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Rod
served four years in the Navy during the Korean Conflict, and seventeen in
the Air Force, including a year in Vietnam. Upon his retirement from the Air
Force in 1973, he began a second career in education with the Roanoke City
School System where he retired in 1991. His real love, however, has always
been writing. His first book Blindspots, Deflections, and
Thunderheads was a compilation of thoughts, poems, and a
few short stories. The most compliments he received on the book were on
the illustrations by Rocky Mount artist/writer Barbara Yount Coyne and the
photograph on the back cover by Roanoke Photographer David Youngblood. After
Blindspots, he began the more serious and
demanding work, To Feed the Gorilla, that delves
into the mysterious murder of Craig County's Gene Allen McPherson. In
gathering material for the book, he conducted numerous interviews with
convicted murderer John Colclasure at Red Onion State Prison. He also
conducted interviews with anyone who could provide any information at
Newcastle, Salem, Richmond, and Elizabeth City, North Carolina, as part of
the preparatory process. The book, now in the final editing stages, leaves
many questions unanswered. His third book, Tyler's Shop, was
the most fun to write and is currently on sale at Ram's Head, or it may
be purchased directly from the author. Rod, one of the founders of Valley
Writers Chapter of the Virginia Writers Club, also includes golf, guitar,
painting, and church among his interests.
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