Born: March 26, 1955 in Long Beach, CA. I was adopted at birth by an older couple. Albert C. Wagner 72 at the time; Valeria was 42. To put that into perspective, he was born in 1883 and she was born in 1912.

Grew up: in Palm Springs, CA, in a neighborhood with movie stars and entertainment icons, including Elvis Presley, Bob Hope, Kirk Douglas, and Arnold Palmer. We were, however, the “poor rich.” My father made his money in the steel industry in WWII. I remember the day he had actually earned his million. As a poor immigrant child who was most definitely a self-made man with a 6^th grade education, he couldn’t have been prouder.