Lee Barckmann

I grew up in south New Jersey, in the fifties and early sixties.  My dad went to sea as a marine engineer, and my mom was a school teacher. I have two younger sisters, with whom I remain close.   Just before starting high school my family moved to a north Jersey suburb.  I ran track and cross country.    I went to the University of Kansas to run track, but  became a "hippie intellectual" instead.  I studied Economics and History.  In my twenties,  I worked in a factory as a fork lift driver, and later plowed snow and cut lawns.  I moved to Oregon,  began to write seriously.   I worked as a land surveyor, and office manager.  After a few years, I went to China to teach English, where I stayed for nearly three years.  After returning, I got married, had a son, and had a career in IT, retiring from IBM. I am now still married, a full-time grandfather and a writer.