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Personal |
Brief Biography
I was born in March 1945 in Tuscumbia,
Alabama, where, at age 7, I encountered my first memorable herp in the field (a
rough green snake, Opheodrys
aestivus). I grew up as a "boy herpetologist" in Tuscumbia
and, at age 11, moved to Massillon, Ohio, where my herpetological interests,
and collecting, continued to grow (unfortunately, I was totally ignorant of the
local Ohio Herp Society, later to become the international Society for the
Study of Amphibians and Reptiles!). In high school, I was the weird guy
who read Ditmars' snake books in study hall and collected herps with my high school buds.
I attended college at Harding College in Arkansas where I experienced
southern herps west of the Mississippi. The copperhead (Agkistrodon contortrix)
that I, as a freshman, dug out of hibernation in January 1964 still stands as
the Arkansas state size record. In Arkansas I also met Sharon Lisle from
Canyon, Texas; she and I have been married 42 years. Sharon doesn't
particularly like herps but she's a great field companion as well as a great
wife and mother! After Harding, Sharon, Sam (our parrot), and I went to
Utah State University for a master's program, where, in 1969, I eventually lost
the battle to avoid the Draft. Of significance in Utah was my first
exposure to herping in an arid environment. I managed to avert having to
experience the herps of Viet Nam but did serve two years with Uncle Sam as a
psychiatric technician in Ft. Ord, California, where I was introduced to herps
of the West Coast, and Ft. Sam Houston, Texas, where I experienced the fabulous
herps of Trans-Pecos Texas and the Chihuahuan Desert. It was here that I
continued to develop a love of arid land ecology and the deep feeling that I
would someday return to the desert to do herp research (a dream that was
finally realized in 1997).
After finishing my Ph.D. at the University of Kansas, a truly great experience
with a fine group of herpetologists, I returned to Harding College (now Harding
University) where I have been teaching since December 1975.
Sharon and I have two grown children (and former field companions),
Scott Plummer and Melissa Vollmering of Arlington, Texas. Helping these
two fine young people grow up and find their niche in life was the hardest job
I ever had (and also the one from which I received, and continue to receive,
the greatest pleasure and satisfaction)! Sharon always has had an uncanny
ability to let me know quickly when I was spending too much time on my research
at the expense of the more important things in life. Thanks, Sharon, for
helping me keep my life in proper perspective. Solomon once asked,
"A good wife, who can find?" The answer is -- Me!
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