Koi box

To paraphrase Groucho Marx, “I was born at a very young age” in Tucson, Arizona on February 15, 1940. Mom and I waited for Dad to come home from the war, which he did in 1945 and then we followed him over the world for the next 14 years. I married my high school sweetheart (we were also at a very young age) and I was blessed with three beautiful kiddos during the next 8 years. I graduated with a Masters in Microbiology and took and real job. But I soon discovered that “real” jobs are really boring. So I applied for a commission in the U.S. Navy and was accepted. The Navy turned out to be more fun, a lot of work, but more fun. I liked the Navy so much, I retired after 22 years and was soon bored again, until I discovered woodturning. I struggled trying to teach myself turning with little success until I went to my first SWAT symposium and fell in with a group of local turners and we formed the Brazos Valley Woodturning Club. I was elected the club’s first president. That was 14 years ago and I have been having fun ever since.

- Joel Crabbe