Tom Fitzgerald experienced a Huckleberry Finn childhood near the confluence of Lake Ontario and the St. Lawrence River before undertaking formal studies in physics, mathematics, law, industrial management, and English. He has served as a door-to-door salesman of home-study courses, a vocational counselor for adults and children with developmental disabilities, a stockbroker, the assistant to the president of a large healthcare corporation, a lobbyist, a technical writer, and a corporate manager. In the latter two capacities, his employers have included AT&T Bell Laboratories, Lucent Technologies, NEC, IBM/Lotus Development and Pfizer Pharmaceuticals. Tom served as a Navy UDT/SEAL during the Vietnam era, and has swum several long distances, including across the eastern end of Lake Ontario. Once also an avid runner, Tom ran the Boston Marathon three times before a fall on black ice abruptly ended a lifelong addiction to endorphins. He and his wife of 44 years, a marriage and family therapist, live in New England. They have three grown sons and three grandsons.