When it came to growing up in a great spot, at a terrific time - I think I was standing at the head of the line! I was born Richard Allen Hart, in the fabulous town of Tacoma, Washington, and I was very fortunate to have had two parents that loved me from the day I first appeared. I was also blessed to have had the privilege of growing up in a family that was proud of it's ethnic heritage. Si Siamo degli Italiani!
(Oh yeah... we are Italian!).

Both my parents were 1st generation Americans of Italian descent , and my Mother was born in Canada to boot (but that's a long story!). My Father's people... well they had some color too (and that's a longer story!). 

Basically, good hard working, and honest people. They all loved music. My Mother played "Boogie - Woogie" piano, was a registered nurse, and was a wicked good dancer. My Father had two left feet,  but was crazy about my Mother. He also loved electronics, and that plays a big part of my life too.

As I reflect on my parent's interests; it strikes me that my Father read "Scientific American" and my Mother read "Psychology Today". I think they both knew who they were, and what they believed.  They also knew what they wanted from life.  My own life has always been intertwined with these  two realities: One from my Father - "Do you know how that works?" and one from my Mother - "Do you know why you care how that works?". Well, that's me in a nut shell...   

So I went through school like most kids. I have a few great friends (and heroes) who have stuck with me through thick and thin. Not all are pictured here, but Mark Ceccarelli is because he is L'amico migliore alla fine (Best friend to the end).  He has been there for so many "firsts" in my life - I am embarrassed to write the details. Suffice it to say this; we have each other's back.
 
I went to the best High School in America -
Stadium High School, Tacoma, Washington. That's not brag - just fact.

I went to Taiwan in 1974 to study Mandarin Chinese with my Chinese language class - because hey... didn't all High School Asian foreign language programs go to China?  We did... well we made it happen. It was my first experience with setting goals and creating an outcome. It was also an amazing eye-opener about the dimensionality of the world - and the distance between us all as human beings.

Stadium High School held a few other surprises for me too. We had a great Concert Band and a funky Jazz ensemble. It was the kind of experience that you look back  on and say - "you know... that was fun". The music was fun. The people I went through school with were fun. Even the teachers were fun.! Stadium High School lit a fire in me to write music on my own. I have  - and you can hear it in the Music section of my site. But that was just the beginning of the learning for me. So in 1975, I graduated along with the rest of the crew.

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