A lurker for several years, I have decided to 'out' myself to the Pentrace community.
I am (another) attorney; a veteran prosecutor for the Phoenix City Prosecutor's Office. As such, I supervise the Appeals and Community Prosecution Bureaus for America's fifth largest city. I am known by many acquaintances as "the guy with the pens" and supplement my fountain pen rotation with an array of fountain pen-themed ties and cufflinks.
At home I am a husband and a dad in a multiethnic family. My wife was born and raised in Greece. We brought our daughter home from China when she was fifteen months old. (She is now a smart-alecky 10 year old.) My other family members include a 13 year-old German Shepherd and a noisy, obese guinea pig. (According to Wikipedia, guinea pigs are low in fat and cholesterol, high in protein. Undoubtedly, they taste like chicken.)
I found fountain pens serendipitously. In September 2002 my wife bought me a Diplomat rollerball on close-out from Staples. I liked it but had never heard of Diplomat, so I Googled it. My search lead me to a Pentrace review of the Diplomat fountain pen. A short time later I stopped at Staples to take advantage of their Diplomat liquidation. For $27.98 I bought my first Fountain pen. I now own almost 200 pens!
I like to think of myself as a Renaissance man but, in truth, I am probably a dilettante. (My collection reflects this too. I accumulate what I like rather than planning a focussed collection.)
Renaissance man or dilettante, I have accumulated a lot of interesting experiences. Here are a few: I scored 28 of 30 points on the Gong Show; went for a ride in a Fiat Zhiguli with Russian blackmarketeers in Irkutsk; shared a plate of sushi with Clarence Clemmons (the wailing sax player for Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band); flew in a hot air balloon; argued before the Arizona Supreme Court; rode horseback by the Great Pyramid in Giza; jumped out of a Howard DGA (with a parachute); witnessed Lance Armstrong take his 7th Tour de France victory lap; and marched in the Rose Parade.
The son of a librarian, I am a voracious reader. I have been known to resort to reading ketchup bottles if nothing else is available. (Tomato concentrate made from red ripe tomatoes, distilled vinegar, high fructose corn syrup...)
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"He was born with a gift of laughter, and a sense that the world was mad. And that was all his patrimony."
Rafael Sabatini
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