I was born at Hermann Hospital in Houston, Texas on September 26, 1946. In January, 1950, the family moved to Fort Worth. That May 18 my sister Karen was born.

Shortly after, my father opened Bruce Piano Company in the old Binyon O’Keefe warehouse on Fifth Avenue. The store later becomes the authorized Steinway dealer and provided pianos for performers visiting the Fort Worth Symphony and Opera. I worked at Bruce Piano in the summer, repairing old pianos.

As a three-year-old, I enrolled in the Frisky and Blossom Club at the Fort Worth Children’s Museum. Over the next ten years, I participated in other clubs and classes devoted to insects, rocks & fossils, and stars. The Museum School helped foster a love of learning.

I was then a student at Westcliff Elementary School, On July 10, 1954, my sister Susan was born. I then attended McLean Junior High School and Paschal High School.

Through Explorer Scouts, 1962-64, I encountered the Explorer Post book list and went on my first Quetico expedition.