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As you can tell from my biography and career, my interests have changed somewhat over the years. One thing that hasn't changed, however, is my passion for collecting. To begin, I have collected coins since before I was a teen. I'm a member of the American Numismatic Association (ANA) and received a college level degree in Numismatics a few years ago. I specialize in ancient coins that range from early Egypt and Greece on through the Middle Ages, U.S. coins and currency, tokens and commemoratives. My collection of coins and currency covers a broad spectrum of numismatics and has been considered one of the best private collections in this part of the country. In addition to coins, I have quite an extensive collection of weapons that includes guns, swords and knives. They include the period of modern, custom handguns, rifles, shotguns and knives to Civil War era swords and pre-Civil War black powder muskets and pistols. Though most of the weapons are used for display now, all are still genuine guns, swords or knives and capable of being used. Being raised in the rural south, I've hunted everything from quail, rabbits and squirrels to turkey and deer. Although I haven't hunted in many years, I still practice with most of the modern firearms (and many of the black powder ones as well) on a regular basis. I'm a member of the NRA and joined the East Texas Rifle & Pistol Club after we moved to Texas in October '02. I earned several marksmanship medals from the navy and was even the top marksman in my company while a recruit. I even won my first turkey shoot when I was about 12. Vickie and I completed the requirements for a Concealed Handgun License in late September of 2004. Vickie received hers just before Thanksgiving. Not surprisingly, I had to wait an extra month or so since there was an error on one of the forms I'd submitted. The instructors had failed to sign some required paperwork so it was returned, I had to get it corrected by our instructors and then re-submit it. Oh well, for some reason I'm not surprised. Believe it or not, even though I'm the "gun nut" in the family, the idea for getting the license was Vickie's!!My newest sons (the triplets) already know more about firearms than many adults and are well aware of the danger thay can present. They know NEVER to touch a gun, even a toy gun, they are unfamiliar with and if they EVER see a gun someplace other thanwhere thay are suppose to be, they are to tell their mother or myself and DO NOT TOUCH IT! They have shot BB guns already and are familiar with basic gun safety from training they've received both from me and through the Boy Scouts. Still, as I did with my older children, when the triplets are a year or two older, I'll take them to the local gun range and familiarize them with real firearms. I feel that a great many - if not most - of the gun accidents that happen with children and teens (and a great many adults, too) come from curiosity and a lack of familiarity with what a gun can really do. Children as well as adults should be taught to respect firearms rather than fear them. By showing them how guns work and what they're capable of doing, most of the temptation to "play" with a firearm is removed.
I have always been interested in sports in one form or another. I was a Golden Gloves boxer in my teens and for several years studied Japanese Karate, receiving a brown belt. As a boy I played baseball, ran track and was on the school wrestling team. Before I retired from the navy, I was in charge of the physical fitness program for the unit I was attached to, jogging 3-5 miles a day and spending several days a week working out at the base gym. I even converted a spare room of my New Orleans home into an exercise/weight room, though the room changed more to a storage space after the triplets were born. Because most of my relatives have lived well into their late 80's and 90's, I try to find the time to keep in shape since I may have to keep this body for quite a while yet... not an easy task when you have 8 year old triplet boys to keep out of trouble... or at least TRY!! Even so, I like to think that even in my mid 50's, I can still compete with most men half my age.
I've also owned and raced a number of motorcycles over the years, including a Harley-Davidson (my first bike as well as my first "motor" vehicle ), a Yamaha, several Hondas and hope to purchase another while I'm still young enough to enjoy it. While I've owned many "muscle" cars over the years, mostly from the late 60's & early 70's, having triplets makes a sport/performance vehicle a bit impractical for the foreseeable future. However, I do still have the last "dad's toy" I bought back in the mid 80's. In fact, my '85 Daytona Turbo Z was 22 years old on January 31st of this year. Since it's the same day as the triplets birthday and the anniversary of my first marriage, it's an easy date to remember! In many states it is now considered an antique (much like it's owner). But also like me, I think it has a lot of life left in it and still gets a few admiring looks when we go out on the road for a bit of exercise to help keep the rust off!
modest collection of Bonsai (a subject I became interested in during one of my numerous visits to Japan with the navy) and Orchids. In addition to being a member of the American Orchid Society (AOS) and earning certificates in Landscaping and Gardening from a college in New Orleans, my wife Vickie and I belonged to several gardening clubs in the New Orleans area such as the local Orchid and Bonsai societies. For quite a few years, both before and after we were married, Vickie and I were members of local ballroom dance clubs (We've actually won a number of trophies at local dance competitions). For several years, we belonged to a local club (Krew) that parades in New Orleans during Mardi Gras. Of course, with our move to Texas and the arrival of the triplets, most of our outside activities were placed on the back burner. Since I now spend most of my time at home, I confine my hobbies to things local, like my greenhouse or collections. I enjoy cruising the net when not doing other things or I feel the need for a little "quiet time". You can find some very interesting and unusual people/subjects on the web! In addition, I write (for a select few), enjoy reading, music and watching old science fiction movies, especially anything by Ray Harryhausen. Speaking of collecting, my experience with growing orchids has been almost entirely through pot culture. While the majority of popular orchids can't survive outside a greenhouse or home in most areas of the US, Canada or Europe, orchids like Cypripediums will. With
so many plants removed from the wild or their habitat destroyed for various reasons, it's only fitting that when we have the chance to return some of these orchids to the wild, we take the opportunity to do so. A number of my Cypripediums were recently returned to an area that once contained them naturally and they will now, hopefully, thrive there again. With the widespread availability of commercially grown plants today, I do not endorse removing ANY wild plant from it's natural state except under special circumstances (they are about to be destroyed by construction/destruction of the area for example) and then, only as a last resort. Cypripediums, as well as almost all orchids, have been particularly hard hit in recent years and if a few of the plants we have in our homes and greenhouses can be returned to a natural state, we'll all be better for it.
One final note... It's now 1 October 2007 and I have been fortunate in being able to combine two of my hobbies, writing and guns, into a new career. In November of 2005 I was asked to become a contributing editor to Concealed Carry Magazine, a magazine devoted to issues and equipment for people authorized to carry concealed weapons. Since my wife and I both have concealed weapons permits, I subscribed to the magazine and submitted several articles to the editorial and letters to the editor sections that were published. They liked my writing and offered me the position on a permanent basis! The magazine is by subscription only, but to see a copy of the magazine or several of my editorials, either take a look at the magazine starting with January '06 or check out the link below.
If you found this interesting, try some of my LINKS below. If you haven't already done so, check my
CAREER and TRIPLETS pages. To find out more about me, go back to my HOME PAGE and try some of the links.
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Page created by R. A. CHILDERS: vchilder@ix.netcom.com
