In 1979, I rejected academics, quitting a secure job as professor of anthropology at WVU. I was tired of being in school. I wanted to be an “ordinary person.” After a time painting houses, I invested in a small business, Woodstove and Sun, focused on alternative energy, appropriate technology, and sustainability. This was my “second career.” At the same time, Kitty and I adopted a fourth child.

However, the “energy crisis” of the mid-70’s was ending and business was losing ground. Kitty finally put her foot down: one of us needed to have a regular full-time job. She took up her career in mental health counseling. I found a good job as Supervisor of Inspectors at the WVU Physical Plant. We supervised the work of outside contractors on campus, including elevator maintenance and repair. I wrote a contract for elevator service that provided us with more flexibility in repair projects. This was my “third career.”

In 1989 I enrolled in a graduate program in agricultural economics at WVU, thinking I would go into international development. I finished a master’s degree but I was disillusioned with the models of economics and development. In the College of Agriculture I moved into an adjunct position, working first with the Office of International Programs, and then as a research associate in agronomy and adjunct in agricultural education. From there I went in 1990 to the WVU College of Agriculture, and also resumed some part-time teaching of cultural anthropology at California State University of Pennsylvania.