About Me

Me

Introduction

I hadn't planned on writing anything about myself on the site at all, but some people (mostly Patty and her friends) suggested that I did and also include a few pictures of myself, hence these few pages and photographs...

My mum used to say "it's better to be born lucky than rich", when I was in my teens she ued to say that I was a lucky person. I have been, I've travelled a great deal of the world, met some wonderful people, had some fantastic experiences and nearly always enjoyed good health.

I'm supposed to be fairly intelligent, but that has never stopped me from doing some really dumb things. But, even the stupidest of things I've done have a habit of working out, if not well, at least not too badly. These two traits are just as well, I've always been very quiet, but I've an "A" type personality which means I'll try things just for the hell of it.

I usppose my worst traits are that I get very impatient, I don't understand why some people are as lazy and stupid as they are and I absolutely detest being lied to.

Patty has a badge that reads "Please take a number and stick it up your ass."

Please take a number

It's one of my pet peeves, sometimes if I'm standing in a queue in a supermrket, a line of traffic, the countless hours I used to spend at the INS (American Immigration & Naturalization Services) now the USCIS (United States Citizenship and Immigration Services) offices when I first moved to the United States, I could feel myself getting really angry and frustrated. Not for long, and it soon goes away, but so against my usual nature.

Something else I do that drives Patty batty and that is I get very focused on whatever I'm doing at the time. Once started on something I won't stop until it's either completed or proved without doubt that it's beyond my capabilities. It's not necessarily a bad trait, but poor Patty sometimes gets ignored and very frustrated with me because of it.

I'm twice married. I suppose like most people, the first time I got married I thought it would be forever. Unfortunately Trish, although witty and intelligent, very quickly turned out to be an alcoholic, liar and thief - probably because she was (is?) a paranoid schizophrenic. The film about schizophrenic mathematician John Nash, "A Beautiful Mind" (2001, directed by Ron Howard) gives a rose-tinted glimpse into her world. If you've ever seen the film and thought it was a horrendous thing to go through, let me assure you the reality of being or living with an alcoholic paranoid schizophrenic is much, much worse. There is a saying, or rather a curse, often said to be of Chinese origin but is an American invention that says, "May you live in interesting times". That'''s what my marriage to Trish was like. I ended up being a lot poorer in almost every way and with the feeling I'd been mugged repeatedly. She ended up being having to be looked after by the Social Services. If you or someone near to you has an untreated mental disease GET HELP NOW, you both need it.

Before I met Patty this page contained "Best moment in my life - the day I married Trish. Second best moment - the day she left."

One day I was explaining to Patty why some British people have letters like M.B.E., O.B.E. etc. after their names. For a while she started introducing me to her friends as Ray Thomas S.S.C. Where S.S.C. stands for Silver Swimming Certificate - the only initials after my name I'll ever get. I passed my 1 mile swimming test in 1984, even though I'd swallowed so much water I could have walked the last 1/4 of it.

Patty, my wife, companion and friend - May 2004

Patty, May 2004

Us, July 16, 2000 Patty, Arc de Triomphe, Paris, September 22, 2008 Patty, Catacombs, Paris, September 24, 2008. The sign above her head in English is Stop! This is the Empire of the Dead March 9, 2010 March 9, 2010 Patty, Detroit, June 12, 2012 Us, July 20, 2013 Us, August 4, 2014 Us, December 2, 2016 Us, 2018. This was at Patty's high school reunion and it was hot! Us, December 6, 2019 at the Scott College of Business, Indiana State University Christmas party. Patty, December 8, 2020 Christmas Day, 2020 Patty, January 4, 2021. As we walked into Cracker Barrel the power went out. We ended up being the only two customers. An emergency-lighting lit dinner for two!

There's two songs I think of when thinking of Patty, my wife, love, companion and friend, Forever by Roy Harper and Kryptonite by 3 Doors Down.

Patty and I first started chatting together on the internet in 1997. We had no idea where our instant messages and emails would take us, but after a lot of humming and ahhing I left my home city of Bristol, England in September 2001 for my adopted home of Terre Haute, Indiana, America and we were married on November 10, 2001.

In the end, I'm just someone making do with who I am and what I've got, the same as everybody else.

I was born in August 1958, and in my time I have been a barman, cocktail waiter, van driver, soldier, programmer, student and web developer.

Those with a weak heart should open the next set of photos with caution!

This is my Aunt Vi holding me. I think that's a peaked cap on my head - or a tea cozy Christmas 1962 1969, me in my nice new Hengrove Comprehensive school uniform 1972 Cocktail waiter, Peebles Hotel Hydro, 1978. They could have told me about the crooked collar. Amsterdam, 1980. A little bit worse for wear. Paris, 1980 Barman, Mayors Arms, 1980 I've been to Hell and back. The post office in Hell, Norway, 1982 Arctic Circle, Norway, 1982 I'm a recruit! 1982 Glastonbury 1983. I've no idea how all that beer got there. My Renault 4, July 1984 My APC432, Exercise Lionheart, Germany, September 1984 Denmark, September 1988. The start of an army exercise. Taxpayers money being well spent! Denmark, September 1988. Digging our way across Scandinavia! My brother's wedding, April 1994. TALO - Tactical Air Landing Operations 1995 Grand Canyon, 1995 All dressed up, 1996 Does this style suit me? Sptember 2009 Zipline, Cape Enrage, Canada, August 2011 May 2013 Taking it easy, January 2014 My sister's wedding, 2014 Ray in disguise, July 2015 Ray in disguise, July 2015 Ray in disguise, July 2015 Ray in disguise, July 2015 Party, October 2015 Paddling in the Mighty Mississippi, Itasca State Park, Minnesota, July 2016 Christmas, 2017 Afternoon tea at The Ritz, London. Mum, Patty, my sisters and brother, September 2018 Halloween 2018 Alligator wrangling, Walnut Prairie Wildside, July 2019 Keeping the kids amused while trying not to drown, 2019 A million dolars, Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, November 2019

Other pages in this section

Graduation - Graduation from Ivy Tech
Injuries (1) - Various injuries I have suffered
Injuries (2) - Various injuries I have suffered
Injuries (3) - Various injuries I have suffered
Injuries (4) - Various injuries I have suffered
Shoes - The sad fate of my shoes
Favourite Music and Films