Personal

Nighthawk was born and raised in a small exurban village in the rolling hills south of the Adirondack Park. Coming from a rather progressively-minded family, and being quite liberal in his own political, economic, and societal views, Nighthawk was something of an anomoly in that small community dominated by farming, mining and lumber. Nighthawk never felt any stigma, however, growing up in such a place, and he still is in love with, and enjoys returning to, his childhood village of West Sand Lake, NY. While this town may have given Nighthawk his start in life, his home is no longer any given physical location, but the "wilderness", wherever that may be. Any place that he can evade the distractions of an increasingly cosmopolitan society and pause in reflection is now Nighthawk's home.

Nighthawk's interests lie primarily in outdoors activities and reading. Nighthawk spends most of his leisure time hiking, backpacking, sailing, kayaking, canoeing, camping, snoeshoeing, or in any other manner of wilderness activity. In terms of reading, Nighthawk will rarely take up modern fiction, but cherishes many forms of poetry, the great novels of old, and almost anything of class written for the theratre. Nighthawk also regularly finds philosophical, theological, and certain other theoretical texts quite stimulating. Despite what may seem rather reclusive interests, Nighthawk is a very social gentleman and is heavily involved in the social life of his academic department, as well as with the student governement at Cornell.

Nighthawk's personal description:

"I seek wisdom, understanding, illumination; I often am led to unexpected places in my search. Cities are too crowded, the amount of stimuation of the senses offered in such places dulls perception; they are to be avoided. I believe that time does not exist. I know it is hard to forever retain a friend. Therefore, my primary hope is to learn something from each friend, and to know that he or she may have learnt something from me in the time that we spend together. I believe that "conversation" is 20% talking, 30% listening, and 50% thinking. My friends can only use one word to describe me, "unique," because I am not actually one person, but several personages locked into a single corporal form. I never become angry, but sometimes I find myself annoyed by lack or judgement or reasoning. Spirtuality is not the absence of reason, but that which gives light to our ponderings.

"I am a teacher because I marvel at the joy and sense of wonder that children bring this world. I am a wilderness guide because I have perceived a glimpse of the wisdom that the mountains divulge. I am a liberal because I choose to acknowlegde, and not to ingore, the pain and suffering in this world. I have made the decision to observe and witness the need for change. I am a socialist because the greatest philosopher and king said that it was how we must live. I am a raconteur because wisdom must be perceived and divulged with all the senses. I am a vegetarian because I care for the environment and find gross overconsumption disgusting. I am a pacifist because violence never solved an issue of conflict. I am a son and a brother because I know what it is to be loved, and know what it is to love. I love because it hurts to much to hate. I laugh in order to retain sanity. I smile because my heart continues to beat and is not of stone. I look because I can see. I listen because I can hear. I sniff because I can smell. I touch because I can feel. I distinguish flavors because I can taste. I cry because I perceive a bleeding world.

"I am not an "American," but a citizen of this world. I am not "caucasian," but a member of the human race. I am not "male," because such terms reinforce offensive and entirely pointless gender roles and sterotypes. I am not "straight," because I will not accept society's oppressive definitions of personal sexuality. I am not "serious," because I am too insouciant. I am dead because no place exists/remains for us in the society in which we live. I am alive because I continue to learn, seek, teach, apprehend, and hope."

"...and his eyes have all the seeming of a demon's that are dreaming, and the lamplight oer' him streaming throws his shadow on the floor and my soul from out that shadow that lies floating on the floor, shall be lifted...nevermore."