About Grandpa TJ

Jack-of-all-trades, grandpa, emergency responder

I've spent a lifetime picking up trades, survival skills, and disaster-response know-how — from Boy Scouts and the Navy to General Contractor and CERT (Community Emergency Response Team). Here's the story behind how Ready 4 Emergencies came to be...

What I've learned along the way. And I'm not done yet...

A lifetime of tinkering, training, and showing up for family and community — grouped here so you can see the breadth at a glance.

Trades & tech

Accounting, Electrician, Electronics Tech, Locksmith, PC Build & Repair, Plumbing, Technical Writer, Computer Programmer, and Software Technical Support.

Scouts, US Navy, & survival schools

Certified Lifeguard, Scuba Diver, Classroom Instructor, Navy Survival Training: Fire Fighting, Deep Water, Jungle, Aircrew and SERE schools.

Family & home

Childcare, Cooking, Handyman, Homeowner, Home Plumbing, Home Electrical Repair, Architect, and General Contractor.

CERT & disaster response

Disaster Prep & Response: Medical Triage, Fire Fighting, Advanced First Aid, CPR, Mass Casualty Events, Amateur Radio Emergency Nets, and Incident Command.

How I learned these things

Like the Jack-of-all-Trades of old, I have always been interested in all kinds of things. Figuring out how all sorts of gizmos and gadgets work and reading about new inventions and technologies has been my bread and butter my entire life.

When I was a pre-teen, my parents would often give me broken radios and clocks just so that I could find out what made them tick. Quite often I would end up fixing them, to my parents' surprise!

This thirst for knowledge only grew stronger when I became a Scout and learned about the outdoors, first aid and self-reliance. My desire to learn new skills was so strong that I made Eagle Scout with more merit badges than were required. Scout summer camp for me was about learning everything from primitive lashings to horsemanship. I even completed the certified lifeguard and wilderness survival courses just for fun.

One summer I went through the entire Encyclopedia Britannica—the pre-internet internet—reading almost every article from A to Z. I even went so far as to take mail-order courses in locksmithing and electronics. Yep, you guessed it, I'm an information and gadget junkie… I love my gadgets, especially my Swiss Army knife!

Navy years

While I was in the Navy, I took advantage of every survival school offered, including jungle, desert and ocean survival courses. Because I was an aircrewman assigned to an aircraft carrier, I also received training in shipboard firefighting, damage control and fun stuff like ejecting from an aircraft over land and water. Not only did I learn how to survive parachute landings, but also how to escape and evade in hostile territory.

On my own time, I also became a certified scuba diver and sport parachute jumper. I know the next question… why on earth did I jump out of a perfectly good airplane? Because ‘a perfectly good airplane’ is a temporary condition! I prefer having a practiced way out.

I spent a lot of time maintaining and repairing both motorcycles and cars (mostly because I couldn't afford to have someone else fix them on a sailor's salary). Once I moved off-base, I also started fixing all kinds of problems around the places I lived. Simple plumbing, wiring and window repairs turned into bigger jobs like installing appliances such as gas ranges and water heaters.

It was the late '70s, well before the personal computer boom, when I bought my first PC and began studying computer programming, at first self-directed and then by getting a programming degree in college. I went on to be a professional computer programmer for over 40 years.

Family & home

As a teenager, I had a major role in caring for my newborn baby sister, so I wasn't a stranger to dealing with infant and toddler issues. I was hands-on through everything.

Next, I got married and soon babies came along. Three kids of my own later, I've run the gamut of dirty diapers, bumps, bruises, bleeding and illnesses. I really have earned my grandpa credentials…

As our family expanded, so did the house! We designed an addition that nearly doubled the size of our home with a brand-new master bedroom, bath, family and bonus rooms. I was the General Contractor for laying the foundation, framing, roofing and drywall. I did all of the electrical work and plumbing. I dealt with the building codes and inspectors to get all the permits and my finished work approved by the city.

Community & volunteering

As my children got older, I started volunteering for various community organizations such as Little League (as a team coach, board member and umpire). I served in both Cub Scout and Boy Scout leadership, as Assistant Regional Director of a national motorcycle club, and as a volunteer member of the community Recreation Council. I even joined a prospecting club that panned for gold.

Why Ready 4 Emergencies

I became highly motivated to prepare for major emergencies when I watched the devastating Cedar Fire of 2003 roar towards my home and actually destroy buildings and homes within a mile of my house. At my location, we were even facing a possible evacuation order. Sadly, I watched people, in shock, having to evacuate their homes.

When I found out about the Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) from a booth at an expo, I jumped right in because those skills were a natural follow-on to everything that I had learned. Through the CERT and FEMA training courses, I have been able to both learn about and train for a wide range of disaster response techniques including search and rescue, mass-casualty first aid, firefighting and emergency radio communications (for which I became a ham radio operator).

I put those skills to work during the 2007 Witch Fire, when my CERT team provided direct logistics support to the front-line firefighters and later provided medical triage and supply management at the displaced survivor centers.

All of this has led me to what I am today — a semi-old (but still feeling young), Jack-of-all-Trades, emergency responder, computer nerd, coach and proud grandpa. I would like to share my experience with you so that you too can be ready for those everyday issues and those more serious emergencies that may happen to you and yours. Be Ready 4 Emergencies!

Grandpa TJ

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