Welcome!

This is something I've been meaning to do for some time now. Someone as opinionated as I am needs a place to vent, rant and/or babble. Nothing special here, just giving myself a forum to speak my mind. Hopefully it will be found worth reading by someone.

I suppose I ought to start by telling you--if there is indeed anyone reading this--something about myself. My name is John Walter Leys, though sometimes go by my Hebrew name אליהטו בן אברהם ושׂרה, which translates into English as "Elijah son of Abraham and Sarah". I was born on the 19th day of Iyyar in the year 5733 (The 20th day of May in the 1, 973rd year of the Christian Era) in Oceanside, New York and lived my first few years in East Rockaway on Long Island. Not many years after my birth my family moved to Albany, Oregon where I was raised. I graduated from West Albany High School in 1991 and joined the U.S. Army. After basic training at Ft. Leonard Wood, MO (E Company, 2d Battalion, 10th Infantry Regiment) and advanced training at Ft Benjamin Harrison, ID, I served as a member of the Adjutant General Corps. During my tour of duty I was assigned to the 369th PSC in Geissen, Germany and the U.S. Army Garrison at Ft Sam Houston, TX. I left the Army after my enlistment was up in 1996 and returned to school in early 1997. I finished my Associates Degree at Linn Benton Community College in 1999 and earned a Bachelor of Arts Degree in ,Religious Studies from the University of South Florida in 2002. I am currently making arrangements to attend the Graduate School of the Jewish Theological Seminary in NYC to work on a Master's Degree in Judaic Studies and a PhD in the Bible and Ancient Semitic Languages. I currently reside in Shillington, PA with my fiancee, Sharon.

That should do for now.

Shalom Alecheim!
John W Leys