Ralph Smith - was born in 1964, and grew up in Northport, NY.

I'll never forget those days when we would walk to school, ride bikes to the beach, play stick ball in the street, and hang out under the street lights until well past dark. Life was simpler then and I learned something really important (although it took me many years to understand it).

Every day of your life is what you make of it. I've had my share of good and bad days. No matter what we face in life, how we face it is just as important as the outcome.

I like the current phrase "Be Present", but I would take it one step further. Make the most out of every moment, so that if anyone is your last you can look back in pride at not having wasted it. How we touch the lives of those around us is far more important than what we've accomplished.

I have been blessed with a wonderful wife and three sons who fill my life with purpose every day.

Having traveled around the world for work (more places than some and a lot less than others) I have been blessed with friends all over the globe. I only hope that in some small way I have touched their lives as much as they have touched mine.

I found my faith late in life. For a long time I didn't believe. Then one day, I knew without a doubt that God existed. I knew that he was working in my life in ways I can't always see, but that he was there.

How I knew is one of the things I can't put into words. It would be like trying to explain how I use the muscles in my hand. It is something that is beyond words.

Onto the topic at hand, writing. My sincerest thanks to anyone who reads my work. Writing is my passion, it always has been.

My college professor Judith Johnson wrote a poem, "the gift".

what have i got for you?
only what i am,
and you are not.

More than thirty years later her words still resonate and inspire me.