Occupation: I have two businesses. One is SoNo Woodworks in Sandy Hook. We do custom furniture and cabinetry; the other is Connecticut Pyro Manufacturing. We make machinery for manufacturing fireworks. I invented and patented a machine about 15 years ago that applies the paper to the outside of the aerial shell. It does what is otherwise done by hand, ten times faster.

Family: My wife is Connie. We have a son, Jimmy, who is 18 and a senior at Newtown High School. Our daughter, Sarah, is 13 and an eighth grader at Newtown Middle School.

Pets: We have a cat, Spicy, who lives behind the sheetrock in the attic. She’s just a little weird. All of our pets are rescues. Our latest rescue is a dog, Molly, a mutt we adopted about a month ago. She’s still adjusting to us. And we have a five-foot-long corn snake, named Fluffy. We’ve had her for about three years.

How long have you lived in Newtown? We’ve lived in Newtown for 12 years. We moved here from Norwalk.

What do you like to do in your free time? I like to fiddle with electronics and electronic circuits. I like to play music. I play guitar and bass. I also like to play hockey and play with The Old Crabs, in Danbury. I do write technical articles, too, for pyrotechnic magazines.

What kind of music do you like to listen to? My favorites are Frank Zappa and Muddy Waters. I like Zappa’s compositional skills. I’m a blues musician fan, and Muddy Waters is my favorite of the old-timers.

Do you have a favorite travel destination? I think Malta is a place I’ve been to in the last few years that I really enjoyed. It’s kind of unique and not a lot of people go there. It’s an island off of Europe in the Mediterranean Sea. It’s a blend of Arabic, European, and English cultures. As a family, we often go to Jefferson City, in the panhandle of Florida. We have friends there.

What is the best thing about Newtown? It’s the Newtown landfill. It’s run by a topnotch, professional staff. They’re great public servants down there. I like being able to pull my truck up to a dumpster and offload my junk. It’s exceptionally well run.

Who has been the greatest influence in your life? I’m going to say my mother, Keren Widmann. She was a school teacher, and a writer. She then became an entrepreneur for over 30 years, and is still at it, in her mid-80s. She opened The Silk Purse, a consignment shop in New Canaan that has become a kind of New Canaan institution.

Do you have a personal philosophy? “Live and let live,” is probably the most succinct description of my philosophy.

Do you have a guilty pleasure? I really don’t. I don’t feel guilty about any of the pleasurable things in life.