In the late 40's and all through the 50's the Great Lakes region was the industrial hub of the world, as the U.S. built a civilization made of steel, and I was there, in the middle of it. Today it's a ruin -- the "rust bucket" that stretches from Gary, Indiana, to Pittsburgh and Allentown.

     In the 60's, Berkeley and San Francisco were the ignition points for the cultural revolution that swept the country and culminated in 1968, and I was there.

     It was Seattle in the 70's, Anchorage, Alaska in the 80's, and the Central Valley of California in the 90's. All were the right places to be at the time.

     Since the beginning of this disastrous new century, during which we've been led into a trackless wilderness, I've been in limbo, but I've got plans to break out. I'm hoping our mutual misfortune as individuals, communities, and as a nation is confined to this decade and not fated to last 100 years.

     Despite being stuck in the twenty-zeroes, it's been quite a life -- a hell of a ride.

     Along the way I've married and divorced three times, and picked up three university degrees. But that doesn't mean anything; I just mention it in passing, and maybe to impress the people who are impressed by such things.

     What does mean something? There are lots of songs in me yet to be played, and I'm not done contributing to the lives of students.

     Ladies, feel free to inquire, as long as you're single. You have the full permission of all my ex-wives. I'm a non-smoker, non-drinker (reformed, not lifelong abstinent), but I AM a bad ass -- I read Noam Chomsky and DailyKos.