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The actor playing Patrick Henry has been playing and studying him for
seven years: he can answer any question in his Q. and A. Sessions. Here’s
the reason why I included him: Patrick Henry is symbolic of the
inspiration of DR. SIG SYNNESTVEDT with his subjects of American
Literature, History, and Speech. Sig proved to be the most dynamic
influence upon me during High School and then Junior College.
In my maturing years throughout adulthood, Sig Synnestvedt,
Richard Gladish, Emilie Asplundh, and Charlie Cole were the staunchest
mentors and most enthusiastic supporters in my chosen career as
Author-Educator. These four teachers demonstrated what makes
Bryn Athyn Academy and Bryn
Athyn College unique and priceless—teachers who show a life-long interest
in their students. Ralph Waldo Emerson encouraged all Americans to pass
along to others any good deeds done to us, so I have followed in the
Academy tradition by focusing on uses, leaving written legacies, and
showing a life-long interest in my students as well.
A summary of the last fifty years follow:
I am a fiction and
non-fiction writer and teacher of writing at Pima Community College in Arizona. I
worked as a teacher and career counselor in the Ohio and Arizona
Department of Corrections’ Education Programs for twenty years, forming
the inspiration for the prison anthology, co-edited with Robert Yehling,
entitled Freedom of Vision: Voices from Behind Prison Walls.
Published in May, 2007, it’s getting rave reviews and sales are brisk. I
have written a book on education and numerous literary essays based upon
my lifelong love of the teachings of mystical masters such as Emanuel
Swedenborg, Wilson Van Dusen, and on a far lesser scale, Henry David
Thoreau. One of two state finalists for the Arizona Correctional Education
Association’s Distinguished Lifetime Achievement Award in 1999, I have
seen many inmates achieve academic and literary successes far beyond the
public’s ability to conceptualize.
Now, I set about bringing my own
visions to life:
 A novel,
Moonlight,
Missiles, and Moana, drawn in part
from my own experiences in the Samoan
Islands, was published in summer of 2005. I came of age in a proud family
tradition of serving one’s country: a Marine in WWI, my father became a
Lieutenant Commander in the U.S. Navy during WWII, serving in the far
Pacific. I served from 1959-1963 in the USAF, following my father’s
footsteps, predominantly with the fabled 6th Weather Squadron (Mobile).
During my stint, I spent many months in American Samoa,
Nevada, and all over Tornado
Alley. I took special interest in the people, the natural surroundings,
and their spiritual and metaphysical components wherever I was stationed.
A lifelong follower of eminent
scientist, mystic, and revelator Emanuel Swedenborg, and graduate of The
Academy Boys’ School, I returned from the Air Force to become a Junior
College Honors Graduate of Bryn Athyn College in Pennsylvania. As a
student of American History and Literature, including History and
Literature of the American Indian, I earned my B.A. in English Literature
with Honors at the University of
Illinois, and my M.A. in American Literature at
Northwestern University. I began my
academic career in 1967 as a College and University Writing Faculty at
Elgin Community College and then
taught and developed new programs at Northern Arizona University. I earned
an M. Ed in Counseling and Guidance at the University of
Arizona, and began twenty years teaching and counseling in the
Ohio and Arizona state penitentiaries,
beginning with Urbana University in Ohio, which was
founded by Swedenborgians.
Now retired from the University and Prison System, I continue to teach
writing
 half-time
at Pima Community College. I am working to
establish a web presence in order to market
my trilogy
of Young Adult Inspirational Fiction, with titles including
Mustang Fever:
Run Free with
Wild Mustangs just released, and
the future Tornado Alley: Chasing Twisters
Across America, due out the summer of 2008. Along with thirty-five
other veterans from the Society of Southwestern Authors here in Tucson,
Arizona, I published a collection of short stories about veterans from the
Revolutionary Times up until the present. Duty, Honor, and Valor
came out of Veteran’s Day, 2006. I have outlines for additional books of
adventure, romance, and inspiration.
Happily
married to my college sweetheart, Beautiful Betsy, for forty years and
counting, I am the proud father of two daughters—with full families and
careers living here in Tucson, Arizona—and two adventurous sons, both
First Lieutenants currently distinguishing themselves on active duty in
the U. S. Army. Lt. Stephen Gladish II is deployed for a year as a combat
pilot of the Apache Longbow Attack Helicopter in Afghanistan, returning in
February, 2008. Lt. David Gladish works out of the Pentagon in
counter-terrorism, and earned a Joint Force Commendation Medal for
capturing/killing a specific number of terrorists during a spring 2006
deployment as a military intelligence officer with eleven Special Forces
troops behind enemy lines. Currently, BW Betsy and I have six
grandchildren; when the sons get married, imagine the activities of those
grandchildren: so we go to Desert Fitness during the week, and we hike a
new trail every Friday morning, just like Frank and Louise Rose. We love
being out in nature, we love the desert climate and the sunshine, and we
love to travel. However, we miss the great companionship of all
former military and academic
classmates, and often wish we lived nearer to you.
Stephen B. Gladish ,
Author -
Educator,
www.stephenbgladish.com
follow your heart... live your adventure.
Go to:
www.stephenbgladish.com/test. for the soon to be updated website. |
