During the summer of 1984, I varied my routine by working for the National Park Service in Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming. When my stint was finished, I moved to Seattle, where I planned on studying aviation.

I had already earned my private license in Bellingham, Washington, and I thought I would round out my work in Alaska by qualifying as a bush pilot.

The high point of that experience was a cross-country solo flight from Seattle to San Diegon, then to Tucson, Arizona and back to Seattle. From there it was all downhill.

I was becoming more confused about my career goals. In the meantime, aviation was simply expensive and time-consuming to pursue simply to pad my resumé. I wasn’t really sure I wanted to spend more time around airplanes, anyway; too loud—and dangerous.

But it wasn’t just flying that was bothering me. I wasn’t completely satisfied with my career in wildlife biology. I had been through the Navy and college, and I still didn’t know exactly what I wanted to do with myself. More than anything, I knew I wanted to be self-employed. So I began writing.

Zoo(logy)

About the same time I began volunteering at the Woodland Park Zoological Park, hoping to eventually get a job there. I didn’t think zoo keeping could be nearly as exciting or satisfying as wildlife biology, but both have pros and cons.

Working in a zoo allows close contact with animals one might never even glimpse in the wild. I also liked the idea of working with other people who shared my passion for animals. Finally, zoo keeping offered more stability than wildlife biology.

I was awarded a scholarship to the famous “Jersey Zoo,” founded by the late British naturalist and author Gerald Durrell. Since zoo keepers traditionally had no college or experience as wildlife biologists, I thought I could easily get a position at the Woodland Park Zoo.

But I was wrong. The Woodland Park Zoo is the San Diegon Zoo’s polar opposite. The latter has mediocre animal enclosures but boasts dynamic education and research programs. In contrast, the Woodland Park Zoo is one of the finest zoological parks in the world, on the outside. But it was really quite stale behind the scenes. And that was before it was privatized.

The Education Wilderness

My money didn’t last long. One of my housemates, who was also an unemployed college grad (and a Navy buddy), got a job as a substitute with the Seattle School District. He talked me into doing the same.

I was amazed to discover how much I enjoyed working with children. At the same time, many teachers complemented me for my natural rapport with children and for my teaching abilities. More and more teachers began to request my services.

I wasn’t certain if I wanted to make education my career, but it was certainly a wonderful part-time job. I had evenings, weekends and frequent school holidays to work on my projects and was even able to continue working in Alaska during summers.

But there was a dark side. At the time, I was politically naive. It would take me more than a decade to learn that Seattle is a frighteningly corrupt city, and its school district is one of its dirtiest secrets.

The Seattle Mafia

After ten years of abuse, I finally decided to figure out what made the Seattle School District so dysfunctional and mean-spirited. Slowly, the pieces began coming together, as I learned more about local, state and national government, the media and other institutions that were being taken over by corporations. I learned that Bill Gates’ philanthropy was really just advertising and public relations under a different name. In fact, Seattle was going downhill under Bill Gates’ largesse.

I also learned a lot about psychology, as I tried to figure out how teachers and parents could be so clueless, so out to lunch.

Eventually, I ran for public office—six times. By my third bid for office, George W. Bush was President, and it was clear that the entire nation was gripped by the corporate corruption that had ensnared Seattle since at least the 1960s.

I was particularly struck by the Republicans’ war against public education and science and their general disdain for intelligence and free speech. Then I came to realize that America’s liberals really aren’t much better.

Though I got layed off along with many other teachers in the wake of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, I remain a career educator. Through my websites, I try to teach people the independent thinking skills so many U.S. citizens lack.

Geobopological Survey

People sometimes ask me what Geobopological means. When I attended college in Bellingham, I had a friend who played bass in a wonderful jazz band called the Geobopological Survey Team. When I began searching for a business name to represent my publishing and inventing endeavors, it didn’t take me long to settle on Geobopological, which sounds both scientific and whimsical. I didn’t think the band members would object, as the band no longer exists.

I launched my first website, www.geobop.com, about 1994. It remained in a somewhat experimental state for several years, as it included material that’s now scattered across many websites, ranging from GeoZoo to some of the most provocative adult political sites on the Internet. It was especially difficult learning how to write about politics, especially when I was so heavily involved in activism.

One of my first publishing projects was a self-published book based on the funny things tourists say in America’s national parks and monuments. For the front cover, I created a cartoon character similar to the Forest Service’s Smokey Bear but not so uptight (and more appreciative of forest fires, which are a part of Nature). GeoBear, as I dubbed him, also has a streak of West Dakota in him.

It wasn’t long before I began to politicize GeoBear. I depicted him lighting the darkness with a torch, symbolizing the power of truth and knowledge and the Statue of Liberty. As a champion of education, GeoBear says, “Only YOU Prevent Education!” a challenge to the apathetic teachers and parents who have sold so many children out.

I’ve continued to work on my projects and now have the technical skills to launch a new generation of websites. And that’s where this story ends. Any mature adults who want to know where to find my adult political websites are welcome to contact me.

One final note for any former students who might by chance come across this website; you probably remember me as “Mr. B”. Between approximately 1990 and 2002, I worked mostly at Lowell, Loyal Heights, Highland Park, Dearborn Park, Olympic Hills, Blaine, Rainier View and Van Asselt elementary schools (Blaine was actually K-8). I would love to hear from you.