1. He is a native of Los Angeles.
2. His first job was working as a dish-washer at Polly’s Restaurant in Laguna Beach for a summer when he was 13 years old.
3. When his grandfather died at age 107, he was the oldest man west of the Mississippi.
4. His two favorite movies are Bagdad Café and Eating Raoul. He likes Bagdad Café because of its magical feel. He likes Eating Raoul because of its satirical look on life.
5. His favorite local getaway is Palm Springs because it is convenient to get to and he enjoys the open feel of the desert.
6. He has taught Englishor psychology at every grade level, K-12 and at the college level.
7. For two years, he taught in a federal prison called Lompoc Correctional.
8. In the late 1970s and early 80s, he taught English as a Second Language to about 20 Southeast Asian refugees at Harbor Occupational Center in San Pedro. He helped them work on their interview skills and learn the vocabulary necessary for their jobs.
9. His scariest moment was in 1969, when he was held at gunpoint in the former Czechoslavakia because he did not have a transit visa while traveling by train from Poland to Austria.
10. Some of his ancestors are Arbëreshë, natives of Albania who migrated to Sicily in the late 15th century during the conquest of the Balkans by the Ottoman Turks.
