| Born during WWII. My father (Don, Sr.) was somewhere in Kansas at the time with the 94th Infantry Division, soon to be in England, then France, wounded in Germany. Interestingly, when my parents married several years earlier, my mother (Eloise, a secretary with an insurance company) had to keep the marriage secret. Policy dictated firing of married women.
Grew up in the working class Hampden/Remington neighborhood of Baltimore, “memorialized” in the John Waters film “Pecker” (which I didn't particularly like). Now noted for its over-the-top Christmas decorations on 34th St. and nearby Showalter's Saloon (fantastic shrimp salad sandwiches!). My father was a sprinkler fitter; my mother a homemaker who went back to work in her 40’s with Social Security. Two younger sisters: Joyce and Gaye (Happy Days?).
Attended Baltimore City College (in fact a public, and all male, high school). My first year (1956) marked the integration of Baltimore’s schools. B.S. and M.S. degrees from University of Maryland (Economics and Agricultural Economics).
Served as an MP in the U.S. Army, 1964-66 -- a time when the Vietnam War began to seriously heat up. But the closest I got was Ft. Leavenworth, Kansas. Attained the haughty rank of Spec 4.
Married since 1968 to the lovely Amelia (nee Gutierrez), who hails from a Polish neighborhood in more ethnic East Baltimore, an avid practitioner of interior decorating and “extreme landscaping.” One daughter: Christine, a former journalist and politician-in-waiting, who lives with her husband Hugh (a researcher in bio-physics at Cornell) and two children, Katherine (4) and Russell (2), in Ithaca, NY.
Hired in 1967 by the Foreign Agricultural Service (USDA), which excited a nascent interest in the wider world. Served 13 years at USDA, including a 4-year posting in Brussels, Belgium and temporary assignment in Zaire (where I witnessed the Ali-Foreman fight).
Worked for 20 years as a trade negotiator in the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR), Executive Office of the President. As Assistant USTR headed units on Policy Coordination, Industry, Asia-Pacific and China/Taiwan. In the last position, led U.S. delegation negotiating China’s entry into the WTO (World Trade Organization); heavily involved in securing Congressional approval of “permanent normal trade relations” with China. Retired from U.S. government in 2001: now trade adviser to the American Sugar Alliance.
Proudest Career Accomplishment: Persuading 50-plus serious-minded co-workers to kiss a cod and drink a shot of “screech” as part of their initiation as “Honorary Newfies” (Newfoundlanders). Christmas Party, 1997.
Now live in Southern Maryland (Calvert County) on a cove off the majestic Patuxent River.
Writing: I, Tutus is my first published novel. I have also written two screenplays:
(1) Neezie, which concerns hard-boiled widow Ebeneza Scroggs -- some resemblance to “A Christmas Carol” but with a very surprising ending; and
(2) Terrierized, a political comedy centered on the kidnapping of the cherished pug of the beautiful young wife of the President's key advisor.
Currently writing short stories while waiting for my next opus to crystallize further.
Connection Between Writing and Career: The diplomat and the lawyer (a trade negotiator is a combination of both) and the writer are alike in that all three seek to use words to create a new reality. [from a book review; can’t recall exact attribution.]
Other Interests: Reading, especially History, Boating, Matching Wits with Grandkids and Pugs, Kayaking, Crabbing, Drinking, Smoking Cigars by the River and Thinking Great Thoughts, and Chainsawing (not all at once).
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