Born in Cleveland, I spent my childhood roaming the rivers and wild spaces around Lake Erie. I discovered that bicycle riding was a path to freedom when I got my first boys' BMX bike. My family worked mostly in the steel mills, railroads, and bowling allies/bars that are now part of Cleveland's diminishing industrial past. My great-grandfather John Gannon worked for the River Terminal Railway Co., which served the steel mills - moving iron ore and coal - along the Cuyahoga River. We spent our summers on or near the Cuyahoga River, smashing pennies on the (still standing and historic) hulking steel River Terminal Railroad Bridge that crossed the river. During my childhood and adolescence, we caught perch and walleye in Lake Erie with my Dad on the weekends. We'd clean the fish ourselves and eat them later that night. Back then, I didn't even know what pollution was or that Cleveland was called "The Mistake on the Lake" until my fancy liberal arts education later on.
After college, I moved to a remote fishing village on the far West Coast of Vancouver Island, British Columbia. It was a magical time - spawning salmon, ancient village sites and exploring streams. A few years later, I moved to the East Coast, where I worked as a carpenter and my brother a nanny, causing my Dad to say, "Yeah, it's weird, my son's a nanny and my daughter's a carpenter! I'm not sure what to think..."
After college, I moved to a remote fishing village on the far West Coast of Vancouver Island, British Columbia. It was a magical time - spawning salmon, ancient village sites and exploring streams. A few years later, I moved to the East Coast, where I worked as a carpenter and my brother a nanny, causing my Dad to say, "Yeah, it's weird, my son's a nanny and my daughter's a carpenter! I'm not sure what to think..."
I have lived on three islands and now happily live on a peninsula.
I still ride my bike to maintain my freedom and I still like to explore the wild spaces around town.
I'm happy to swap stories.
