ABOUT ME

Hi there!  I’m Bob – more formally known as Robert C. Swetz.  But Bob is much easier (especially for me).

 

Since you came to this page, I guess you want to know a little about me.  Well, first I guess, there’s the formal biography:

 

 

Robert C. Swetz spent most of his life as a musician, spending twenty-four years as a member of the Air Force Band. He traveled all over the world entertaining audiences and specialized in traditional jazz Dixieland music where he could particularly put his creative talents to work.

After retiring from the Air Force, he obtained a second college degree, this time in Information Technology, and put his talents to work as a computer programmer for a small communications company where he still works today.

He and his wife reside in Georgia where they have spent the majority of their lives.

Being creative and entertaining audiences has always been one of the things he has loved to do the most, and now, entertaining people through his writing is yet another outlet for his creative talents.

 

 

Nice.  Concise.  Short.  But with a little more room here than the back of a book cover, maybe I can say a little more.

 

So who am I really?  The truth is, I am, and always have been, a very creative soul.  All my life, the one thing that I’ve always enjoyed the most, is creating.  I spent a major portion of my life creating music, and I have an absolute love for Dixieland jazz.  Besides creating music, I love building and creating things with wood or any other thing I can work with.  I also love creating computer applications that make those stupid boxes do amazing things and almost seem like they’re intelligent.  And now, as I move further on in my life, I find the one thing I like creating the most, is stories.  I, who once hated and despised writing, now love it with a deep passion.  So I now create books.

 

Being in my upper sixties, I now realize that I’ve led a rather amazing life.  And in living my life, I’ve somehow managed to do many things that most people can only dream about.  Okay, here it comes.  I know all of this may sound unbelievable, but the truth is, it’s all true.  Every last bit of it. 

 

I have loved, laughed, tried, cried, dreamed, and created.  I’ve stood on top of majestic mountains and stared in wonder at the beauty below.  I’ve stood in the depths of deep chasms and stared in awe at the majesty of the mountains above me.  And I’ve stood on the deck of a ship in the middle of the vast ocean and marveled at how truly insignificant I am.

 

In my youth, I once stood on the pitcher’s mound of a baseball field just before a game and got almost knocked unconscious by a wild throw from the first baseman to third base.  I then picked myself up and insisted on pitching the game and literally struck out every single man on the opposing team, inning after inning. 

 

Many times in my life, I have performed music in front of thousands of people and had them applauding and screaming for more.  And believe it or not, I have sat down and played music with the President of the United States – not just once, but twice!  Okay, President Clinton was just there.  The Air Force Band was supporting an event he was at, and since he played saxophone, he sat in the band and played with us a few times.  But he did sit right in front of me!

 

I have had the distinct privilege of loving, and being loved, by a woman who has remained my partner and best friend for more than a quarter of a century.  And together we have watched our children, grandchildren, and now our great-grandchildren grow.

                                                                                                                                     

I have faced good times and bad times, and some very desperate times – one of which I dared to stare right into the face of death…and tried to tell light-hearted jokes.  I have taken on the good, the bad, and the ugly, and I’m still here, still trying, still loving, still living.

 

I have visited more places on this earth than I can even remember, and shaken the hands of the dignitaries, the rich, the middleclass, the poor, the young, the old, the sick, and the dying.  I have listened to the individual stories of people all over the world and laughed with them, cried with them, and tried very hard to give them my sincere concern and understanding.

 

In a nutshell, I have lived!

 

But that’s my story.  I know my story, so I’m not interested in it.  I’d rather hear your stories.  So what amazing things have you done in your life?  What triumphs have you experienced.  What heartaches have you endured?  What kind of life…have you lived?