Born in South Baltimore City in March of 1942, my mother moved my two sisters and me to a new housing development for military families in Baltimore County when I was three. My youthful years were spent fishing, crabbing, tree climbing, catching snakes and other forms of small wildlife in Turner Station, Maryland. In my late teenage years, I was a feared gangbanger—without a gun. As my interests and curiosity about life matured, I wanted to comprehend the tenets of manhood. I chose the teachings of Elijah Muhammad rather than opting into the military where many young men around me headed for their manhood classes.

During my childhood fling with wildlife, I had a serious desire to study the laws of nature. I had no access to technology or even conventional equipment like a magnifying glass, but I would do such things as use a piece of glass to study a blade of grass and everything around that blade. I would sit for hours on the water's edge, and as I followed the motions of the waters, I would travel all around the world. (I was afraid of the sensation of doing it in a boat or even in the water.)

In my adult years, I wanted to further the development of my whole self. I attended meetings: