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How'd He Ever
Get This Way....
 Born in Indiana and raised in
Ohio, Galen Kindley is now a “naturalized citizen” of the Great
American Southwest. Citizenship requirements there are stringent and the
application approval time lengthy. However, after much wailing, weaseling,
waffling, and begging, he secured admission to New Mexico. He lives
quietly--and on his best behavior--in a small community above the Petroglyph
National Monument near Albuquerque with his wonderful, patient, and
understanding wife, Donna.
Galen enjoys
reading, writing, hiking the Sandia Mountains under just about any
condition--but fall especially, Olympic Trail Mix, white chocolate, Applets and Cotlets, skiing under control, dreary nights, quiet, movies, a summer evening's
warm breeze, the smell of lilac, the satisfaction of seeing a task
completed, connectivity, graciousness, compassion, selflessness, patience,
punctuality, dependability, comradeship, animals, and Hamlet. (According to
Galen, “The world's best story and the only thing of value I got from college.”)
Small wonder; his collegiate
record is less than stellar. He enrolled as a freshman at the University
of Cincinnati in the fall of
1967, but the disaster ended about a year later when he was rather bluntly to leave and--and,
like Felix Unger--to never return. Based on his
grades and class attendance, this was an eminently fair request. Galen
rationalized his predicament saying, “The world probably didn't need another
math major.” Apparently, the world agreed.
The United States Army, however, wasn't so
picky. Galen joined that august group in late 1968, graduating from helicopter
pilot flight training in November, 1969. Since he’d been very good all year
long, and it was just before Christmas, Santa rewarded him with an assignment to
the 190th Assault Helicopter Company, Spartans, in Viet Nam.
Talk about a lump of coal. Higher authority
eventually decided that a year of combat experience was more than sufficient,
and mercifully sent him to Fort Rucker, Alabama as an instructor pilot, where he
discovered flying with students was more dangerous than flying in Viet Nam! During
the course of the next nineteen years, he spent time in Korea, Germany, and
another “tour” at Fort Rucker. His assignments dealt exclusively with flying
and instructing. He retired from the Army in December, 1988 after four years at
Fort Lewis, Washington.
During his Army time he doggedly pursed
that elusive college degree, finally eking out the final credit hour requirements in late
1988. In December, he graduated with a bachelor of arts --in the event you’re
doing the math, that would be 20 plus years to obtain a four-year degree.
Elusive does not overstate the case. He
then began work as an Auditor for the Federal Government--who
never read this, his true, complete, and factually accurate bio, as opposed to
the "modified and improved" version he created and submitted during the hiring
process. But, it's of little consequence now, as he retired from that job
in February of 2009, also after 20 years. Apparently Galen never got the
memo about the felicity to be found in changing jobs more than once per 20
years.
Galen essentially “fell into” his writing
career. Many of the flying positions he held also required writing. As an
instructor pilot, he discovered the importance of verbal skills--a close cousin
to the written word. His auditor position required clear and precise writing to
communicate sometimes contentious results. Over time, he learned to appreciate
that word choice and sequence was more than a matter of happenstance. The more
he wrote, the more he enjoyed it. His tour in Korea sparked an interest in Asia
and led him to combine his growing interest in writing with his fascination for
things Asian. The result? Hearts of the Morning Calm, and
now, something much different...Betrayal, an action/adventure novel with
three converging plot lines set in two different eras and places: the Pacific
Northwest Territory of 1869, and the Seattle of 1970.
Galen loved to write both of
these novels. He hopes you enjoy reading them.
You'll find a synopsis and sample chapters of these novels, at
either, Hearts of the Morning Calm, or,
Betrayal
Thanks for your interest.
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