Charles F. Finley, Jr. would like to call himself a Virginia native but, alas, the last 58 years living in various locales of the Old Dominion count for naught. He is chagrined to admit he was born in Washington, D.C.; however, when his parents realized the increasing hazards of urban living, they moved to the Smoky Mountains of rural North Carolina (Fontana Village). After home schooling and scrimmaging with three colleges, he finished at Duke University, earning a master’s degree in the exciting field of forest economics!
After two years with the Army Corps of Engineers (1967-69), and 25 years in the forestry not-for-profit world, in 1995 he founded Verbatim Editing, offering editorial workshops, and publishing 70+ books for various authors. Today, he continues to publish his own quarterly forest landowner magazine, Appalachian Woodlands.
What credentials does Charlie have to scribe a book such as this? His parents often targeted him with increasingly sophisticated pranks, teaching him the value of humor, advising him not to take life too seriously. “Are We Having Fun Yet?” draws on what is fun for him—more than 40 years creating elaborate practical jokes, mailing outrageous bogus letters from fictitious government agencies, and enduring white-water canoeing adventures. He still rides his motorcycle and books gigs for two ukulele bands, The Ukesters and Cool Hand Ukes. He resides with his wife, Brenda, and 500 others in a lavish “correctional unit” (aka, senior independent living residence) near Richmond, Virginia. At 79, he estimates his final release about ten years hence.
