Hello! I'm pleased to meet you! My name is Todd. I was born in the 1950's in Dayton, Ohio. I was also raised in Dayton during the '50s and '60s. Our neighborhood, and my existence in it, was definitely "Leave It To Beaverish" right down to the houses, cars, and sidewalks. I walked to school and walked home for lunch. The Quaker church that we went to each Sunday actually bordered on our yard in the far corner. My father, a construction contractor, had actually built the neighborhood and saved the corner property that bordered on the city limits for himself. Imagine that! A contractor not afraid to live in the area he developed! He did not develop the land beyond the city limits so we had some woods nearby and an open creek that went underground at the city limits. The first occupied property in the county was a dance studio which provided much entertainment for me as I got older!

By age 6, I had developed an interest in both Two Way Radio and Law Enforcement. Although they seemed to go together somehow, I'm not sure where the interest in radio came from. I can remember being fascinated by radio towers as far back as memory serves. The interest in Law Enforcement was probably fueled by a family friend, "Lucas", who was a Dayton Police Officer and visited frequently while on duty. He was a large, bald, "Mr. Clean" looking man who drove the "Paddy" Wagon. I remember aggravating him by singing "Fuzzy Wuzzy was a Bear, Fuzzy Wuzzy had no Hair!" Strange how that saying fit so well! In those days, the Police were often called the "Fuzz", but I don't remember hearing them called "Bears" 'till years later. He definitely had no hair! He would respond by pretending to "arrest" me and toss me in the back. If I were real lucky, I might even get a ride out of it!

By age 7, I had obtained my first two way radio. As I recall, it was a 23 channel, full 5 watt, hand held C.B. It was no toy and was quite expensive, too. My mother didn't let me forget that fact. I cannot remember what brand that radio was, even though I can see it plainly in my mind. I believe it may have been purchased from a J.C. Penny or Sears Catalog Center. I remember getting permission from my dad to "crack" the rear window of the station wagon a bit so that I could extend the 60 inch, center loaded, antenna out the window. I can think of nothing more exciting in my life, at that time, than riding through Dayton, talking on my C.B. I learned to "talk the talk" and was accepted by most as just another CB'er despite my obvious age. I can also remember taking my radio(s) (I had also managed to get a "Radio Shack Patrolman"  VHF monitor radio) on the annual vacation. Talking on Channel 19 (or 10), telling my dad about the "Smokies" (Cops, not mountains - I felt important!) and seeing how far I could get out from mountains in Tennessee. Just nothing better.

Patrolman - My first Police Monitor

At the age of 10, my family moved to a small town about 30 miles North of Dayton called "Christiansburg", where I enjoyed the small town life to adulthood. My handheld CB was still working like new and the old "Patrolman" worked as well as it ever had. Unlike Dayton, all Police and Sheriffs communications were on one channel. Every Fire Department within miles was also on just one channel (154.190 MHz). The town had a "Fire Whistle" that went off anytime there was a fire. You could hear that thing for miles. Our house was a three story wooden home, built in 1909 and was located within a block from the Fire Department. The top two floors had a straight shot to that siren. It was soooo loud! When that thing went off, it brought the entire town out to the curb to watch the various old pick-up trucks with single bulb flashers (many just used 4 ways) and modified car alarms from Radio Shack for sirens (they sounded really.... sick) racing to the fire station. Coming from Dayton, I had never heard an old mechanical siren before! When the trucks would leave the fire station it would take a couple of blocks to get them wound up really good! The town ambulance was an old Cadillac "Station wagon" with four huge red torpedo lights on the front as well as the rear. It doubled as a hearse. That is a scary thought. That town "whistle" was also tested every day at noon and again at 9:00 PM to signal "curfew". I think "curfew" was less an actual law, and more just an agreed conspiracy between parents to "be home by the whistle!" My curfew had always been: "When the street lights come on.", but was changed to the "whistle" right after we moved in. If you were under 18 and had permission to be out "past the whistle" you were truly privileged and looked up to. At first that siren shook you to your molecules every time it sounded, but after a while, you didn't even notice the thing.

Very much like our town ambulance. I often wondered:
Wouldn't they make more money if the patient didn't make it to the hospital?

Shortly after we moved in, I built my first antenna out of an old mobile whip and some aluminum "conduit" we found in an old alley. It was based on sound principle, had a good match, and when placed on top of our house did a great job! You could see the next town, which was smaller than ours, some 4 miles away from up there. There was no need to monitor the fire band unless the whistle went off, so leaving the monitor on the Sheriffs channel was all that was needed. I found that the CB was used more as a business radio than anything else out here in the sticks. The grain company had a base and mobiles in each truck. The local service station had a base as well as having mobiles in their service trucks and tow truck. I laid eyes on my first linear amplifier in that tow truck, A Black Cat as I recall. The Sheriffs car had one also.

By age 15, I had developed an interest in firearms and target shooting as well as firearms history and combat weaponry. I understand the interest in firearms stemming from first, the interest in Law Enforcement, then by the fact that I was surrounded by "hunters" in this rural area. Kids owned guns and actively hunted at ages like 6 or 7. I was always considered somewhat of an outcast here. Although I would go along on hunting "trips" to be near the firearms, maybe get a chance to shoot, Etc., I would not actually shoot an animal. This made me very strange to my country friends! You could target shoot by just walking a couple of blocks to the edge of town. The sound of gunfire was quite normal and didn't attract much attention. It was also normal to see kids walking around with rifles and shotguns. Sometimes they would have BB and Pellet guns but you couldn't tell them apart and no one bothered to ask. It was pretty much like "Mayberry" right down to the local Sheriff and the old guys sitting on benches around town. I guess I traded "Beaver" for "Andy Taylor". Unfortunately, the town is all different now. All the benches are gone. I guess they attracted too many "undesirables sitting around". All the little store fronts are closed now. Wal-Mart is only 10 miles up the main road. You can't even buy a gallon of gas. All three stations along with the grain company and local store are gone. Wal-Mart retails stuff cheaper than the supplier will bring it to town wholesale, including gas.

When I finally turned 16 (It seemed like I had been looking forward to 16 for 50 years!), I got my drivers permit. I found that I was a natural at driving. My father accused me of having been driving something, somewhere for years. In a way, you could say he was right. Living in the country gave you the opportunity to drive tractors, farm vehicles, 3 wheelers, 4 wheelers, and just about every other kind of ATV or motor bike, dirt bike, and mini bike that you can think of. Oh, I shouldn't forget the go-carts. Every kid in the "actual" country had at least one or more of the above. Anyway, I just couldn't seem to get enough of driving. I "lived" in my car. I had been working to restore a 1962 Pontiac, Bonneville, 2 Door, Hard Top, Sport Coupe long before I could drive it. (Yes, that is daylight you see under those front tires! These tires and wheels are for the track only. Notice the messed up front bumper. It was the ONLY bad spot on the car!)  I managed to get hold of a 421 Cubic Inch engine and rebuilt it from the ground up. It had a "Tri-Power" or "3 deuces" carb setup that dumped 1350 CFMs into the monster. I will provide many more pictures as soon as I get them "digitized". It also gave me the opportunity to have my first "real" C.B. It was a Royce 23 CH with power Mic. All factory except I had the popular "22-A" channel installed with a micro switch on the back. I ran the full 9 foot whip, but I took it off anytime I went to a race or car show. Since the car was totally restored (I never did get a "perfect" front bumper.), all it had was an AM radio. I sat in that car all night more times than I can remember and that radio was responsible for starting me on the road to listening to a variety of DX, including AM Broadcast radio.

Another interest, which, even I found strange at the time, was in the Bible. You sure couldn't tell it to look at me, I fit the profile of the young men of  the '60s and '70s to the letter, at least looks wise. I kept that interest to myself. My parents didn't even know until they were invited to my church to hear me preach many years later. I will never forget how proud my mother was of me. You can tell yourself that you don't care what your parents think of you, but you do. I'm still not sure why, but I avoided alcohol and drugs. Most, going by my looks, had me pegged as a serious drug user and "freak". The "freaks", knowing the truth, had me pegged as a "Narc". Neither were correct.

Well, it didn't take a lot of thought to figure out what direction to go with my career. I wanted a career where I could spend a great deal of time driving. I also wanted to be free to have and use various two way and monitoring radios. Truck Driving crossed my mind, but I also wanted to carry firearms. I could see how this might cause a problem with the various states that I drove through at those pesky scales. I also wanted to have the time to practice shoot and learn all I could about a variety of weapons. Since Law Enforcement was already on the list of interests - BINGO. Actually, it took less time to decide on this path than it did to write about my decision just now! I enrolled at the local city college in Dayton and proceeded to take Law Enforcement related classes. I don't want to brag, but it is true, so I may as well say, I graduated with the highest overall grade "score" of the entire class. One of my instructors at the time was a Dayton Police Major. He got  really pissed at me for challenging him when he made the statement that he had "been a Policeman long enough that if someone pointed a gun at him he would take it away from them and shove it up their A--." A few days later, knowing that he always locked his gun in his brief case before class, I stood at my desk, called his name, pulled my finger out of my shirt and started saying "BANG - BANG!" Well, long story short, he eventually became Chief of Police. I'll let you imagine the rest and only say that I think my "score" at school (after the Dean got me back in the class) was all that saved me down the road. At least he respected that I knew my stuff. When I reported to firearms training at the Dayton Police Academy, and the instructor called me the class "expert" having never met me, I knew I was in trouble!

I was eventually sworn in the City, and then County. I also worked at the Dayton Int'l Airport (boring then, unlike now) and several inter jurisdictional assignments and undercover work with outside jurisdictions. I was in an unhappy relationship that spanned over 10 years from age 16. During this, I managed to go to college, take many other courses, become a medic. I took firefighter courses even though I had no intention of ever being one. I volunteered on a squad. I obtained my first Law Enforcement job. I continued to study the bible and took related courses. Even though it was against my religion, at age 26, It was time to get out of this relationship. We had produced two children which I promised not to divorce. I saw my kids every day and spoke to them on the phone every night before bed. I eventually got custody. I had re-married the day after my divorce was final. She was 10 years my junior and everyone said it wouldn't last, especially with her trying to raise two children with me. For those who believe in the "stars" and Horoscopes and that kind of thing, both wives share the same birth date, just 10 years apart. Even in my wildest dreams I could not have imagined a more perfect relationship. It has been 20 years now. The kids are successfully raised. Both were Honor Roll students from Jr. High School forward. No problems, no drinking, no drugs, no pregnancies, just pretty much perfect kids. We did a good job.

In 1989, I obtained my Ohio Private Detective License and opened "Signal 21 Detectives". We also opened an Information Service in which we provided computer information to hundreds of other PI's and Attorney's (Criminal Records, License Plates, Credit Reports, Skip Traces, Etc.) Life was good. Money was good. Things were good. We managed to put back some money and decided to purchase a 10 acre lot in Ohio. The lot was 3 times deeper than it was wide and was about 50/50 woods and field. Over the next few years, we managed to get a driveway of some 900 feet back to the woods completed at a cost of about $6000.00. Then we got a temporary electric service and had a phone line installed. There was no cell site within range of even the full power mobile phone. We used the property as a hideaway / private campground for the next couple of years. We traded our small camper up for a huge, 35 foot travel trailer with pop-outs. It was 12 feet by 35 feet when all set up and had two separate bedrooms and could sleep 9 people. We had four, so it worked well. We had a queen bed and the kids had bunk beds with their own dinette table and large dressers. We decided to live in this while we built a house. We did just that. It was the perfect house for us. It was our dream home. We thought of everything. If I were to make a list of just the special stuff like: Having coax already built into the walls for my radios. Actually 6 sets, all terminated to the proper connector on a wall outlet and the rest in a roll on a nail, in the attic waiting to be used. I got tired of the kids having video game wires across the floor, so we ran a hook-up behind the couch that ran through the walls to the back of the T.V. speaker wires for surround sound. We did everything ourselves. Nothing was hired out. I couldn't say enough about it. We had many out buildings, a permanent screen house next to a small crystal clear pond. We had a shooting range, chicken house, small barn, utility sheds. Everything was great.

Then, life decided that I had been enjoying myself a bit too much, and gave me a swift kick right where it counts. I was sitting outside on the picnic table one May 1st night, having a smoke and enjoying the quiet when I noticed that a Pick-up had managed to get past my locked gate and was driving down the lane toward me. I checked for my weapon which was there as usual. As the truck drew nearer, I recognized it as my Nephew, a Sheriffs Deputy from several counties away. My wife had noticed him on our security camera and opened the front door. I remember saying, "This can't be good news at 01:00 AM, especially when he could have called instead and apparently cut my gate lock!" She replied "Oh my", and went back in. As he parked and walked toward me with his head down, I said "Which one?" He seemed startled by my question and said "Excuse me?" I repeated "Which one?" This time he replied "It's your dad." I asked "Is it too late?" He replied "Yea, He's gone." We talked about some other things, the weather, Etc., for a few minutes and I thanked him for the drive out. I went in to wake the girls to tell them and they were both sitting up in bed. I told them that Grandpa had died and told them they did not have to stay in bed. No one really expected this to happen. It was an aneurysm in his abdomen, of all places. Within weeks of this news, I got seriously injured at work and was off work because of it. Within 3 months, my mother suffered several small strokes which left her very much like an alzeimers patient. She was lucky to know who I was. I had been "bugging" to return to work and got a call from my district saying they had a perfect job for me protecting a U.S.E.P.A. Super Fund Cleanup Site. All I had to do was ride a little ATV around the "safe zone" and make sure no one got into the "Hot zone". Simple enough. Mother died. Six months later, my neurological system went haywire. Long, long story short, I ended up with severe neurological disorders from the exposure and am now completely and severely disabled. I have good days, so so days, and really bad weeks.

My Wife & I building trusses in place.

Obviously, I could no longer "run" the small farm we lived on, just mowing the grass was a monumental task. Maintenance of two ponds, a 900 foot lane, Chickens, shooting range, keeping idiots with guns out of my woods, all too much. Plus we needed the equity which we had from providing all of the labor. This turned out to be about 50% of the value. We had to live off of something while getting the law suits and disability all in a row. Saying good bye to that house was the hardest thing I've ever had to do..., short of saying good bye to my parents.

Well anyway, now my children are grown, my oldest is married with one child (I'm a Grandparent!), my youngest works and spends most of her time helping me. My wife (unlike so many that have problems like ours) has stuck with me every inch of the way. She works as a Photo Technician (putting some of those P.I. skills to work). We live in the City now, where everything is close, in a rented, older, two story home. The landlord doesn't mind antennas on the roof and someone else worries about mowing and maintenance. What more could you want? Right? I absolutely hate it!

Remember that interest in the Bible? I didn't forget about it either! I continued my education in this area also and have served as Pastor in a couple of churches over the years. Most recently, a "Bible Baptist" church in Ohio. I suppose I could put a "Rev" in front of my name, but it makes some people uncomfortable and I never push my beliefs on others anyway.

I'll bet that is more about me than you EVER wanted to know! Right?  In writing this part of my web site, I had to ask myself, "What events in a mans life, make the man?" At the same time, trying to maintain a focus on what events led up to becoming an amateur radio operator. With that in mind, this is the best I could do. The great thing about the internet is, just like the T.V., you can always click that mouse and go look at something else!

About this last photo: I couldn't really decide whether to leave you with this image or not. My daughters certainly no longer look like this. They are tall, thin and no longer have that "baby fat" look to them. I have about 80% less hair and facial hair now. The 325 pounds of awesome muscle that I had (which you can't see) has been replaced by 350 pounds of...... something else. I no longer have this healthful "glow". Now, you pick up on first glance, that something is... well, wrong when you see me. But, I still like to think of myself as this big guy. Just picture this guy with a black T-shirt that says "AGENT" on it , with jeans and nylon gun belt. An M-16 in both hands pointed down and slightly left, coming toward you at a fast walk. Yeah, that's me! Not this person who claims to be me, that keeps invading my mirror when I look in it. So, I decided the real me was better than that impostor.

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