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He spent 40 years in the medical profession. For fun, he coached skiing for over 20 years. He is a member of the Professional Ski Instructors of America, and is certified in Alpine Skiing, Level 2; Adaptive Specialist, Level 1; Children’s Specialist, Level 2; Children’s Trainer; and Senior Specialist, Level 2. Currently he is employed by Vail Resorts and is presently on the Vail Educational Staff. He was the former Director of the Children’s Advanced Training Specialist, and the Express Pre-School Ski School Programs.

The author was born six days before the Japanese attack on Pearl harbor which precipitated America’s entry into World War II. His perception of war evolves from recollections of the mythic status attributed to the soldiers and sailors who returned from that conflict. His view of personal relationships is influenced by romantically naïve TV sitcoms prevalent in the 1950’s. The author’s reality stands in stark contrast to those perceptions. His war experience is Vietnam, a conflict universally condemned, and the combatants disparaged. His personal relationships are beset with a string of failed marriages starting with his parent’s divorce when he is three years old. The author considers the dilemma of reconciling fact as he details his combat tour in Vietnam, and, in a parallel story, reconciling fancy through the throes of a personal relationship. The story unfolds in varied locations: Vietnam’s Mekong Delta; Lake Tahoe; the beach towns of Southern California; the ski slopes of Aspen, Colorado; the polo fields surrounding Middleburg, Virginia and Washington DC. This narrative is the portrait of a life as seen through this prism of real and surreal recollections, reflecting times wondrously exhilarating, often comic, sometimes sad and occasionally terrifyingly traumatic. The author was a combat naval Aviator and a member of the initial contingent of pilots who were the genesis of Helicopter Attack (Light) Squadron Three or HA(L)-3, the most decorated combat squadron in the Vietnam War. During his tour with the squadron the author logged over 800 hours of combat flight time. His combat decorations include the Purple Heart, Thirty-eight Air Medals and the Distinguished Flying Cross. The history of the HA(L)-3 and the author’s association with the squadron has been documented in “Fire From the Sky” by Richard Knott. The author also appears in a 1967 US Navy documentary entitled “River Patrol” featuring clips of combat operations in the Mekong Delta. HA(L)-3 is also the subject of a PBS Documentary which aired in September of 2018. The title, “There Was no Music” derives from the author’s reaction to his first combat experience: “The pilot had already swung the aircraft around and was starting another slow arcing turn to line up behind the targets. The targets, three diminutive figures clad in the standard wardrobe of what appeared to be, and would always be referred to as, black pajamas, were beginning to move. They were heading for a dike line, the crisscross of barriers that kept the rice paddies flooded. I simply reacted. I sighted the guns. I pulled the trigger on the flight control stick. The guns emitted a coughing sound, not readily described but forever remembered. Every fifth bullet was a tracer, easily followed as they gracefully arced toward the earth below. I saw the fountain-like spray as the bullets impacted the water, delicate little patterns on the surface. They casually approached the now frantically moving figures. And then the figures were propelled forward, onto the dike. I continued to fire. The water ballet continued around the figures, which bounced around like crazed puppets. In the movies, there always seems to be music punctuating the death scene, an accompaniment to enhance the solemnity of the event. Life is precious, and death never to be taken casually. I released the trigger. The water ballet, the death dance, everything, stopped. Three black-clad figures lay motionless atop the dike line. There was no music.”

A ravishing account of the life and time of a trainee Second Lieutenant from Pakistan at an United States Air Force base in America in an era when the two super powers were poised against each other with ICBMs and megaton hydrogen bombs. Filled with stories of love and passion it describes the keen observation and feelings of a young man from the East as he encounters the Western Civilization face to face for the first time. Later in life, he return to a changed America after forty years as an old man from Bangladesh, tours various places accompanied by his wife and two resident sons and finds that most of his old friends are either dead or lost for ever.

When Grei decides to take on the human experience, she enters difficult times, as expected. However, she wants to learn more and experience more. Her curiosity causes her to make friends with an owl, who becomes a wise and important friend on her journey. Her intention also summons a fairy to visit her and make her aware of the Tree of Choices, which is a spiritual manifestation of her intention to become a human. Having grown weary of her life as a cat, she visits the Tree of Choices and gains entrance into the world of humans. When she endures a myriad of negative life experiences in a short period of time, she wearily stops at a coffee shop to be alone and reflect upon the experiences. She then receives “shimmers of truth” in abundance.

This endearing story is about a mother and her two sons, who must say goodbye to the father when he leaves on a military mission. The brothers, Cory and Kyler, continue their lives, uncertain when their father will return home. One night their guardian angel appears and says, “I know how you’re feeling, but you must have faith and keep on believing. Even when you think you’re all on your own, remember and know you’re not alone.” The boys listen to their angel and accept things the way they are, finding ways to be happy. Even though things aren’t how they want them to be, they have faith their father will be able to come home. The question is, “When?”