The Author

Donald 'Dj' Bowen and Lucky

I was born in Columbus, Ohio in 1954.

My parents, working class immigrants from the hollows of wild and wonderful

West Virginia, lived in a small duplex on Molar St.

The family who lived in the other half of the duplex consisted of a pro wrestler,

a big and burly guy name of Rufus Bailey, his wife Maggie, and their daughter Sharon,

who I’m told is the exact same age as me…

If you happen to be her, “hi Sharon, long time since last we played together!”

I grew up during the fifties and sixties on the Southside of Columbus. It was there that my dad gave me my first guitar.

It was love at first sight, and I dreamed of becoming a rock and roll star. Much like David Crosby and Roger McGuinn, I came out of the theater after seeing Help! and knew that was the life for me.

Somewhere around 1974, realizing there were way too many guys with the same vision of rock stardom, I put my musical dreams on the back burner and committed myself to a career building aircraft and raising a family.

The plan worked out pretty well until around 1978 when my employer started going out of business.

I set my sights on a new career in the emerging computer industry, went out with my dad and bought an Altair kit and put it together.   I was immediately hooked!

Things went well, and I felt I had finally found my niche and would be doing technical work for a very long time!   Then I was diagnosed with Retinitis Pigmentosa  in 1985. I spent the next 15 years working in the information technology arena.

As my RP advanced I was introduced to adaptive technology. The screen readers and screen magnifiers worked well for me until in 2001, with my RP having reached the “advanced” level, and my age not far behind, I retired and committed myself to my original dreams of being a professional musician.

I was given my first guide dog in 2003 and that was when Music for Sight was born. The guide dog, a black Labrador retriever named Lucky showed me I was the lucky one.

I thought “now I’m doing The Labrador Shuffle  and seeing the world through Lucky eyes

.”

So now here I am,  passing the half century mark and living happily with my wife and kids, our two pugs, two cats, a couple fish and my beloved and loyal guide dog, Lucky.

You see why I say, “I’m the Lucky One!”

Dj Bowen

October 17, 2008

Lake Alfred, Florida

Studio B

Even Keel Music