n In 2012, I began making The Virtual Memories Show<\/em><\/strong><\/a>, a podcast featuring conversations with creative people. I committed to a weekly schedule in 2014. Through the podcast, I have met some of my literary & artistic heroes, discovered work I never would have come across, made friends with guests and listeners, and learned how to truly listen. It can be a tremendous amount of work, but making The Virtual Memories Show<\/strong><\/em> has been the most fulfilling endeavor of my life. I gush on about it in the 500th episode<\/a>, which aired in August 2022.<\/p>\n Twenty-fourteen is the same year I quit my job as a business-to-business magazine editor and launched the Pharma & Biopharma Outsourcing Association (PBOA)<\/strong><\/a>, a trade association for the industry I\u2019d been writing about: bio\/pharmaceutical contract manufacturing and other services. I had to register as a lobbyist as part of my job, which means I may be the only graduate in the 50+-year history of Hampshire College\u2019s who can say, \u201cI\u2019m a lobbyist for the pharmaceutical industry.\u201d Some of the companies I represent have had significant roles in helping the world make it through the pandemic, and it’s been my honor to play even a small part of that.<\/p>\n I took up running<\/a> at 47, and discovered that I like it a lot. Too much, if you go by the various injuries I\u2019ve incurred each year, which led me to shift over to weights & yoga. I ran with a group most of the time. The mainstays are 20 years older than me, run 30-35 miles a week, and are generally injury-free. My orthopedist refuses to believe this. I haven\u2019t raced since September 2019, when I ran a 5K at 22:23 (7:13\/mi) and a half-marathon at 1:49:50 (8:23\/mi) a few days apart. I had planned to run a marathon in 2020, but the pandemic & the various injuries derailed that idea. But \u00a0“maybe next year . . .”<\/p>\n At 50, I took up drawing, then painting<\/a>. I had no background or aptitude for that, but through steady-yet-untutored practice I learned how to see and got better at translating that into lines & color on paper.<\/p>\n Also at 50, I was diagnosed with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL)<\/a>. It was The Best Bad News, hasn\u2019t impaired my day-to-day life, and hasn\u2019t progressed to the point of requiring treatment. It may be many years before that happens; I have to go in for bloodwork every 6 months to find out.<\/p>\n In 2020, I produced Haiku for Business Travelers<\/strong><\/a>, a \u2018zine collecting poems, essays, photography, fiction, and an excerpt of one of my podcast conversations. I meant to produce a new issue semiannually, but it took me 3 years to make a second one. If you’d like either of them \u2014 they’re free! \u2014 drop me a line<\/a>.<\/p>\n That said, I make a 2x\/weekly e-mail<\/a>, ostensibly to hype the latest episode of the podcast, but also to share my thoughts & art, and interesting things I’ve read.<\/p>\n I’m also making a book of Instax photos and writing, based on my 2024 experiences with podcast-guests. More on that when I finish it.<\/p>\n I would tell you what my favorite books, comics, etc. are, but that’s a moving target. I have kept a list of every book (non-comics) that I’ve finished since 1989<\/a>, when I started college. Look on my list, ye sluggos, and despair. Or laugh.<\/p>\n My various links are over here<\/a>.<\/p>\n Sign up for the 2x\/weekly e-mail<\/em>
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