I was born and raised in southeastern Pennsylvania, between Valley Forge National Park and Washington’s Crossing, near the historic spot where General Francis Nash was killed in a Revolutionary War battle and buried in the Towamencin Mennonite Church cemetery.
I have studied many things formally and informally, including technology, communications, education, finance, economics, data visualization, music and history. I earned an interdisciplinary PhD in communications, technology and education, along with two related master’s degrees and a related bachelor’s degree. However, I know that you don’t need a degree or expert professor to pick up a book and read it to learn.
Over my three previous careers, I have worked in the IT industry as a usability analyst, user experience designer, information architect and data visualization designer. In public education, I taught communications as assistant professor, and in commercial printing, I worked as an offset press operator.
Over my lifetime, you could say I’ve been around. I have lived in several places, including Wake County North Carolina, Fairfax County Virginia, Denver Colorado, Spokane Washington, Wayne Nebraska, Columbus Ohio, Bowling Green Ohio, Lancaster County Pennsylvania, Chester County Pennsylvania and Montgomery County Pennsylvania. I have the license plates to prove it!
I am now unofficially-retired, independently wealthy, entertaining myself as an author, consumer researcher, financial analyst, political philosopher and guitarist. I love learning, reading, writing, playing guitar, woodworking, swimming, hiking in the Rocky Mountains and spending time with my family.
I have experienced and learned many things over my lifetime and felt that others could benefit from this somehow, so I developed this blog site. I am now writing a hybrid history novel, “Journey Toward a More Perfect Union” that I hope others will appreciate.
My heroes are consumer advocate Clark Howard, David Gardner of the Motley Fool, Dr. D. James Kennedy, Winston Churchill for courageously standing up to evil when no one else would, Frederick Douglass for achieving freedom, wealth and stature from slavery, and Abe Lincoln for transcending poverty and politics to do great things.
Another hero of mine is my father, Walter Schlegel, who was an ordinary man of the greatest generation, who did extraordinary things, without a high school degree, with only initiative, grit and determination. With his finances, he was able to retire independently wealthy. My father modeled hard work, frugality and determination, and taught me the basics of investing and how to resourcefully do things for myself.
In the army’s front lines of WWII, he rose to the rank of sergeant. He saved at least one man’s life, as he crawled across the firing line of sight to rescue a man from certain death. He was held captive by the Germans for a short time, and nearly had his legs amputated as gangrene set in from his trench feet. He once told me another amazing, true story (among many more) about the German colonel he captured single-handedly, along with 40 of his men (I still have his sword). The colonel told him, “With the American determination and the German know-how (technology), together, they could lick the world!” Well, the Americans have indeed licked the world, without the German’s help, economically and technologically.
Every day, I thank God for our members of the armed forces for the costly freedoms I enjoy from their sacrifices. I am also thankful for my dad, mom, and my wonderful wife, Vangie! The power of a united family trumps the power of any social movement, army or government!
I hope you’ve found my site helpful.
Ron