About Me
Someone, I don't know who, once said that you can't write a good country song if
you're younger than 30, because you haven't experienced enough life yet. I
guess I now qualify to write country songs.
My name is Vance Elderkin. I live in the state of North
Carolina in the United States of
America.
I quit keeping track of my birthdays once I hit 39. (If
someone asks my age, I will tell them, "39-95, plus shipping and handling.") Here is
a sampling of some of the life that I have experienced, in no particular
order:
I was born and raised in Pennsylvania. I have also
lived in Ohio, Colorado, and North Carolina.
My father was a corporate attorney. He
lived with us for the last five years of his
life until his death at age 89.
His presence was a huge blessing to my family,
even though he never believed it.
My mother died of cancer. My brother died of a heart attack at
age 38, leaving a wife and three children.
I have a Bachelor's degree in
Speech Communication and a Master's degree in Radio, Television, and Motion Pictures,
with a minor in Journalism.
(Aren't you impressed?)
My college concert band and
jazz band performed some of my music. It
was thrilling.
Some of the jobs I've done: dance club disc jockey, radio personality, TV news
anchor, broadcast engineer, amusement park ride operator, retail inventory auditor, door-to-door vacuum cleaner salesman,
door-to-door fund raiser, standardized test grader, community band conductor, web site designer,
college professor.
I have also been a public address announcer for NCAA Division I volleyball,
softball and women's basketball, as well as Division III football and aquatics for the World Special Olympic Games.
I am a freelance
voice actor. My recording and production
studio is in my home -- very handy.
I am a
communication instructor for a community
college, mainly teaching college courses in area
high schools. (Trust me, it's never
boring.) Before that, I taught at North
Carolina State University for 18 years.
I am a self-taught webmaster
who is neither an expert computer programmer nor
a gifted graphic artist. I learn what I
need to get the job done, and use whatever tools
are necessary. I try to practice the philosophy
that the medium is NOT the message -- the web
site is a tool to convey information, not an end
unto itself. I have evaluated web sites
for awards since April 2000, and was honored to serve
for three years as Director of Operations for the Association
for Positive Ethical eXchange (APEX). I currently serve as Provisional
Executive Officer.
I am an electronics
engineer. I hold a General Class
Radiotelephone License (with Ship Radar
Endorsement) and a Restricted Radiotelephone
Operator Permit from the U.S. Federal
Communications Commission. I am authorized
to repair commercial radio and television
transmitters, two-way radios, and shipboard
radar installations. My hands really don't
work well enough to do that kind of thing any
more.
I tried to start a multi-level marketing business. I failed.
For a time, I had to support my family with Food Stamps because I was sick
and couldn't work.
I have been married to the
same wonderful woman since 1978. She works
for a commercial real estate broker, and is the
smartest, most beautiful woman I have ever met. A song I wrote for my wife was
performed at our wedding. For our Silver (25th) Anniversary, I wrote another song for her,
which I performed and presented to her on a CD. She cried.
I have two children: my son is
29, and my daughter is 26.
My
son (a gothic metal musician and limousine driver) lives at home; my daughter (an office
manager for a limousine company)
suffers from Guillain-Barré
Syndrome, a rare immune system/nerve disorder
which abruptly put her in a wheelchair for six
months. After months of therapy, she can
walk again. Her recovery is still in
progress.
I am still dealing with
the fact that I am now a grandfather. It's
kind of nice.
My parents-in-law were wonderful people.
My father-in-law suffered a massive stroke, and was in a wheelchair for 17 years
before he died. I never heard him complain.
I am an evangelical Christian, raised as a Methodist. My beliefs influence the content on this
site. I offer no apologies. However, I respect your beliefs,
whatever they may be.
My favorite television shows are Are You Smarter Than a 5th
Grader? and Dragon's Den. I also enjoy The West Wing and WKRP in Cincinnati, and I am a diehard fan of the Star Trek
television shows, in particular The Next Generation.
I enjoy watching many sports
(except baseball, which lost me forever during
the last players' strike). In particular I
enjoy NASCAR racing. (For those who don't
know, the letters stand for National Association
for Stock Car Auto Racing.) My favorite
driver is Morgan Shepherd, who drives the #89
car in the NASCAR Nationwide series.
(By the way, there are only
two types of teams in the National Football
League: the Pittsburgh Steelers, and
teams that WANT to be.)
My ten favorite movies, in
alphabetical order: The Adventures of Don Juan,
The Court Jester,
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade,
Monty Python and the Holy Grail,
Rocky,
Rudy,
Singin' in the Rain,
Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home,
Star Wars Episode 6: Return of the Jedi,
The Wizard of Oz.
My ten favorite books, in
alphabetical order: Ball Four (Jim Bouton),
The Camera Never Blinks (Dan Rather), Have A Nice Day! (Michael "Mick" Foley),
The Holy Bible, How to Win Friends and Influence People
(Dale Carnegie), The Hunt for Red October
(Tom Clancy), Left Behind (Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins),
A Study in Scarlet (Arthur Conan Doyle),
Superjock! (Larry Lujack), Tough Times Never Last, But Tough People Do! (Robert Schuller).
I am a cancer survivor.
I am horribly allergic to any animal with fur, especially cats.
Naturally, my daughter has two cats, a dog and a hamster.
I have had a hurricane pass directly over my house. (Miraculously, I
only lost one tree in my yard and the gutters from my house.)
I have arthritic hands bad enough that I can no longer
painlessly write
more than a few words with a
pen. (Fortunately, typing doesn't hurt. I'm not sure why, but I'm
not complaining.)
I am diabetic. I also
have chronic lymphedema in my legs, possibly
related to one of my cancer surgeries.
Lucky me -- I get to wear pantyhose.
(Actually, they're compression stockings.)
I also spend a few hours every week hooked up to
a machine which forcibly squeezes fluid out of
my legs. It feels like a large snake
swallowing my legs. I don't like it.
I have sleep apnea, and have to sleep every night hooked up to a CPAP
(Continuous Positive Airway Pressure) machine so I don't stop breathing.
My wife now can't get to sleep unless the machine is turned on.
I believe that my most interesting days are still ahead.
I believe that I am the luckiest man in the world.
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