Started at the University of Washington majoring in English Literature with the idea of becoming a writer of brilliant, literary, best-selling novels, then fell in with a small gang of folk singers (Walt Robertson, Sandy Paton, Rae Creevey, and a couple of others) and began roaming the city armed with a guitar. I didn't leave the U. of W. entirely — I eventually changed my major to Music. Made a marginal but thoroughly enjoyable living singing here and there (some television, a batch of concerts, regular singing jobs in several coffeehouses, no records, dammit!) and teaching guitar (classic and folk).

When a lot of the coffeehouses started closing up or switching to Rock 'n' Roll and new guitar students wanted me to teach them to play R 'n' R, I packed it in and went to work at Boeing. Production Illustrator (like drafting). Boeing did its big lay-off in the early Seventies and I wound up working in broadcasting (radio announcer, newscaster, disk jockey at a classical music station). Fun job, but very unstable. Worked for eight years as a telephone operator. Fairly good pay, good bennies, but absolutely soul-killing — like being a galley-slave. Quit and went to work for the Bonneville Power Administration as a technical writer in their power conservation program. When the program changed, I quit and retired.

Still playing the guitar and singing — for fun, but I'll sing for money if it's offered. I'm doing a lot of writing these days.

Don Firth