"A Different Drummer"

"If a man does not keep pace with his companions,
perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer.
Let him step to the music which he hears,
however measured or far away."
-- Henry David Thoreau -

My name is Richard Stevenson, and I welcome you to my personal life history web site. I have called my life history "A Different Drummer" because of the rather unusual life I have lived. There is much to tell, and though I have called it done, I may still add things to my history as I remember them. Because of this, and if you find this history interesting, I would suggest you drop by now and then to see if I have added anything else since your last visit. You may be surprised, or amused, or maybe even shocked at any future additions I make to my site.
Or, maybe not.

Note: At the end of this home page, I will always show the date of the last update,
and I will include what was changed, or added, in that update.

Click here to see pictures of me and my present family. I uploaded these pictures in July 2014.

A Short Introductory Overview of My Life

I was born June 7, 1944, the day after D-Day of World War II, in a very small town called Manti, Utah. This town is about 120 miles south and east of Salt Lake City, and almost in the very center of the beautiful state of Utah. When I was twelve years old my family moved to Provo, the city where Brigham Young University is located. When I was 30, a little over a year after getting married, I moved with my wife and baby daughter to Salt Lake City. I have been here ever since. I presently live in West Jordan, a suburb of Salt Lake City. I have been married twice, and divorced twice. I have fathered two children, a daughter born in 1974 and a son born in 1977. I have also been a step father to three other children from my second marriage, which ended in 1998. I am presently single and live alone, and plan to do so for the rest of my life.

I am an amateur musician, enjoying music as a piano and organ player, as a solo and choir vocalist, and as an avid classical music fan. I have worked on countless projects in many areas of music as a soloist, accompanist, arranger, and composer. Music is indeed a very big part of my life. While in the army I was fortunate to be involved with two musicals as the pianist/accompanist. One of these musicals, The Fantastiks, we took on tour throughout Germany. I have also been an organist for several churches of various denominations. For nearly ten years I was accompanist for the Mountain Vista United Methodist Church Chancel Choir in West Jordan, Utah. For the last fifteen years I have also played the service music for the traditional service, and occasionally with the Praise Band for the contemporary service at the same church.

In 2002 I gave my first performance under the title of "Fool's Nite Out," a concert of fun, foot tappin' music using novelty and sing-a-long type songs such as "Inka, Dinka, Doo" (the song made famous by the late Jimmy Durante) , "Your Cheatin' Heart," "Hey, Good Lookin'," "Give Me That Old Time Religion," and many others.

In past years I have been an usher at Utah Symphony performances, and now, as a patron, I occasionally attend performances of the symphony, Ballet West, and less occasionally, the Utah Opera. Also in past years I have worked with a Cub Scout chorus which gained national recognition. I have played with an amateur community symphony, and now in years passed, I was involved with a very popular "Broadway Tonight" musical every other spring. I spend a good deal of time reading non-fiction and wandering around on the internet. I am an amateur radio operator, callsign KB7RPK, and I have a number of email friends all over the world. Most of all that I do is connected with my enjoyment of music, my search for knowledge, and my enjoyment of other people. I will write more about these things as I write my full history.

Occupationally, I have had many different kinds of jobs. Among others, I have been a school teacher, an insurance agent, a bowling alley pinsetter mechanic, a central telephone office equipment installer, a data communications officer, a computer specialist, a telecommunications analyst and voice project manager, a short and gladly given up involvement in the retail business and call center worlds, and finally a happy return to the surreal life within the bowling business. I would be quite surprised if I strayed from where I am now until well into my retirement years. I also keep trying to work on another web site I have envisioned for several years, but simply haven't been able to spend the required time in that pursuit. I do hope, though, that eventually the active site will be reached using its own link, HomespunStudios.Com, which now shows only the existence and ownership of the domain name.

The Comprehensive Life History of

Richard L. Stevenson

Part One -- Chronological History

Introduction

My Ancestry Childhood Years Teen Years Missionary Years Army Years

My First Marriage I Become Who I Was Meant To Be My Second Marriage

Current Status and Future Outlook Final Words and My Own Eulogy

Part Two -- Beyond Chronology

The Master List

This section contains non-chronological writings such as people I have known, places I have visited, things I have done,
and other topics of personal interest. The master list is what I will be working from. You can look at the
list to see what I plan to write about, and when I add something, I will link directly to it from the list.
The links below will take you to my work history and to special events that occur
from time to time. I will update them when appropriate.

My Resume My Random Thoughts Diary My Music

Personal Favorites

Renouncing Adulthood Desiderata A Sin The Secret of Gunlock

This area will always be under constant change and will include links to things like great jokes,
original fiction, poetry, and other writings, interesting animations, images,
and basically anything that I find intriguing and wish to share.

Cowpoke Wisdom My Ghost Cat The Dr. Phil Test

BB's in the Soup Know Your Dicks Beans, Beans A Woman Scorned

Unwise Predictions Dr. Laura Inner Strength Practical Matters Did You Know?

Other Web Sites Worth Visiting

The New Scientist The Secular Web

Utah Lighthouse Ministry JR Cigars Classical Music Site

Web Humor Site The Onion

Hope you had a good time here. Please visit again sometime!

Goodbye!

If you would like to write to me, please do so at:
Richard Stevenson
Salt Lake City, Utah

Last Update: September 2015

I have finally finished my life history, including my proofreading of all the sections. There is a good possibility that I still missed a lot of mistakes in the texts, but I will not go looking for them. If I do run across some of them, or find other things I would want to change, or even add, I'll make the corrections and additions and note them here if I feel it is important to do so. Otherwise, I'm through, and I'm satisfied with my history as it now stands.

New Additions:

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