Occupation: For 20-plus years I've owned Wolfman Productions, a booking agency for speakers, debates, and professional arts programs, mostly for universities and colleges in the US and Canada. We're located in Southbury. I have a new venture, wit
Occupation: For 20-plus years Iâve owned Wolfman Productions, a booking agency for speakers, debates, and professional arts programs, mostly for universities and colleges in the US and Canada. Weâre located in Southbury. I have a new venture, with my wife, also a booking agency, but with content for middle and high schools. My third small business books programs into corporations for diversity training. A peculiar thing that I do that dovetails with the college and corporate bookings is that I own multiple machines that I ship all over the world for diversity training. People have the opportunity to have their pictures taken and âchangeâ their race. Thereâs a lot of racism and hate in the world. Weâre trying to have people consider their preconceived notions of race by seeing themselves as another race. The machine was developed by a New York City artist, and Iâve redesigned the software somewhat to take it to a new level. And along the way, I had a three-year diversion as a partner in Mocha Coffeehouse in Sandy Hook Center.
Family: My wife, Gina, and I have a daughter, Emma, who is 13 and an eighth grader at Newtown Middle School. Sophie is a sixth grader and is 11 years old.
Pets: We are very fond of pit bulls in my family. Much to the consternation of our friends, we have the dreaded rescue pit bull. Lucy is our second one, and Grommet was our first pit bull. Thereâs never been any aggression from either. The are just great. They are sensitive and obedient to a fault. And we have rescued two, tiny painted turtles. Everyone loves them.
How long have you lived in Newtown? We have been here about 16 or 17 years. We lived in Westchester County before that.
What do you like to do in your free time? I really enjoy hiking in the Upper Paugussett. It is one of the absolute gems of Newtown. I enjoy live music and music in general. Iâm a bit of a film buff and I enjoy reading. Iâm a pretty social guy, so we like to get together with friends.
Do you have a favorite musician? Iâm kind of a self-professed music snob, but influences over the years have ranged from Pat Metheny to John Coltrane, The Who, Led Zeppelin, and Pink Floyd. Iâve really been immersed in the indie scene. Radiohead would be one of my favorites from that scene. Another I really love is the artist Atlas Sound. He also fronts a band called Deerhunter. I like a lot of ethnic music, too.
Do you have a favorite travel destination? We believe the worldâs a huge place and you have to mix it up, so there is not one place we go back to. Last year, we went with four families from Newtown to the Southwest of the US. We flew into Phoenix, saw the Grand Canyon, flew out of Las Vegas. My favorite trip with the family was a couple of years ago, when we went to Costa Rica. It was the vacation of a lifetime. High on the list of places I would love to go to are Barcelona, and Iceland. And I really want to go to Cambodia and Vietnam.
What is the best thing about Newtown? Iâm a sucker for barns, ponds, and stonewalls, so I never get sick of that. And somehow, Iâve made some great friends in this town.
Who do you most admire? Iâve always had a penchant for the worldâs greatest clowns, in the broadest sense of that word, âclowns.â People like Peter Sellers, Steve Martin, John Clease, or Steve Carrell, I mean. They have the ability to be so brilliantly funny. Itâs a great gift to humanity.
Do you have a personal philosophy? The old proverbs, âCarpe Diemâ (Seize the Day) or The Golden Rule (Do unto others as you would have them do unto you). You canât go wrong with them. Personally, I wear this plastic bracelet that says, âAm I Being Kind?â Thatâs a good thing, kindness, and itâs hard to do. I like to think Iâm being kind to myself, to others, and to the planet. Life is indeed hard, so gratitude is a big one, too. When you can look at all the good stuff in your life, it takes you to new heights.
Do you have a guilty pleasure? Dark content in the media, like Dexter and Breaking Bad. I find it to be pretty thrilling when itâs well done. And good red wine, good beer, and bourbon. Those are my vices, I guess.