About Me

My name is Dave. I lived most of my childhood on Oahu, Hawaii before moving to the Bay Area. I attended Lewis & Clark College in Portland, Oregon, graduating with a BA in Philosophy. I love the Great Pacific Northwest, though I try to get to Hawaii as often as I can. Hawaii is amazingly beautiful. Among the many activities I love, bodysurfing is my favorite. There’s nothing like being inside the middle of a tube in the warm, glorious ocean.

Words sequenced in just the right order first spoke to me in my junior high school English class when we read Hemingway’s The Sun Also Rises. Our teacher prompted us regarding a part of a scene, a part easily missed, and I got it. I didn’t just intellectually get it. I understood the scene because it mirrored experiences of longing I’d had myself. I believe in the enduring power of the written word. I’ve spent my entire adult life working with words, during which time I’ve written a novel although I’m still figuring out what to do with the manuscript.

Volunteering has been important to me, as well. I was with a literacy program for five years at which I tutored people how to read. Most of the people who came to us struggled with homelessness and low incomes. Two and a half years in, I helped to turn the quarterly newsletter into a monthly newspaper. The monthly eventually became what is now known in Portland as Street Roots. I’ve also assisted Northwest Pilot Project find new housing for people forced out of their low-income apartment buildings. 

Besides reading, writing, working with words, and volunteering, I have numerous interests. These include the well-being of our planet and our environment, animals, Hawaii, bodysurfing, wine, sports, theory, spirituality, religion, music, movies, cocktails, food, Portland, politics, the economy, architecture, my friends, and my partner, Jen.