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About Mark My Life Story I was born and raised in Huron, Ohio, on Lake Erie. I graduated from the Pontifical College Josephinum High School, Worthington, Ohio, in 1959 and received a Bachelor of Arts there in 1963. I then joined the U.S. Army, became a Russian translator, and was stationed in Bad Aibling, Germany, for three years. Mary Jo and I married in 1970, the same year that I began my career in education. We have two children and four grandchildren. I earned another Bachelor's degree and a Master of Arts degree from Ohio State in 1977. After 31 years as a high-school teacher and middle-school librarian, I retired from the Whitehall City Schools in 2001 and became a professional storyteller and musician. We now reside in Reynoldsburg. How it all Started A huge cooper's hawk perched in a tree outside Rosemore Junior High in Whitehall, Ohio, where I was the librarian. Class after class came out to look up and admire this big bird which we named "Buster." I was overwhelmed with feeling about this bird. The mood of the whole building changed while the hawk hung around. We would see him on light poles and in the trees in the park out back. It was as if he had chosen our school yard as his temporary home and was trying to tell us something. I knew there was a story here. Luckily, our Tellabration, a night of storytelling put on by the Storytellers of Central Ohio, was being held the next evening, and a spot on the program had just opened up. I quickly thought out "Buster, the Bird" even though it meant (wonder of wonders!) skipping the OSU-Michigan game so I could rehearse. I told it that night in front of a large crowd, and I've been telling stories ever since. © 2009 Mark the Storyteller   Reynoldsburg, Ohio