Male, 74, landlubber, both water/ocean (Texas Panhandle youth far from the Gulf) and air/skies (infrequent flyer). Father had a rural grain elevator complex until the middle of my 6th grade year, and then we moved to town (Canyon, a college/tourism/farm center community). Freshman year there at (what's now) West Texas A&M. Then three years, UT Austin, B.A., Government, 1971. Peace Corps, but an early dropout (a main life failure), Linstead, Jamaica. Lived in Ohio (Berea area, SW Cleveland suburbs) for four years, the last two with a job at the Cleveland branch office of Xerox. Back to Texas, to UT for an M.P.Aff. at its LBJ School of Public Affairs, 1978. Summer internhip in D.C., between the two years of grad school, with the Africa Bureau of the U.S. Agency for International Development (AID) which was gearing up its response to the Sahelian drought from earlier in the decade. Edited professional papers for an orientation publication to be provided AID personnel heading for the field in Africa. Master's thesis equivalent on irrigated agriculture drawdown of the Texas portion of the Ogallala Aquifer.
Eventually 30 years (1980-2010) as a research associate, Texas Legislative Council, a nonpartisan agency in the legislative branch of state government. Spot research, publications, occasional legislative measure drafting (resolutions only--attorneys drafted the bills), and, early on (1984-1990), staffing of various special legislative study committees (mostly environmental topics) during the long interim periods when the legislature was not in its biennial 20-week sessions. Policy-related spot research was reactive to legislator requests and just document-based (no scientific experiments nor statistical-design studies). Sources: Texas statutes, other states' statutes, and federal statutes; holdings at the Texas state archives and a dozen or so nearby state, university, and private-sector libraries; the Internet; phone calls to National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) staffers in Denver and to governmental staffers in Texas and other states. Premium on info mining and assimilation, memo/report readability and accuracy, and precision of statement if that could be attained and drafting carefully fuzzier if not. Just the facts, no recommending anything. (The agency mantra was, "If you want to make policy, go work for a legislator.") Became eventually a go-to when a research project required tedious digging, especially if sleuthing historical records was required.
Began taking Science magazine, published by the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), a non-job extracurricular subscription, in 1980. Still take the magazine 43 years later. Became aware of TIGHAR after retirement, when a Betchart Expeditions brochure with an AAAS connection arrived in my home mailbox circa 2014, advertising a Nikumaroro expedition travel opportunity. Sounded interesting (a coincidence being that my brother, who died earlier this year, had a July 2, 1937 birthday). But, at $10K plus round-trip airfare, couldn't afford it (substantial monthly philanthropic contributions to a health-challenged, sub-insured neighbor). Also, at the time, a mistaken impression that the Betchart passengers were going to be full-fledged TIGHAR team members rather than tourist add-on groupies to the more carefully selected, skill-credentialed, TIGHAR experts. Considering myself to not be technically conversant in anything of use to TIGHAR, and never really an outdoorsman and with knee cartilage problems thrown in since my early 30s (kneeling is not my forte), I figured I couldn't contribute much Earhart-research value, anyway.
My brother never himself evidenced any Earhart mystery interest. A cousin near his age, likewise deceased, was a charter pilot and one-time crop duster. My San Antonio niece's husband, formerly in the reserves (e.g. cargo planes to Diego Garcia during post-9/11 U.S. military operations in Afghanistan), is a pilot for Delta and recently graduated to international flights for his last few years before retirement. However, I've never discussed TIGHAR topics with him. Joined TIGHAR this summer at the lowest level. Don't know my membership number. I've reviewed and taken extensive notes on Earhart topics, combing through all the issues of TIGHAR Tracks, 1988-present. While doing that, I ordered and read the 2009 paperback of Finding Amelia (hardbound 2006). Occasionally also, I sought and looked at Forum threads that various curiosities led to.
