I have
been fortunate to have had a varied and eventful life. Sometimes I have
felt like the subject of that old Chinese curse: "May you live
in interesting times!"
Some of my earliest recollections
were of wartime England, watching through my bedroom window as fighter
aircraft dueled in bright sunshine. Despite eccentric schooling, some
of it patched together in air raid shelters between air raids, I have
been fortunate to find a measure of success in three distinct careers
— as a journalist, bureaucrat and investment advisor.
A common
thread
In reality, a common thread
ran through each one: a combination of an inquiring mind and an ability
to communicate. I have three non-fiction books to my credit, following
in my father's far more literary footsteps. (Incredibly, there was a
female author in the late 1800s who wrote a spiteful little book called
Tattlings under the fictitious name of Sydney Tremayne. A clear
case of truth being stranger than fiction!)
As an investment advisor, I
was privileged to know some wonderful people in a very personal way.
When you deal with people's savings and help them to plan their futures,
you tend to become a confidant to a degree enjoyed by few.
First
impulse thwarted
THEMES™ is
the result of one such relationship. The basic idea was suggested by
a client after I had asked what additional service I could offer to
those whose investments I managed. He showed me an estate planning book
he had bought years earlier. My first impulse was to buy copies for
some of my older clients, but the publisher had gone out of business.
And so THEMES™ was born. The rest is history.
One of my pleasures, especially
in later years, has been the opportunity I have had to make a meaningful
and lasting impression on the lives of others. It is my hope that THEMES™ will continue in that spirit.
Children
not to blame
(For some reason, judging by
the dust covers of many books, publishers consider it important to tell
readers where the author lives and with whom. I live on a hill between
two lakes in Nova Scotia, Canada, with my wife of almost 30 years and
a trilogy of cats. My children, who bear no blame for me, live in Colorado
and England. I still have some of my own teeth!)
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