| FRIENDS |
| This will be the page where I introduce you to my many friends from all over! This of course will be an ongoing project...I won't put a friend on this page until I have a picture of them. Also, if he/she has a webpage, I will include a link. |
| Gerald Reed |
| This is probably my closest friend after my wife! A Georgia native, Gerald currently lives in Boca Raton, FL. He is an admitted "Mac Evangelist", extolling the many virtues of Apple Computers. Ask him one day about his favourite alcoholic beverage, the "nuclear tea"! I have some stories for you...! ;-) |
| Matthew Trautwein |
| I first met Wheat the same night I met my close friend Jeff Blanks. Actually, Wheat and Jeff are both very old friends, having known each other since they were in the same Cub Scout Troop as kids! Like Jeff, Wheat is both a lover of progressive rock music and Apple Computers! He is also Microsoft Certified. Wheat lives in the Atlanta area with his lovely wife Celeste. |
| Wheat Williams |
| Matthew is a multi-talented musician, and keeps himself very busy! He works on productions with the Atlanta Shakespeare Company, takes part as "String the minstrel" and as part of the Lost Boys at the Georgia Rennaissance Festival, and is the leader of local prog rock band Karma Lingo. He is also a member of PARACELSUS, along with Jeff Blanks, Derik Rinehart, and myself! |
| Chris Carfi |
| Chris is the closest friend I have made through IBM, the company that I used to work for . If you want to know anything about computer hardware or software, and especially computer and video games, this is the guy to talk to! The level of knowledge he has on these subjects never ceases to amaze me, and I bounce ideas off of him regularly. Chris lives in the NW Metro Atlanta area with his wife Leigh and their three kids, er...I mean dogs! ;-) |
| Sean Tonar |
| I first met Wade though mutual friends. He is the leader of local prog band Cobweb Strange, and is also a member of 80's cover band McFly. A genuinely cool guy, a fellow bass player, and a Rush fanatic like me! |
| Wade with porn legend Ron Jeremy. How Wade even knows this guy is a story in itself! It appears that Wade's band Cobweb Strange once played at a porn party that Ron emceed, and... |
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| Gerald Reed, May 2001 |
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| Wheat doing his thing at home... |
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| Chris on his wedding day, August 29th, 1999 |
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| Matthew playing Mr. Smooth...! ;-) |
| More Friends to come...!!! |
| I first met Diane through my then-future wife Bridget. She is probably Bridget's closest female friend, and also one of the oldest friendships she has. Diane is never a dull person to be around. She lives in Vero beach, FL with her husband Kevin and their little daughter Danielle. |
| Diane McDaniel |
| Jeff Blanks |
| My dear friend Jeff Blanks! A hugely talented multi-instumentalist, Jeff is one of the most intriguing individuals I have ever had the pleasure of knowing. He was the Best Man at my wedding, pinch-hitting on short notice. |
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| Diane with Bridget in Orlando, Spring 1997. |
| Bridget and Diane, Vero Beach, Summer 1996. |
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| At last! A decent picture of Jeff (smiling, no less)! Taken on the occasion of his birthday,...May 9th, 2003. |
| More pics of Jeff (and myself...also Matt Trautwein and Derik Rinehart) at the Paracelsus homepage. |
| Make sure you go to Danielle's page...she is sooo cute! :-) |
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| Wade Summerlin |
| Kirk Barnes |
| I met Sean through our mutual love of progressive rock, and have jammed together before. He is an excellent guitarist, full of great musical ideas! He is the moderator on the message boards for the Progressive Ears Website. He is also the guitarist for Atlanta prog band Mindworm. |
| Sean doing what he does best...! |
| I met Kirk in similar circumstances to Sean Tonar, but on a seperate occasion. Kirk is a talented multi-instrumentalist, but his forte seems to be keyboards. He is also a great singer! We have also jammed together before. Kirk is the singer and keyboard player for Mindworm. |
| Kirk Barnes hamming it up for the camera! |
| Glenn Harveston |
| Glenn takes a break at ProgPower USA festival v2.0...November, 2001. |
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| I first "met" Glenn online at the Perpetual Motion Classic music messageboard, where he is a regular, known as Harvester of Sorrow. Glenn and his family just happen to live in Rome, GA like Bridget and myself. It was a strange coincidence! Glenn is also the tireless organizer of the ProgPower USA music festival. The festival has now been moved to Atlanta, and has turned into a huge event! Belive me when I tell you that Glenn is very entertaining to be around! Glenn lives in Rome with his wife Paula and daughter Haley. |
| Jon Colston |
| Jon is one of the most talented guitarists I have ever met. With Steve Morse as his primary influence, Jon has developed a versatile style of playing, able to playing anything from country chickin' pickin' to heavy metal and everything in between! You name it, he can play it! And he is an absolute hoot to hang out with! Jon lives in Chattanooga, TN, and looks to be the next Steve Vai or Joe Satriani! UPDATE: Jon is going to get married in October, 2003! Congratulations! |
| Jeff in the company of family and friends at my wedding rehearsal dinner, State College, PA; July 2nd, 1999. L to R: My brother-in-law Edgar, Jeff, sister-in-law Sarah, and Diane on the veranda. |
| Dr. Daphne Norton |
| I first met Daphne in the summer of 1989 while she was attending Florida State University on a chemistry study program (her alma mater is actually Agnes Scott College, then the University of Chicago). I made many friends from this program as they were all housed in the apartment complex I was living in at the time...however, "Daffy" as I affectionately call her, was the only one I managed to stay in touch with all these years. "Back to her roots" in the Atlanta area, she is a chemistry instructor at the Georgia Perimeter College Dunwoody Campus. |
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| Daphne the Doc at work. Don't let the lab specs fool you...she's a total babe! ;-) |
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| Michelle Kelley |
| I met Michelle Kelley, aka "FoxxyRed" while she was still living in the Atlanta area and working with me at IBM in the Call Management area. She was one of many friends I made working there. She now lives in Peoria, Il. What immediately struck me about Michelle was her attitude towards life in general, and that she was so damn tall! :-) A very fun person to hang out with! |
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| A pic of Michelle, aka "FoxxyRed". This picture is a bit outdated, as it is her high school senior photo, but she looks about the same today! |
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| A new pic of Jon, Spring 2003. |
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| Vanessa Ireland |
| What can I say about my old dear friend? Vanessa is one of the many female friends I had (yet never dated) while in college in Florida and still in contact with to this day. To me she was very much into being "one of the guys" and just hanging out and having fun while we were there (not that she didn't have her serious side, though!). "Nessa", as she is nicknamed, now lives in the San Antonio area of Texas. |
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| Nessa vamping it up for the camera. She sent this to me a few years ago. Definately not "one of the guys" any more. Noooo sir! :-) |
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| Kimberly Lyle |
| Kimberly started out as one of my many "online friends", but who also just happens to live in the Atlanta area, allowing us to have finally met in person! Being extremely intelligent, Kimberly and I are on the same page in a number of ways intellectually, and we therefore see things the same way in a number of areas. She has the most amazing blue eyes...that was my first impression of her visually. She generally hates being called "Kimmy", but seems to tolerate it from me! :-P Like me, she had a rough year 2002 herself, though not in all the same areas. But we can really relate to one another's issues in our respective lives. I really value her friendship, and I have grown quite fond of her...one of my more recent close friends, and she isn't even a musician (though she admits to piano lessons as a child...)! |
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| My favourite pic of Kimberly...though this wasn't a professionally-done photo, it sure looks like one! |
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| Wes Schraeder |
| One of my many "online" friends, Wes is another who happens to live in the Atlanta area, and have gotten to meet in person and spend time with. Actually a good friend of both myself and Bridget. Being extremely funny, a very entertaining evening is virtually guaranteed when Wes comes along! :-) |
| Wes copping a thoughtful pose...a la a Saturday Night Live guest host portrait! :-) |
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| Tammy Blalock |
| Another "online" friend who has become a "in person" friend due to close proximity to home...Tammy has become a close friend to both Bridget and myself. A Gemini like Bridget, she can be very entertaining! She is currently back in school to get her Nursing degree. Tammy lives in Calhoun, GA with her daughter Paige and son Peyton. |
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| A webcam pic of Tammy in her favourite spot...in front of her PC chatting online with friends from all over! :-P |
| Connie Sue Dickey |
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| Another "online" friend who I have a great rapport with. Connie has one of the sweetest, most gentle personalities of any woman I have ever met. Like me, she has had her share of rough times, and has come through splendidly. Connie still lives in her little hometown in Ohio with her three children. |
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| Connie Sue webcam pic...she is another person who is always online chatting with her friends! |
| André Neitzel |
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| André is the bass player and lyricist for the venerable Atlanta prog rock band Timothy Pure. I met André the night of "TP"s first CD-release show. Incidentally, that is also the night I first met Jeff Blanks and Wheat Williams! Anyway, André is a gifted poet and a great guy! |
| André at work. |