Never Underestimate the Power of the Written Word

The first book cover on this page took a lot of blood and guts to write.  It was the result of a forced resignation of my U.S. Army Reserve commission as a Captain-p (promotable).  The 'p' meant I had already been approved for promotion to Major (04).  (See The Good Doctor's Gay Page.)  All plans for a 20-year retirement letter from the government went up in smoke--and as a result, the book, "MY COUNTRY, MY RIGHT TO SERVE", 1990, HarperCollins, became the first acclaimed book to detail the trials and tribulations of gay military personnel from World War II until the present.  It contains the stories of 42 brave, dedicated men and women.

During 1990-91, the book received serious media attention and was nominated for several awards, including the American Library Association's Gay and  Lesbian Task Force nomination for Nonfiction, as a finalist for the Lambda Book Award for Men's Nonfiction, and was the winner of the Oregon Literary Arts Association's Award for Creative Nonfiction.  It has been described as definitive, candid and remarkable.  To this day, the book, now in paperback, still sells in bookstores across the nation. This book is one of the cornerstones of the gay and lesbian fight for equal rights and representation in the military. 

While no longer in the military reserve, I still put on my uniform for Veterans Day and other veteran's functions.  I co-founded Veterans for Human Rights, a gay veterans group, and am proud that I served my country, but sad that the government is unable to see the value of that service simply because I am gay.  Someday, perhaps efforts and contributions like this will help change those regulations and laws so that each individual is judged on their own merit and not by their sexuality.

My second book, WATERPLAY, published in the spring of 1990 by Wm. C. Brown, is a fun filled water games activity book. It contains 135 games you can play in water settings. The book was a compilation over several years of student-created games from my Swim Conditioning classes held at Portland Community College. It was an enjoyable project and sold well to many involved in teaching swimming and other water activities. It is one of the few books solely dedicated to water games. Now out of print, I hope to self-publish it for the swimming market of today. Interested in a copy?

Original design by Lance Johnson 
Redesign 2001 by CLS Web Design