I grew up on a farm on northern Wisconsin and spent lots of time in the woods and the great out of doors. A college deferment from Vietnam took me to a small, all male school in the Colorado Rockies. 25 years later my life was my own again. My brain switched from engineering to medicine in college. In 1974 I was off to 11 years of medical education, training and teaching in California starting at UC-San Diego (also Travis AFB in the bay area). 3 years in Germany provided lots of travel adventures and lots of running on the German Volksmarch trails. I ended up back at USAFA in Colorado and escaped the work stress by climbing mountains and running trail marathons. Work in the civilian sector ended up with burnout and frustration with the insurance companies and HMOs. I left to continue with the trail running and to finish the 14ers only to find that I need 2 new ankles. As a result, I am an "accidental woodturner". Lowell Converse first gave me a clue in March of 2007 which was followed by a week with Stuart Batty in August and then Mike Mahoney in November leaving me with lots to practice. I return to the family farm near Wausau to visit and to gather burls. I continue volunteer medical work at Tri-Lakes Cares. I am a mentor in the Pikes Peak Woodturners. I like working with the North American hardwood burls as well as utilitarian bowls and platters. I have evolved into a Robust American Beauty, McNaughton coring, and the Trent Bosch hollowing system. I have a new iMac and have learned how to re-size the photos so I will finally be posting here and there. Camilla and I enjoy traveling and have been to Spain, Corsica, Greece and Ireland in the last years. We will be spending more time in Point Loma (San Diego) in her family home over the next few years.
- Bob Gibbs