Celebration - Real Stories

(This is a quick little drawing of a shuttle - I thought I should explain what it is in case it's not obvious.)

This semester I am helping in various ways on the creative writing graduate school journal. It is a national journal (we're looking for entries, by the way - let me know if you're interested) and we get submissions from all over the states (and even from Europe). It's interesting to see what kind of stories other people imagine up. But I find the biographies of the authors the most fascinating. Here are a few that caught my eye recently (I've taken out some information to avoid giving identity clues):

[A Manly Name], the author of this short story, has earned his daily bread as fire fighter, gold miner, house painter, occupations from which he has drawn much of his material as a writer.

A graduate of the [an academy] with a Ph.D. in physics, I have worked as a jet fighter pilot for the United state Air Force, a rocket propulsion expert for NASA, and a private flight instructor...When not flying or studying aviation, I enjoy painting and dancing the tango.

Born and raised in Leningrad, USSR, I immigrated to the US as a Jewish refugee...I was trained to be a concert pianist, but my career in music ended with a hand trauma soon after the move. I have a master's degree in theological studies from [a prestigious university], and I teach religious studies and philosophy while working on my doctoral thesis. In addition to my academic career, I work as a medical interpreter for patients with limited English skills...

People are so interesting.