I was born in Virginia and raised in Germany. I worked as a gardener and went to sea as an engine cadet. During an extended period of shore leave, I enlisted in the U.S. Army. I was stationed in Bavaria as an infantryman and subsequently studied history, archaeology, and religious studies in Heidelberg, Cluj (Romania), and Leiden (Netherlands) as well as German philology in Darmstadt. At the moment, I work as a lifeguard after spending a few months with a circus.