I'm originally from a small town in western New York. When I was 16, my father changed jobs,and moved us all down to Roanoke, VA. I went to college at Virginia Tech, and later moved to Northern Virginia, and finally to Maryland.
During my NY childhood, I took piano lessons, and still play. I later taught myself guitar and electric bass.During 1980's I played in several part-time rock and Top-40 bands, but was never successful enough to"quit my day job", as the saying goes. My taste in music is quite varied, including classical, rock & roll, show tunes such as Rodgers and Hammerstein, and even polkas.After moving to MD, my involvement in amateur bands dwindled down, so I took up hiking as another hobby.There are still lots of trails through forested areas in MD. Walking through forests is the one way in which Iresemble the large mysterious (but perhaps non-existent) creature from which I take my handle.