My Scottish dad and English mom boarded a passenger ship to travel around the world. They made it to Canada, then California, and then had three kids. End of the world tour. For a while.
As a kid I lived in Southern California, then in Texas, and then lived as an adult in Pennsylvania while also staying for extended periods of time in England and Sweden.
I earned a Ph.D. from Penn State University in the field of Communication.
Already in this biography I don't like how much I'm saying "I this, I that," but what other choice is there when you write your own biography?
So, I guess I'll continue....
I'm now a professor and the chairperson of the Communication Studies department at East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania. I'm also the Advisor to the university's radio station, W-E-S-S (90.3 FM), where I host two shows, "The Stones Hour" (centered on Keith Richards' rhythm guitar), and "The Talk Show."
I like to play golf, watch Phillies baseball, make food on my crude outdoor barbecue pit, meet people, and go around seeing the world. I've been to most countries in Europe, several Caribbean islands, Mexico, Canada, Ghana and China. And I love listening to Rolling Stones music. Their tunes "Jumping Jack Flash live (from the 1972 tour), When the Whip Comes Down live (from the 1978 tour), and Respectable (studio version) are three of my favorites.
My philosophy in life is guided by the mantra that you can decide to make the day a good one if you want.
I prefer not to conform to standard ways of thinking about what is important in life, which is a big reason why I wrote Rounding Some Corners.
<p> </p><p>Sophie is a psychic medium and animal communicator. She runs a small crystal shop called, Outta Time. The shop</p><p>Is located in a small district called Lents in Portland, Oregon.</p><p>Nick is a man who if you can't touch it, feel it or see it then it doesn't exist. He is sure she is a phony psychic who is bilking money out of his mother and he intends to expose her.</p><p>Sophie sees him as a non-believer, someone who could never understand her or her way of life. She is attracted to him but knows there can be no future for them unless he can be made to understand what her world is all about.</p><p>Their Guardian Angels get into the act to guide the two to a better understanding of each other.</p><p>Nick's Guardians help his deceased Father get through to Nick and help him to understand that death is not the end. He soon learns there can be communication between the living and the dead.</p>
<div class="a-section celwidget" style="margin-bottom:22px;color:rgb(17,17,17);font-family:Arial, sans-serif;font-size:12.7272720336914px;line-height:19px;"> <div class="a-row a-spacing-micro" style="width:717.272705078125px;margin-bottom:4px;"> <div class="a-icon-row a-spacing-none" style="line-height:0;padding-top:1px;padding-bottom:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"><a class="a-link-normal a-text-normal a-color-base" href="http://www.amazon.com/review/R6D2A35DVNWGL/ref=cm_cr_dp_title?ie=UTF8&ASIN=0692281401&channel=detail-glance&nodeID=283155&store=books" style="color:rgb(17,17,17);"><span class="a-size-base a-text-bold" style="line-height:19px;font-weight:bold;">Some (mainly most) of his articles are funny..</span></a></div> <span class="a-color-secondary" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);"><span class="a-size-normal"><span class="a-color-secondary">By </span><a class="noTextDecoration" href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/pdp/profile/ADM8P8QU2SH44/ref=cm_cr_dp_pdp" style="color:rgb(0,102,192);">J. Gumble</a> </span><span class="a-color-secondary">on November 19, 2014</span></span></div> <div class="a-row a-spacing-small" style="width:717.272705078125px;margin-bottom:10px;"><span class="a-size-mini a-color-secondary" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);font-size:11px;line-height:1.465;">Format: Paperback</span><span class="a-size-mini a-color-state a-text-bold" style="color:rgb(196,85,0);font-size:11px;line-height:1.465;font-weight:bold;"> Verified Purchase</span> <div class="a-section" style="margin-bottom:0px;"><span class="MHRHead">As one of this author's former students at his respective college, I was really curious about his new book ... that and I also needed some new reading material since I was running out of things to read. The book "ROUNDING SOME CORNERS" is a book that presents a collection of articles that this author wrote for the Pocono Record for an extended period of time. The articles that he wrote (there are about 150 in this book), overall examine on just how silly, ironic, and sometimes downright weird people can be. Some (mainly most) of his articles are funny ... some are serious ... and some will actual put you in deep thought and make you see things in a whole new light. Its a book where he is not trying to make you agree with him ... but more of a book that will really challenge your own perspective on things, and maybe add some clarity to your own morals and values.<br /><br /> Of the almost 150 articles in the book, I have read about 1/3rd of the book so far, and I must admit ... while some I have gotten a really good laugh out of it (some articles are designed to), some have also really opened my eyes and made me say to myself - "Wow, I never thought of it that way, or looked at it from that angle". He tackles things ranging from Valentine's Day (one of my favorite articles in the book) ... to our Health Care system ... to Social Media ... to Broadcasting ... to Sports ... to Drug Use ... even things as silly as "Auto-Correct" (one of the best, and funniest, articles in the book in my opinion). It really is a fascinating book that will really challenge your perspective on things.<br /><br /> One of the highlights in the book, that is also mentioned in the preface of the book ...</span><span class="a-declarative"><a class="a-link-normal" href="http://www.amazon.com/Rounding-Some-Corners-Observing-Oddball/product-reviews/0692281401/ref=cm_cr_dp_text?ie=UTF8&showViewpoints=0&sortBy=byRankDescending#R6D2A35DVNWGL" style="color:rgb(0,102,192);">Read more ›</a></span></div> </div> <a class="a-link-normal comment-link" href="http://www.amazon.com/review/R6D2A35DVNWGL/ref=cm_cr_dp_cmt?ie=UTF8&ASIN=0692281401&channel=detail-glance&nodeID=283155&store=books#wasThisHelpful" style="color:rgb(0,102,192);" title="0">Comment</a> <span>Was this review helpful to you? <span class="a-declarative"><span class="a-button a-button-beside-text a-button-small yesButton votingButtonReviews" style="padding:0px;vertical-align:middle;border-width:1px;border-style:solid;text-align:center;margin-top:-3px;height:22px;background:rgb(231,233,236);"><span class="a-button-inner" style="height:20px;"><a class="a-button-text a-text-center" href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/voting/cast/Reviews/2115/R6D2A35DVNWGL/Helpful/1/ref=cm_cr_dp_voteyn_yes?ie=UTF8&target=aHR0cDovL3d3dy5hbWF6b24uY29tL2dwL3Byb2R1Y3QvMDY5MjI4MTQwMS9yZWY9Y21fY3JfZHB2b3RlcmRy&token=B9ED0C737483BA8374595D17F2C5795AE008B3F7&voteAnchorName=R6D2A35DVNWGL.2115.Helpful.Reviews&voteSessionID=178-9200309-4358655" style="color:rgb(17,17,17);padding:0px 6px 0px 7px;font-size:11px;line-height:20px;margin:0px;border:0px;white-space:nowrap;width:32.0738639831543px;height:20px;background-color:transparent;" title="Yes">Yes</a></span></span><span class="a-button a-button-beside-text a-button-small noButton votingButtonReviews" style="padding:0px;vertical-align:middle;border-width:1px;border-style:solid;text-align:center;margin-top:-3px;height:22px;margin-left:.385em;background:rgb(231,233,236);"><span class="a-button-inner" style="height:20px;"><a class="a-button-text a-text-center" href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/voting/cast/Reviews/2115/R6D2A35DVNWGL/Helpful/-1/ref=cm_cr_dp_voteyn_no?ie=UTF8&target=aHR0cDovL3d3dy5hbWF6b24uY29tL2dwL3Byb2R1Y3QvMDY5MjI4MTQwMS9yZWY9Y21fY3JfZHB2b3RlcmRy&token=63223DB1E40DDABA02411638EF51474F64F1E02C&voteAnchorName=R6D2A35DVNWGL.2115.Helpful.Reviews&voteSessionID=178-9200309-4358655" style="color:rgb(17,17,17);padding:0px 6px 0px 7px;font-size:11px;line-height:20px;margin:0px;border:0px;white-space:nowrap;width:27.5284080505371px;height:20px;background-color:transparent;" title="No">No</a></span></span></span></span></div> <div class="a-section celwidget" style="margin-bottom:22px;color:rgb(17,17,17);font-family:Arial, sans-serif;font-size:12.7272720336914px;line-height:19px;"> <div class="a-row a-spacing-micro" style="width:717.272705078125px;margin-bottom:4px;"> <div class="a-icon-row a-spacing-none" style="line-height:0;padding-top:1px;padding-bottom:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"><a class="a-link-normal a-text-normal a-color-base" href="http://www.amazon.com/review/R20GLO4VKICVNR/ref=cm_cr_dp_title?ie=UTF8&ASIN=0692281401&channel=detail-glance&nodeID=283155&store=books" style="color:rgb(17,17,17);"><span class="a-size-base a-text-bold" style="line-height:19px;font-weight:bold;">Worth Every Penny!</span></a></div> <span class="a-color-secondary" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);"><span class="a-size-normal"><span class="a-color-secondary">By </span><a class="noTextDecoration" href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/pdp/profile/A36BPGQ2LE0BZT/ref=cm_cr_dp_pdp" style="color:rgb(0,102,192);">Poconos</a> </span><span class="a-color-secondary">on November 6, 2014</span></span></div> <div class="a-row a-spacing-small" style="width:717.272705078125px;margin-bottom:10px;"><span class="a-size-mini a-color-secondary" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);font-size:11px;line-height:1.465;">Format: Paperback</span> <div class="a-section" style="margin-bottom:0px;">I am giving this book five stars and I haven't even read it! However, I have read almost every single story in this book because they all appeared in my local newspaper (The Pocono Record...a great small town paper). Every story was easy to read and held my attention until the very end and, the very end was where you got the payoff.<br /> Buy the book and you WILL enjoy it.</div> </div> <a class="a-link-normal comment-link" href="http://www.amazon.com/review/R20GLO4VKICVNR/ref=cm_cr_dp_cmt?ie=UTF8&ASIN=1502782766&channel=detail-glance&nodeID=283155&store=books#wasThisHelpful" style="color:rgb(0,102,192);" title="0">Comment</a> <span>Was this review helpful to you? <span class="a-declarative"><span class="a-button a-button-beside-text a-button-small yesButton votingButtonReviews" style="padding:0px;vertical-align:middle;border-width:1px;border-style:solid;text-align:center;margin-top:-3px;height:22px;background:rgb(231,233,236);"><span class="a-button-inner" style="height:20px;"><a class="a-button-text a-text-center" href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/voting/cast/Reviews/2115/R20GLO4VKICVNR/Helpful/1/ref=cm_cr_dp_voteyn_yes?ie=UTF8&target=aHR0cDovL3d3dy5hbWF6b24uY29tL2dwL3Byb2R1Y3QvMDY5MjI4MTQwMS9yZWY9Y21fY3JfZHB2b3RlcmRy&token=43A906E3C841E3593C338ACE4A52B43F90682A68&voteAnchorName=R20GLO4VKICVNR.2115.Helpful.Reviews&voteSessionID=178-9200309-4358655" style="color:rgb(17,17,17);padding:0px 6px 0px 7px;font-size:11px;line-height:20px;margin:0px;border:0px;white-space:nowrap;width:32.0738639831543px;height:20px;background-color:transparent;" title="Yes">Yes</a></span></span><span class="a-button a-button-beside-text a-button-small noButton votingButtonReviews" style="padding:0px;vertical-align:middle;border-width:1px;border-style:solid;text-align:center;margin-top:-3px;height:22px;margin-left:.385em;background:rgb(231,233,236);"><span class="a-button-inner" style="height:20px;"><a class="a-button-text a-text-center" href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/voting/cast/Reviews/2115/R20GLO4VKICVNR/Helpful/-1/ref=cm_cr_dp_voteyn_no?ie=UTF8&target=aHR0cDovL3d3dy5hbWF6b24uY29tL2dwL3Byb2R1Y3QvMDY5MjI4MTQwMS9yZWY9Y21fY3JfZHB2b3RlcmRy&token=7EE63010075B1E078B4D24461247A8E5AB9BFB0C&voteAnchorName=R20GLO4VKICVNR.2115.Helpful.Reviews&voteSessionID=178-9200309-4358655" style="color:rgb(17,17,17);padding:0px 6px 0px 7px;font-size:11px;line-height:20px;margin:0px;border:0px;white-space:nowrap;width:27.5284080505371px;height:20px;background-color:transparent;" title="No">No</a></span></span></span></span></div> <div class="a-section celwidget" style="margin-bottom:0px;color:rgb(17,17,17);font-family:Arial, sans-serif;font-size:12.7272720336914px;line-height:19px;"> <div class="a-row a-spacing-micro" style="width:717.272705078125px;margin-bottom:4px;"> <div class="a-icon-row a-spacing-none" style="line-height:0;padding-top:1px;padding-bottom:0px;margin-bottom:0px;"><a class="a-link-normal a-text-normal a-color-base" href="http://www.amazon.com/review/RJ10F8TISP3QU/ref=cm_cr_dp_title?ie=UTF8&ASIN=0692281401&channel=detail-glance&nodeID=283155&store=books" style="color:rgb(17,17,17);"><span class="a-size-base a-text-bold" style="line-height:19px;font-weight:bold;">Would make a great Christmas gift</span></a></div> <span class="a-color-secondary" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);"><span class="a-size-normal"><span class="a-color-secondary">By </span><a class="noTextDecoration" href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/pdp/profile/A2VBYCL0P8I45I/ref=cm_cr_dp_pdp" style="color:rgb(0,102,192);">mark lichty</a> </span><span class="a-color-secondary">on November 21, 2014</span></span></div> <div class="a-row a-spacing-small" style="width:717.272705078125px;margin-bottom:10px;"><span class="a-size-mini a-color-secondary" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);font-size:11px;line-height:1.465;">Format: Paperback</span> <div class="a-section" style="margin-bottom:0px;">Over the years I looked forward to Rob's Columns in our local paper. He has a wry sense of humor. His insights on many topics reflect the breadth of his world experience. One can pick this up,read a few columns and return to it at will. Would make a great Christmas gift. Mark Lichty</div> </div> </div>