ABOUT CHIP
I was born on Columbus Day, October 12th, 1948 at Mitchell Field, a since-retired Air Force Base on Long Island, New York. My dad and mom were native Texans, who married shortly after his service as a bomber pilot in the south Pacific during World War II. He was a career Air Force officer, so my siblings and I lived overseas in Nagoya, Japan, Bangkok, Thailand, and a variety of places around the U.S. I have counted 13 separate schools I attended, growing up.
Early on, I remember my interests included drawing, sports –especially baseball, and applying my curiosity to writing or making things. I laugh now at a childish “newspaper” in a scrapbook that I put together with headlines and game summaries on a sports page. Later on, a friend introduced me to a baritone ukulele, and learning to play that pulled me into a life-long interest in music. Sadly, earlier piano lessons didn’t leave me with the ability to read sheet music… a deficiency I hope to correct some day.
As I grew into my high school years, (literally – I grew from 5’2” to 6’2” between the 7th and 9th grades!) basketball became my primary sport, I began dabbling in poetry (more on this later) and song writing (more on this later, also), and played a cheap electric guitar in a rock ‘n roll band my senior year. College, grad school, 20 years as an Air Force officer (volleyball became my new favorite sport), positions in high tech companies, and finally, the chance to come back and work at my alma mater (Texas A&M University) followed.
I am now retired and live with my wife, Carmel, in College Station, Texas. We are blessed with three children and five grandchildren. Things I like to do are read (history is a particular favorite), watch sports (especially local college sports), play guitar, travel, simple woodworking, piddle in the yard, and indulge my curiosity about things.
Now, remember the high school poetry? Well, a poem about two identical snowflakes (not supposed to happen) grew and morphed over many years into the CLOUDLAND book series, about a magical world hidden from our eyes in the clouds (let me know if you’d like more of these). And the song writing? Starting with several of these songs (I admit it’s hard to keep a bunch of melodies in my head when I don’t read music), a musical came together about a teenage girl trying to filter out the noise in her life to discern her feelings about God. And “Slow Down Please” is my small contribution to safer streets. I hope to use these projects and other ideas (check out my Thoughts!) to connect to many of you in the future.