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Life rarely follows a straight line
My story began in a turbulent childhood marked by family conflict, academic struggles, attention deficit challenges, and a path that, for a time, seemed headed in the wrong direction. As a teenager, I became a ward of the state and spent two and a half years living at Vista Del Mar, a residential treatment facility in
Los Angeles. Those years shaped me in ways I did not fully understand until years later.
More than five decades afterward, I returned to that experience and wrote Detour from Oblivion: The Legacy of Vista Del Mar. What began as a personal journey became something much larger. I interviewed former residents spanning several generations and discovered a remarkable collection of stories about resilience, adversity, friendship, loss, and redemption. The book is as much about them as it is about me.
Along the way, I have been fortunate to pursue many passions. Competition and sports have been lifelong teachers- whether in table tennis, gymnastics, roller skating and paddle tennis- even the memorable team events at the Vista Del Mar Olympics. They taught me discipline, perseverance, and how to embrace both victory and defeat.
Professionally, I spent more than fifty years in executive search and legal recruiting, helping lawyers and law firms navigate some of the most important decisions of their careers. The work allowed me to meet extraordinary people, build lasting relationships, and gain a front-row seat to leadership, ambition, and reinvention.
In recent years, I have also devoted time to another fascination: preserving pieces of American history through the collection of antique coin-operated machines, mechanical amusements, and early advertising window displays. These artifacts tell stories of creativity, innovation, and a bygone era that still has much to teach us.
This website brings together many of those interests—writing, history, collecting, athletics, business, and the people who have influenced my life. My hope is that visitors find something here that informs, entertains, inspires reflection, or simply sparks curiosity.
If there is one theme that runs through everything on these pages, it is this:
Our beginnings do not determine our endings. The detours often become the most meaningful part of the journey.
Feature Articles
Coin-Op Articles
Stories and essays on arcade culture, vending machines, collectors, operators, nostalgia, and the business behind coin-operated entertainment.
Daily Journal Articles
Legal industry observations, law firm reputation pieces, media commentary, and notes on how lawyers and firms are covered publicly.
What People Are Saying
JAMES R. THOMPSON
Chairman, Winston & Strawn
(Former 4-Term
Governor of Illinois)
"You hit a home run! …. The several partners you successfully represented to Winston & Strawn are all first-rate, and will play an important role in the growth of our new L.A. office. You have done a fine job.”