Occupation: I am a staff writer at The Hartford Courant and usually work on nature and history stories. Some cover the entire New England area, but 90 percent are oriented toward Connecticut. Usually the day trek stories run once a month on the cover of the Calendar section on Thursdays. For five years, I was a political reporter covering Connecticut Governor O’Neill.

I’ve been at the Courant for 24 years. Before that I worked for the Journal Inquirer in Manchester and before that, just after graduating from the University of Connecticut, I wrote for an engineering trade magazine. I was an English major with a history minor. I’ve always loved journalism because it’s an opportunity to learn something new every day.

 

How Long In Newtown: We’ve lived in Newtown, off Boggs Hill Road, for ten years now. I was born and grew up in Waterbury. I lived in Wethersfield before coming to Newtown in January 1994.

Since I was a child, I’ve been interested in nature, rivers, and mountains. I’ve always loved fishing and walking in the woods. We chose Newtown because it looked like a great place for the kids, and there was plenty of hiking and fishing nearby. Also the commute for both of us would be tolerable. We had to have trees and elbow room and Newtown has that. The highway commuting has gotten worse, however, and we’ve both endured some annoying long delays going to and from work. I’m fortunate enough to be able to work out of my study some days and avoid the commute altogether.

 

Biggest Change You Have Seen In Town: I have to agree that development is causing some strain in town, but on the other hand it’s nice to have a Starbucks nearby.

 

Family: My wife Susan is vice president of Kodiak Insurance Company in White Plains. Our daughter Allison is a junior at the University of Vermont in Burlington, Vt., studying history and English. Our son Scott is a junior at the Canterbury School in New Milford.

 

Hobbies: Fishing is my favorite, though it’s hard to find the time. I also hike, canoe, kayak, and snowshoe. And I’m a birdwatcher. My son loves golf and we’ve had some good times playing together.

On television, I admit to a terrible weakness for watching UConn men’s and women’s basketball.

 

Pets: We have a cat named Daisy who was a stray. She showed up on our deck seven years ago, and the kids pleaded to keep her. She’s a great little pet.

 

Favorite TV Show, Movie, Book: I read a lot. I am just finishing a biography of 19th Century explorer John Wesley Powell about the discovery of the Grand Canyon, called A River Running West by Donald Worster. And I’m a complete Thoreau nut.

Organizations: I belong to the Capitol Bird Club, which I joined when I was working out of Hartford as a journalist covering Connecticut politics for The Courant.

 

Most Vivid Memory About Newtown: All the youth sports for both of our kids in town. We’ve gone to all their games in baseball, soccer, and basketball, and the kids had a blast. We had so much fun watching them and getting to know the other parents. They were all such neat people, we became buddies.

 

Favorite Vacation Spot: We travel to Florida for a family getaway. We especially like Sanibel Island. In recent years, we’ve gone to the Rangeley area of Maine, which is tucked into the northwestern corner of the state. It takes a while to get there, but we find mountains, lakes, big wild rivers, and just enough civilization –– yet it is still very remote.

 

Personal Philosophy: I have to cite Henry David Thoreau’s Walden. He advises us to live a life of simplicity, simplicity, simplicity, and he’s absolutely right. I try to follow that, though I think he would frown on our SUV. On February 17, 1841, Thoreau wrote: “Would it not be well for us to consider if our deed will warrant the expense of nature.”