I was born on December 18, 1950, in Zandvoort, The Netherlands. My parents are Dutch-Indonesian, and my father was a career military non-commissioned officer in the Royal Dutch Army and Airforce. Both parents were born in Indonesia, and returned to Holland in late 1950.
Because hundreds of thousands of Dutch-Indonesians had to leave Indonesia, and return to Holland, I spent the first couple of years with my family living in a relocation camp. At age two, we moved to a small village that was near both an Army and Airforce base. We continued to live there until we emigrated to the United States in August, 1962.
In August, 1962, we flew into Idyllwild Airport, N.Y. (Now Kennedy International). From N.Y., we took the train to Chicago, and transferred to the Santa Fe line that took us into Pasadena, California. Since we were sponsored by my mother's sister's family, our family wound up in South Pasadena. I attended South Pasadena Junior and High Schools, and graduated in 1969.
In 1969 I also started a rock band and played at local venues. I also met my wife Ellen (she was the drummer's sister).
