This site used to be underforty.net and underforty.us. This page addresses the question Why UNDERFORTY.NET?

In 1975, I, along with about 15 other friends from Eugene, OR, attended a seminar in Calgary, Canada, which featured a number of prominent thinkers from L'Abri, the Swiss think-tank and retreat, which was founded by the late Francis Schaeffer.

One of the seminar speakers was Hans Rookmaaker, the noted Dutch art historian and author of "Modern Art and the Death of a Culture".

I and some of our contingent from Eugene were eager to pump these people for as much information as we could get, so we invited them to dinner, hung around after seminars, and invited Mr. Rookmaaker out to have a drink one evening. At one point in the conversation, he explained part of his world view (as nearly as I can recall):

"I see people as being either under 40, or over 40. I don't mean actual age, you understand -- but rather that people under 40 are willing to discuss ideas, look at things in new ways -- you can have a real conversation with them. People over 40 have become set in their world view. With people under 40, I have real discussions. With people over 40, I just smile and say pleasant things."

So I've seen more than 40 birthdays, and despite my best efforts, the gray hair and lines on my face are beginning to show my age. I can't stop people from making assumptions about me from how I look, but you know, people who judge based only on appearance aren't the kind of people I could get along with very long anyway so I'm going to figure that's no great loss. I know I'm working my way down the backside of life; my short term memory isn't anywhere near what it was, and I can't bike as fast as I used to. I'm resigned to the gradual deterioration that comes with my "advancing years." Yet, to the best of my ability, I will strive to stay "under 40" in terms of my outlook on life and my interactions with my fellow man. In summary:

Regardless of my actual age, I am and intend to remain UNDER FORTY!