After
our Rhet year, I went east to Catholic U., along with Gary Passarino
and Dave Valtierra. Two years later, I found myself saying to a
classmate that I had been uncertain about my calling for a long time
and that maybe “It might look clearer from the other side of the
fence.” I left, and it did get very clear: I gradually realized that I
was not cut out to be a spokesman for any large organization. Anything
I really can’t agree with becomes a pebble in my shoe, and I can’t
ignore it.
I spent the next 7 years in jobs compatible with a BA in
Philosophy. I taught high school math in an inner-city girls high
school (what a change from the seminary!) and then ran a photo store
for Colorfax Labs, both in Washington DC. Then I came home and worked
for several years as a traveling baby photographer. An interest in
solar energy led me to stumble into my calling as an R&D engineer.
I first worked for a small company in Santa Cruz. That led to the
California Energy Commission, and then to UC San Diego in 1979. I’ve
lived in San Diego since then.
Joe and Kathy and their children Jenny and Heather
In 1982 I started going to talks about space technology. I was
invited to give a talk myself, about what one can do with long ropes in
space. (I had read about this in science fiction and analyzed it as a
hobby.) I learned that an Italian scientist had talked NASA into
taking this seriously, and I later proposed a simpler concept. It was
funded, and led to 4 successful space experiments from 1993 through
1996, vs 2 failures of the more complex system. After that second
failure, NASA’s overall interest in space tethers decreased. But the
Naval Research Lab and several companies remain interested. I am
working with them on concepts that may allow affordable collection of
most of the 2000 tons of debris now in low earth orbit. In short, after
decades of being called a space cadet, it finally sunk in that my
friends had been giving me good career advice...
I've been married 25 years. My wife Kathy is a social worker/counsellor
for Kaiser Permanente. (That name does come from the creek near Saint
Joe’s.) In 1993 we adopted 15-month old twins named Heather and
Jenny. They are now 23, living at home after a year at Humboldt
State, and working and studying part time. Heather plans to be an
RN, and Jenny a teacher.
I had a minor heart attack in 2002. They put 3 stents in the next
day, and another 4 in 2009. In 2008 I was also diagnosed with
atrial fibrillation, which an ablation plus meds have controlled.
Other than that, my health is fairly good. My main exercise is hiking.
Last summer I visited the grounds of St. Joe’s and did several 2-hour
hikes in the hills. It’s great hiking! In the last month, Kathy and I
have done 2 short day-hikes on the Pacific Crest Trail, north and south
from Mount Laguna. That may be the prettiest in Southern
California.
tether@cox.net
entered: 4/19/2015