Some Global Places from My
eDiaries
& others
I was thinking in the fall of 2024 about how to best replicate & publish the maps that I had
hung
in the basement at our
Emerald Fields
house a dozen+ years ago…
this idea
( still W-I-P !! )
for a page came up, sharing some of the global places where I've
Lived, Worked or Visited
over the past 7+decades—enjoy your visit!
Here's My 1st Map:
Our Earth—Every
Known
Living Thing is Here…
View more details of the Earth on this
Maps of the World
page, clicking on the many embedded eLinks for more info
To view my details for an area, tap (or mouse-over & click) highlighted areas on each map
Next is my current country, The United States of America
3rd is
France
&
Germany,
two European countries that I've visited
4th is
The United Kingdom of Great Britain & Northern Ireland—My Birth Place
Finally, here's where I've lived & worked, showing activites, etc—Zoom in as needed?
Moving on from the maps, here are the Key Dated Events (ordered by decade) that link from the map highlights—1st are the mid-50s to the late 60's events…
My birth was at the
Aston Greys
nursing home… scroll down as this page will share more info?
Also, please view some of the details about
my home country,
England,
my
childhood home
at
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70 Elmes Road, Bournemouth, England &
Redhill Common, my
childhood playground
As the memories of my childhood years hold dozens of recallable events, I will share just one that is mapped…
On a senior school trip around 1968 I visited Belgium for a week—we rode
(with no actual recall, but pretty likely!!)
a bus via a
ferry
across the channel & back
I remember that I managed to lose a shoe in the mud at some point (likely recovered!) and we spent some time at the
ATOM…
I also recall that on our return trip
one of the teachers, Pete Kingswell, discovered that Leslie Baldrey had gotten a flick-knife on the trip & threw it overboard!
Attempting to split out the rest of these childhood events is just too tricky—please visit my
eDiary
for details?
Or, just return to the top!
Moving on from my childhood years to the '70s…
visit my eDiary for more details of this decade—or return to the top?
Late in 1970, when my Dad had become absolutely infuriated with my repetitive teenage misbehavior's with the police, he decided to end my childhood life & move me out…
He took me to the Army Recruitment Office at the age of 15˝, where he helped me to sign up for
Army—in
early '71 he shipped me off by rail to the AAC
school
in Harrogate, Yorkshire
I then lived there as a junior squaddie for 2+years & (thankfully!) grew away from my childhood stupidities…
After I
graduated
from the AAC school
(with honors!!),
I was then stationed for 3˝ years in
Soltau, Germany
from May, 1973 until my disabling event (below) in September, 1976
In August of 1974, I cut a nerve in my right foot while swimming—we were out on military exercises near Kiel in
Eckernförde, Germany;
click for details?
From December, 1974 to April, 75 I was stationed at the RUC station in
Belfast, N.Ireland…
click for details?
After my tour, Jane & I were
married
on Saturday, April 19th, 1975—we had met around 2 years before when she had been a nurse for my Dad
My wonderfully enjoyable military life came to an abrupt end at age 21 in September, 1976 with my life-changing
accident…
Jane & I then lived in London for a few years
Read through
to the end
of my '70s page to view my sad separation from Jane to Ms. T & the rest of this decade?
Some of the many, many events that occurred in the '80s-'90s…
visit my eDiary for some details (which are intentionally limited) of these decades—or return to the top?
Ms. T visited me in the UK for a couple weeks in April, 1980…
we visited
Rothesay in the Isle of Bute
and others as part of the tour
My arrival in the Washington, DC area
(in the summer of 1980)
completed my dragged-out-transfer from living in London to being in several
places
with Ms. T…
More details are
here,
along with many other events (through '96)
In May of 1981, I received my residence Green Card at the US Citizenship & Immigrations office
(which then was at
31 Hopkins Plaza # 100, Baltimore, MD)
that lasted until 2007 (below)
I took my family to
Europe
from mid-September to early October in 1985;
we spent a few days during this trip visiting
"Llanfair Pwllgwyngyll"
and others in Wales
We spent 3 weeks in June of '86 driving East from our Germantown, MD house to Millinocket, Maine and back;
see the trip here?
In early July, '86 I traveled West from my Germantown, MD
home
to Waukesha, WI for a
consulting
contract at
GE Medical Systems—as
this was a huge success, I was hired full-time!
I published a number of websites during my many years there…
my list of Definitions,
some Distractions,
my Interviewing advice,
my hilarious "25 Thoughts" page
& many, many Others!
Also, view the end of my GE work-life in January, '09
here?
I moved my family in early '87 from Germantown, MD to the Milwaukee, WI area where I lived & worked for many years (above)
Several years into that period, I changed my life to live with
Sandy;
we often visited
family and friends in Wisconsin
In June of '88 I visited the Global X-Ray Business offices near Paris, France
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for the 1st time… spent a week+there with my Software lead role at the GE HQ in Waukesha, WI
There were many more trips there whilst I held that role;
I visited
the Eiffel Tower,
the Versailles Palace,
driving around the Arc de Triomphe,
Notre-Dame
and others!
In July of '93 I held the project lead role in the Global X-Ray Business in Waukesha, WI,
for the development & introduction of a
Tilting C-Arm,
a new type of X-Ray system for
clinical & surgical Interventional Procedures—a new entry to a $150MM+ market for GEMS.
The 3-year/$7MM+ development was with a cross-functional global program team
(over 100 people at peak)
geographically split around the US & Europe as well as with several major suppliers, Fischer Imaging in Denver, CO & others
It was shown at the
SCVIR
meeting in San Diego, CA
in the spring of '94 & again at the annual RSNA gathering…
released for sale Aug-'95—a
major
success!
Sandy was a key part of my Tilt-C team—we personally connected for the 1st time at the '94 San Diego show…
In February '94 I took my family on a weekend+ cruise from Miami, FL to
The Bahamas
(formally called the “Commonwealth of The Bahamas”),
an island country within
the Lucayan Archipelago of the Atlantic Ocean
A few months after the Bahamas trip I separated from Ms. T to be with Sandy, moving out of our Oconomowoc house to an
apartment
in Hartland, WI…
In March, '95, I had to move back in when Ms. T annoyingly moved out!
Sandy & I then lived together at a
rental
house on a lake in '96, selling both of our houses a year later & moving into our house on
White Oak
where we lived for several years
On Tuesday the 16th of July, '96 I went up to Canada
(an overnight drive from home)
with some GE friends to my 1st
fishing trip,
my 41st birthday gift!
Lots of fish catching, frying, beer & relaxation!!
In March of 1997, Sandy & I were
married
at the
Hotel del Coronado
in San Diego, CA
I was assigned to the Off-Pole LPI role for the GEMSE Mammography NPI SenoVision program in January, '98,
flying out 2-3 times every month to lead
a critical U.S. supplier in
Long Island, NY… I worked there for several months until the arrival of my brain tumor (see below)
In early '98 my brain tumor started to come into focus on our
Arizona
trip, worsening as we were visiting with my brother in California;
view more details of the
tumor
& my
eDiary
details, each with embedded links
We spent a week in February of '99 at the Crown Paradise resort in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico; see details of the trip
here?
As the Millennium of the 1900's was going to close at midnight on Friday, December 31st, 1999,
we decided to celebrate with a New Year's Eve
Party
at our house,
spending a wonderful evening with many of our friends!
My life in the 2000s… visit my eDiary for more details of this decade—or return to the top?
Our 3+week
visit
(view the page for the plan details?)
in July/August of 2000 was our 2nd Europe trip after my '98 brain tumor (see above)
We flew to Frankfurt in Germany & then south by train to "Bacharach am Rhein"
where we did a river trip, relaxed etc…
We then flew back to Paris, France (where we were met by Don's friend, Tony) for a few days and
onwards (by train) across the channel to Edinburgh. Scotland, (via London) for a few more days
We then drove south via the Lake District, Harrogate etc, to London and Bournemouth, visiting family etc as we returned
While working as the GEHC CT Compliance Leader, I traveled across the Pacific a couple times, coaching the Asia teams in some of the complexities of the
FDA,
visiting
Beijing, China
in December, 2000 for 2 weeks & again in July, 2002 visiting
Tokyo, Japan
& Beijing (for 1 week each)…
I was blessed during my 2nd Beijing visit to celebrate my 47th birthday
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with the team!
Also, view our
2013 Taiwan
trip, which is mapped geographically to this group
In January, 2003 with Dad's
80th birthday
at 70 Elmes Road, I met my ˝-brother Mick (different Mum's) for the 1st time!
He lives today with his family in the area near Sydney…
A late '97 letter to me from our Dad shared his existence—Mick was searching for
(and had somehow found)
his Dad—his Mum & Dad were separated in 1943
Late in 2003, we found an acre+lot near Sussex, WI where we built our Emerald Fields
house,
moving in after our November '04 trip (below)
We visited Hawaii with Sandy's family in November, 2004 as a memorial trip for her brother Les,
who had sadly died at age 49 the year before, fighting cancer.
View our hotel
at dawn
our Pearl Harbor visit
and one of the many Polynesian Cultural Center performers at a show
On our
UK trip
in the Summer of 2006
we visited my brother Alan & my parents (each for a few days)
& then stopped in the
Bodnant Gardens
in Wales (en rout to Ireland), a lovely place!
Our time in Ireland began in Dublin, stopping in the
pubs
and at the Jameson Distillery, visiting the Dingle Peninsula etc (as shared in the trip)
My family had also visited Wales (and many others) in '85 during our 3-week Europe
trip
I spent 2 weeks in
Haifa,
Israel for GE CT
compliance,
coaching the local team in November, 2006—the subsequent audit by the FDA was a success!
On April 19th 2007 I finally completed my long-standing-journey (since May, '81) to become a
naturalized
US Citizen
In late August, 2007 I started my 6-month GE CT
compliance
assignment at the
PKI
micro-chip fab (now closed) in Santa Clara, California
I drove there via
Yellowstone Park
(a great visit) & spent some time on a
drive
up the coast in October
Due to the 2008 global financial disaster, ~1,000 GE employees (including me) in the Milwaukee area were
laid off
in early '09… this was after my 25-ish years at GE
As a final thread for the 2000s, we've traveled to Mexico many times for our warm-week vacation breaks…
A week in '99 at the
Crown Paradise
resort (also shown in the 80's-90's above) and likely also in the year before (NFIA)
A week+ in 2001 at the
El Dorado Royale
on the beach and at the
Playa del Carmen
resort
Many 2-3 week visits with family & friends to the Pueblo Bonito resorts in
Mazatlán
and in
Cabo San Lucas,
most
recently
in February, 2024
My quite busy life through the 2010s… visit my eDiary for more details of this decade—or return to the top?
My Mum
passed away
in a hospice during April, 2010 after fighting liver cancer for 4 years;
we sadly couldn’t visit due to the Iceland
volcano
In May, 2010 Sandy had a
business trip
(scroll down)
to Budapest, Hungary & Warsaw, Poland where I was lucky enough to tag along (more details will come soon!)
We had a great 2+week trip in September, 2010, visiting
Barcelona,
Spain (more trip details may arrive soon)
Sandy had a 2-week business trip to
Prague, Czechoslovakia & Geneva, Switzerland
in April, 2013 where I was lucky enough to come along…
my luggage bag managed to fly off into hyperspace (flights via London) for a few days, causing us to shop locally for some fresh underwear!
I was blessed in November of 2013 to travel to
Hong Kong & Taiwan
with Sandy on her 2-week business trip…
Some arrival snaps
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with more to come!
In late '14 we packed up everything at our Wisconsin house & moved South to a
house
on Wittenridge in Alpharetta, GA
(with several things held in storage as they wouldn't fit!)
to be near our grandkids…
˝ of them are close-by in
Johns Creek
with the other ˝ at
Hartselle,
Alabama—a 4-hour drive
We rented there for a year & then found and moved into our current
house
(here's an older view of our Realtor's
perspective)
in Roswell, GA
We flew down on Saturday, October 31st 2015 to the
Mazatlán
resort where we stayed for a week with family
for a late breakfast (baby Landon) after we arrived
I was snapped later, lounging at the pool!!
Our 3-week
vacation
was in June & July of '17…
1st was in southern Germany, where we had a day at the beautiful
Neuschwanstein Castle;
we then visited western France—just a delight!
I created a
virtual place
("DJs Online House")
in the summer of '18, holding "eRooms" that share my viewpoints & ideas,
as well as related pages
(info)
& details
We spent 3+ glorious weeks in May, 2019 touring
Italy
My Current Life (2020's)… visit my eDiary for the latest details of this decade—or return to the top?
I found myself in late June of 2020 sitting & pondering about what personal history I might bring online…
a 35-year-old memory of an "undocumented" European family trip then popped up,
allowing me to build this 1985 report!
In September, 2023 we visited
England
for 2 weeks, flying into London
and then driving (via)
Castle Combe,
visiting
Blenheim Palace in the Cotswolds,
overnight in
Bourton-on-the-Water, Gloucestershire,
the Slaughters, the City of York
& overnight in Aislaby, Yorkshire,
driving the next day across the moors & visiting
Rievaulx Abbey
up to Jedburgh (via Whitby on the coast), Scotland for our friend's 70th birthday event over the weekend!
We then flew south from Edinburgh to London, staying at the Hilton Hotel for a few days which was via the Heathrow Express train to Paddington Station…
we visited with our long-term friends, Jim & Bev,
Sandy visited the Churchill War Rooms & we flew home
More of my 2020 events are shared
here;
the details may evolve!!
So… closing out my multi-decade-events page,
life today (as of the initial writing, mid-September, 2024) continues to be relatively healthy & happy for me!
Here are my key personal pages:
1st is my
profile,
2nd is my
Bio,
3rd is my
eDiary,
4th is my
"Online Presence"
& finally, here's my
Home Page…
thoughts/comments are welcome!
Moving on, Sandy & I get to hang out with friends & family
near
our home
(see an older view of our Realtor's
perspective ?)
as well as our frequent 4-hour-drives to family in
Alabama
We've also had occasional visits to my family in
Virginia-and-have
(since the '80s)
had several—overnight flights—visits to my brother & his family in
Maidenhead,
England…
my older brother & his family
(who have not been visited…yet!!)
live in & around
Melbourne,
Australia; see his details
here?
We also have many, many friends & extended family in & around
Wisconsin
(where I lived/worked from the mid-80's to November of 2014)-and-we've
taken several international vacations!
Several trips to our
Pueblo Bonito
resorts in
Mazatlán
& in
Cabo San Lucas,
Mexico-and-to
Europe with many trips (each are shared above)
to the UK,
a couple to France & to Germany,
one to Budapest, Hungary & Warsaw, Poland,
one to Prague, Czechoslovakia & Geneva, Switzerland,
as well as a great visit to Barcelona, Spain in 2010,
and an amazing 3-week tour around Italy in 2019!
There was a trip to Asia with Sandy's 2013 business meeting in
Hong Kong & Taiwan
where I was lucky enough to come along!
Some of our future active thoughts…
Next year (in September, 2025) we have a scheduled river trip to
Portugal,
a Viking cruise with our Gourmet Friends
We're (tentatively) planning for a cruise in June, 2025 to visit Denali, Alaska from Seattle!
So… you've clicked on one of the many marked map-places that I've not yet visited!! Watch for future visits?
Return to the top
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