Life at DrTom's: Mostly Humorous Anecdotes by a Mostly Retired Cornell Professor

"Life at DrTom's" offers a treasure trove of anecdotes from a retired Ivy League professor, covering human behavior, wildlife, and personal experiences. With a career at Cornell and research across the globe, DrTom turns his keen eye on the human condition, sharing tales from Idaho to Costa Rica, with a cynicism that enlightens. His stories, from being a father to a retired baby-boomer, promise to engage and reflect, making readers laugh, ponder, and see the world anew.

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About the Author: Thomas A. Gavin
I was born into a blue collar family in northwestern Ohio right after WWII; I am a true baby-boomer. I did well in public school, went to college, then the Army, then grad school. Eventually, I earned a Ph.D. and became a professor at Cornell University, where I "worked" for almost 30 years. Students used to call me DrTom.

I've been married to my college sweetheart for 42 years. We have three adult children, one pupal grandchild (teenager), and three larval grandchildren. In November 2008, I retired to our 12-acre property in the Finger Lakes region of upstate New York, where Robin and I live with our black lab Zeus.

My whole life has been learning about plants and animals, and teaching and doing research about their ecology, so it should be no surprise that I now live as a natural historian. I am also a stock trader, a cigar smoker, a scotch sipper, and an avid student of human behavior.
"Life at DrTom's" is a diverse collection of easy-to-digest anecdotes about human behavior, wildlife, children, wives, and more from the perspective of a retired Ivy League professor. DrTom taught classes in biology and conservation at Cornell University for almost 30 years, and he conducted research on birds and mammals in the U.S. and abroad. But he has found that observing humans and describing the human condition are as interesting as the study of wild animals. DrTom writes with a somewhat cynical view about his own species in a way that will make you say "hey, I never thought of that."

Spanning six decades, DrTom describes the colorful experiences that vary from studying squirrels on a cattle ranch in Idaho, living in the rainforest of Costa Rica, attending a geisha-like party in Korea, playing tennis for Ohio State, to smoking a cigar while sipping a scotch in the forest surrounding his New York home. These moments have sharpened his power of observation and informed his impression of what makes human behavior so curious. But this life-long exploration of what makes life interesting has generated the tangible he celebrates the most—the memory of these rich encounters.

Readers will have no difficulty relating to DrTom's observations and conclusions about the experiences he shares. You will see yourself in many of the uncanny situations in which he has found himself as a father, grandfather, husband, teacher, and retired baby-boomer. Regardless of your age, gender, or educational background, the prose will make you laugh, or pause, or think more deeply about what you see around you.

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Available in the following formats: .epub, .pdf, .mobi

Price: $2.99 USD

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