Born in Rhode Island, I come from a long line of teachers, writers, and downright troublemakers of many nationalities including Irish, Polish, French-Canadian, English, and some Huron Indian ancestry sprinkled in for good measure. I was the valedictorian of my 8th grade class at the Knotty Oak School where in 4th grade I used to aim at windows with my little slingshot. New England is a spooky place; thus, my move to the Washington, DC, area, where I attended George Washington University in the late 1960s and lived in a group house at DuPont Circle often bombarded by teargas from local police trying to stop us and our compatriots from protesting the war in Vietnam.