This is where I started my first real job with Disney.
I’ve had two careers, first with Disney then others in the theme park world. That included 11 years with Walt Disney Imagineering. Then my second career was journalism in television with the Orange County Newschannel and newspapers with the Orange County Register.
In September 2017 I stepped away from working as a full time journalist. So now I’m embarking on my third career. What will it be? Well, that’s what I’m looking at discovering, and planning to have some fun at it. I like to enjoy my work.
I think of myself primarily as a writer, a storyteller in any medium. I’ve had the good fortune to tell stories in the theme park world and in news, and get paid for it. I am going to look for a full time job, but it’s tough out there so I’m going to pursue some other things while looking.
Whatever my third career is, it will still be as a storyteller.
I will continue to write about, take photos of, and shoot video about the theme parks. Right now, I’m going to tell those stories for insidethemagic.net, and will post links to those stories here. Some will be about the new things at the Southern California theme parks, while others will be stories about my times helping to create some of the attractions.
On the fun side, I’m going to tell some stories about being the father of five children. Yes, that’s right, five children. We’ve had a lot of adventures over the years with them since my first was born in 1982, so look forward to some of those tales. But those tales will be told with a twinkle in the eye and a smile on my face, and after putting enough of those tales together, maybe a book.
On both a comical and somewhat serious side, I plan to write about the topic of aging.
Finally, totally on the fun side, I will also post stories, photos and occasional videos about trains, model trains, full-sized ones and more. Yes, it’s a passion of mine. I don’t have a model railroad (I hope to sometime as space and money becomes available) but love trains, particularly those with steam-powered engines.
There are some other ideas I’m pursuing. After all, all it takes is sitting down and writing them out – I love starting out with a blank page and filling it up with words. Oh sure, money helps, and my belief is that it will come. But the blank page doesn’t scare me like it does some people. All you have to do is put words on it.
So anyone out there with ideas needing a good storyteller, in theme parks, news, television or other, give me a call.
Look out world, here I come again for career #3.
