Submitted by Stephen Richards: Alan Crooks died on 9 March 2009 in Bulgaria. I published a notice in the European Newsletter and, as an account of his life with UMUC, simply reproduced his "bio" from the WebTycho classroom, which i thought made good reading. So this is Alan "in his own write," probably written, or at least edited, not long before he died.

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A Few Words About Alan: Although it seems nearly impossible, I was with the University of Maryland almost 20 years. That alone would make my father roll over in his grave. He told me I'd never keep a job. He was convinced that I was going to school forever. Maryland, however, provided me with an umbrella under which I could travel, and travel I did. I began my Maryland days in 1983, when I was recruited from the decks of the USS New Jersey (BB62) where I was teaching in the Navy's PACE program. I probably would have stayed on the "Big J," but we were stuck off the Beirut airport, a place in 1983 which didn't provide many opportunities for sight-seeing.

So when Maryland asked me to teach for them in Japan, I couldn't very well refuse. I taught in the Asian Division for six years and loved most of it. I taught at Misawa for nearly three years of that time, but I managed to work in Korea, The Philippines, Guam, Australia, and Diego Garcia (not in that order). Needing a taste of the US, I went from UMUC to American University in Washington, D.C., where I headed the Writing Program. However, in 1995, Maryland called and offered me a teaching job in Vladivostok, The "call of the wild" was too much, and off I went.

From there I went to Izmir, Turkey, and then to Heidelberg, where I took over as the Chairman of the English and Communications department. After two years of that, I went back to teaching and moved to England for about a year . . . until I discovered that every word ever spoken about England's lousy weather was and is TRUE. As soon as I could, I moved to the island of Zakynthos, in the Ionian prefecture of Greece, and semi-retired from teaching.

Then, a couple of years ago (while on Zakynthos), we lost our minds and bought a small farm in Bulgaria. After it was remodeled, we moved--which seems like months ago, but it has only been 17 days. Now I teach Distance Education courses and think about what to do with a farm. I mean, I am from Idaho, but I am not much of a farmer. I live with my wife, Tricia, and canine family at the edge of a small Bulgarian village called Malomirovo, near Elhovo (if you're looking at a map). My wife, an avid gardener, claims that we will turn our farm into a flowery paradise. We will see. She's British--and determined. We also have a small apple and peach orchard that has lain neglected for about six years. We have our work cut out for us.

Our "children" are Kandzi, a Lhasa Apso (aka "the Queen of Tibet"); Yo Yo, a Collie Cross (the most beautiful dog in the world); Angel, (aka Brave Heart) a Maltese screaming terror; our Golden Retriever, Bella; Rosie, aka Alien Child, a little brown hound; Minnie, aka Striker or Jordan--for her athletic prowess, our Doberman; Sugar Plum, aka Malibu Sal, a collie-mix; Lulu-Bear, aka Dopey, a Lab-Pointer mix; Sasha, a Canisse pup who is two, finally, Hector, a REALLY mixed breed who looks like a dog put together by a committee. So we have ten mouths to feed. We have now added to our farm animals in that we bought a young donkey last September and another in January, who turned out to be pregnant. So we now have Dosey, Veska, and her baby boy, Rowdy, who is just a few weeks old!

I work in a corner of the living room of our bungalow, surrounded by bookcases to keep the world out. Essential equipment for work is coffee and cigarettes. I usually go on-line about 10 or 11 am (well, I AM semi-retired!!!) and work about three or four hours every day, including Sundays. Then I have lunch and read until the need for a nap becomes overpowering. Then it is siesta time. After my nap, we work in the yard if the weather is good. If not, we read and evolve into couch spuds. While DE teaching restricts me to fewer courses, I still manage to teach in my specialty, which is, in general, Popular Literature and Film. I teach Fantasy and Science Fiction, Writing courses of various sorts, and American and British Lit.

I have a Ph.D. in American Studies from the University of Utah, a Master's from Utah State University, and a B.A. from The College of Idaho. In addition to teaching for UMUC, I have taught at Boise State University, Weber State College, the University of Wisconsin at Green Bay, Utah State University, George Mason University, and the American University, in Washington. With all those schools in the background, I nearly proved my father right. But UMUC changed all that. Oh, in case you are wondering, I also did 8 years in the Navy and saw lots of interesting jungle scenery. I was a Navy Corpsman, so don't call me "Sir." Or "Doctor." I might try to remove your spleen via computer. You can call me "Doc," which has stayed with me since my Navy days. That's enough.