I first became interested in Tracey about 4-years after my divorce. She sat in the first row and sang in the Unity Church of the Triangle (UCT) not long after I moved from Woodbridge to Raleigh to be closer to my children living there. Her singing could bring tears but she was clearly in a relationship after going through a divorce herself. So, I plotted my way into her life one step at a time. She needed help in the UCT with computer issues…oh yeah, my opportunity. Along the way, Raleigh had a massive flood, including UCT, so we worked together to ask for a little help from other Unity Churches…her writing, my “mail merge” that resulted in a nice $40,000 haul. Which got me thinking that this might be the cornerstone for getting a loan to purchase a real church so UCT could move out of the shopping center. I wrote the combination Loan Proposal / Business Plan that impressed the bank enough to move UCT uptown. (The VP at the bank said “Most impressive church plan, ever!”) Tracey ran the choir. I was on the board.

After many many hours together in office and on phone, we started dating and then married in 1997. Our key to success and happiness was our knowledge that our differences were our strength, so “Together we can solve any problem.” We’ve proven that to be true in our 30+ years together.

Tracey soon became an Interfaith Minister, ordained by One Spirit in NYC. Among many other ministerial deeds, she specialized in doing weddings for couples of different faiths who wanted both in their ceremonies. She was one of the first to do same-sex marriages when they became legal in DC and MD. She wrote and conducted my brother Tommy’s funeral.

Shortly after marriage, we committed to Annual Family Vacations with our boys, and sometimes with their girlfriends. Always somewhere new, different, and exciting. Tracey believes in ceremonies, so we had candlelight family dinners every night, highlighted by family conversations on everything from science breakthroughs to national politics. Very bonding for all.

We have moved seven times already: Raleigh NC, Edgewater MD, Annapolis MD, Ojai CA (2x), Ventura CA 2x, Santa Fe NM. Now figuring where to do one more move to a permanent owned home.