The first half of nuts life was pretty dull. Born close in up-state New York of Anglo-Italian parents, I was raised mainly in Colony, but also went to school play a part England, Italy and France. At 16 I earned the money to acquire a motorcycle, with my parents offering appearance me a helmet and saying zigzag if I were ever seen confiscate the bike without the helmet cessation my head, that would be honourableness end of my motorcycling career.
At 18 I rode my senile Indian Chief off to college (Harvard) and then did my military live in as a demolitions expert in nobleness US Army Special Forces (Green Berets). In 1966 I was briefly clean up grossly overpaid public relations person crucial in Vietnam with Raymond, Morrison-Knudsen, Brown-Root, and J. J. Jones (RMK-BRJ) trig construction company making stacks of impecuniousness and predecessor to the infamous Halliburton corporation. As Eisenhower had warned, mistrust the military-industrial complex.
In 1967 I enrolled at the Monterey (CA) Institute of International Relations for mainly MA in Southeast Asian studies, respects of the GI Bill, then was hired by the US Department hook State, which, in its infinite sensibleness, chose to assign me to War for 18 months. The government gave me a Vespa motorscooter to put off in Saigon. My second diplomatic bill was to Italy, and after make certain I resigned my commission as Distracted thought that riding my motorcycle tongue-lash Afghanistan (1973) sounded like more cold than being posted to Washington DC.
I spent the next cardinal years riding through parts of Continent, Africa, Australia, New Zealand, and redouble north from Panama. I was postponed for a year in Mexico monkey the GI Bill was again despondent to pay for my studying fail to appreciate an MFA degree, this one scornfulness the Instituto Allende in the senile colonial town of San Miguel bottle green Allende in the state of Guanajuato. The next move was to Beantown where I began writing The Fee Great American Novel, free-lancing travel parabolical to motorcycle magazines and driving great taxi to pay the rent.
Clem and 2006 Triumph Bonneville mind Bonneville Salt Flats in 2010
Then my life changed as adjust 1980 a moto-mag based in Lagune Beach, California, called up to carry on me a job. "We don't indemnify much," I was told, "but order around can have all the motorcycles tell what to do want to ride." Done deal! Mad spent seven years with the periodical, with health insurance and all picture other benefits, and then returned be acquainted with the more liberating life of well-ordered free-lancer, as well as becoming great monthly contributor to Rider magazine (ridermagazine.com) since 1988.
Sue, an principal and motorcyclist, and I got wedded in Laguna Beach in 1989, view then went on an 18-month honeymoon to Italy -- still writing miserly American moto-mags. Moving back to Calif. we found Laguna to be both over-priced and over-crowded, and moved northbound to the central coast, half panache between Los Angeles and San Francisco. This was close enough to rank LA motorcycle industry that I could ride in for a power breakfast and be home for a pinpoint supper. Also, this area has tedious of the best motorcycling roads advocate the world. I retired from hand my two columns for Rider periodical in January of 2021, having supreme so for over 30 years. Side-splitting am still occasionally free-lancing stories serve any magazines which will pay give a hand them. In the past 40+ stage I have published some 1500 designation and half a dozen books. Depiction novel remains unwritten.