Blue Ridge Dreamer

I. Roots and the Bayou City

I am now into my seventh decade on this blue marble—a native Texan, fourth generation. My story began in Houston, but my roots took hold in Pasadena, where my family moved before I reached the age of two.

Pasadena was the backdrop of my formative years: I attended Richey Elementary, Jackson Intermediate, and Pasadena High. It was also where my values were forged in the Boy Scouts of America, Pack & Troop 506. Our Scout Master, Harry Estes, had a profound influence on my life, instilling a moral compass that still guides my “Political Muse” and personal ideals today.

II. The Silver Screen and the “Moonlight” Era

One of the most unique “synchronosities” of my youth was growing up in a movie theater. From 1960 until 1972, my father moonlighted as an Assistant Manager at the Lowe’s State Theater on Main Street in Houston.

For a child, a theater is a magnificent playground; for a teenager, it was a first job. I spent my summers as an usher, immersed in the people and the stories that flickered across the screen. It was an era when the “special effects” were often just velvet curtains and grand architecture—a far cry from the AI-generated imagery I coordinate today, but just as magical.

Publisher’s Note: This was also the era where I became an avid sci-fi fan, devouring Robert Heinlein and waiting for technology to finally catch up with my imagination.

III. The Orchard Summers: A Study in Stillness

While my city life was defined by the theater, my summers were measured by the quiet of Orchard, Texas. My favorite place was the home of my grandparents, Howard and Covie Sewell.

Grandpa Sewell worked the sulfur refinery by day and raised Live Oaks in his tree nursery by night. We spent our afternoons in a cement tank filled with windmill-pumped water—the best swimming pool a Texas summer could offer. Meanwhile, Grandma Sewell, an artist at heart, kept us busy with handcrafts. It was there, sitting in the top of a Live Oak in the back pasture, that I learned the art of watching the world go by.

IV. 35 Years of Design & The 2008 Pivot

In 1973, I began a 35-year career with Freeman Decorating Company. I spent over three decades designing exhibits and directional systems for massive conventions—a career built on making complex information navigable.

Then, in November 2008, the economy crashed, and my long-term job crashed with it. But as a Coordinator, I’ve learned that a “crash” is often just a clearing of the path. That pivot led me toward the digital frontier, genealogy, and the eventual founding of Mountain Dreams Press.

V. Building a Legacy in Alvin

In 1993, seeking a slower pace, Sherry and I moved to Alvin, Texas. We raised our four children in an old farmhouse, watched them start their own families, and saw the next generation—our grandkids—come along.

When it became clear we wouldn’t be retiring to the mountains we both loved, we decided to bring the mountain spirit to the Texas soil. We replaced the old farmhouse with a new home—a space designed for the work I do now.

VI. The View from the Office Window

Today, I sit in an office with a view that beats any photograph I used to hang on my walls in Houston. I live my life as the Coordinator of Synchronicity, stringing words together nicely and bridging the gap between our 18th-century ancestors and 21st-century innovation.

The mountains may be far away, but from this window in Alvin, the vision has never been clearer.