I was born in America in 1967, and I grew up in Detroit. My wife, Carol Izumi, and I now split our time between San Francisco and Washington, D.C. (I have to check on my father, who lives alone at 90 just beyond the Beltway.) Our little dog, Bebe, goes everywhere with us. She was preceded by Buster and Ding Ding, both rescue mutts.
I am writing and running and taking photos. I hope to do another book, to follow Yellow: Race in America Beyond Black and White, which came out more than a quarter century ago. In retirement, I spend considerable time in the library. I was a writer with a day job before. I’m a writer now. I am re-reading Montaigne. I try to write 2500 words per day in my journal. As a vanity project, I am publishing for private distribution movie reviews originally posted to Letterboxd under a pen name; there are five volumes of four hundred pages each ready, with another five volumes planned. I have done an estimated 300 half marathons since starting in 2014, and I am out almost every weekend on trails. Last Saturday as of this writing, I did the Double Dipsea, with 4200 feet vertical gain, and I was not the DFL finisher. I have been enjoying film cameras, primarily a pair of vintage Contax G2s. I typically shoot Ilford HP5 pushed two stops.
In 2018, I had a significant health crisis. After months of errors, I was diagnosed with pemphigus vulgaris, a rare autoimmune condition that was 90% fatal before modern steroids — those didn’t work for me. I was on heavy doses of methotrexate and prednisone, which made me a drowsy paranoid. But the FDA approved monoclonal antibody infusions shortly after the specialists figured out my condition. I received Rituximab infusions, among the first cohort. I credit UCSF.
Earlier in life, I was an avid motorcyclist. I still have my 1990 Honda Hawk GT, a 650cc V-Twin ahead of its time, with a Two Brothers custom exhaust (and corresponding engine modifications), but I gave away my BMW K1200RS, to charity, painted bright yellow and named “Peril.” I also am a theatergoer and jazz fan. I “completed” Shakespeare twice, having had to add Edward III after it was acknowledged as likely canonical. I used to patronize Jazz Standard before they closed during the pandemic.
