Like a lot of professors, I went straight from undergrad to grad school to the academy. But before I did, I took a gap year that lasted 12 years. My first career was as a clown, performing in circuses, cabarets, and festivals across the United States and Europe. I spent a few years trying to establish myself as a cartoonist, running my own graphic design studio and working for a small town newspaper. When I finally started college, at 29, I longed for educational experiences, like spending a summer in a Benedictine monastery.

Clowning with the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, 1977. That's me in the top row, center.

Performing at an outdoor theatre festival in Germany (playing the cowbells), late 1970s to early 80s.

Working as an editorial cartoonist and graphic designer at the Huntsville Item, Huntsville, Texas, mid 1980s.

Tending sheep at Mount Saviour Monastery in upstate New York, summer 1993. It was here that my obsession with monks began.