About me and my hobby
I am happily married with a 2 1/2 year-old old little girl and 18 month old son, living in a small town just south of Chicago. My dad grew up a hard working, honest farmer just like his dad. I am the fourth generation since my family's immigration here to the United States from The Netherlands. I work in residential construction and my wife in real estate; both of us have been in our respective industries for quite some time. I have degrees in business and counseling, several certificates in residential construction from a trade school in Texas, and have taken graduate level courses in theology and history. I've always loved science and knowing how things work - my poor dad had to constantly put his lawn mower back together.
One of my best friends is an avid herpotologist quite accomplished with Box Turtles (Terrapene carolina), and we've had dirt on our boots from much of the Midwestern forests. Some of the pictures you will see on this site are from those afternoon and weekend expeditions. I began collecting some common but interesting reptiles from these forests as I was permitted, and that led to the collection of some rarer reptiles.
I sell some of the offspring from those rarer animals.
I believe very strongly that the universe was designed by an intelligent being, a Creator, who is the origin of all matter and intentionally set into motion the initial conditions necessary for all that exists; and I also believe very strongly that He enjoys His creation and wants us to enjoy it as well, and has charged humanity with the responsibility of managing what He has created. I believe this Creator to be the God of the Christian Bible. I think it is the best way to rationally explain the things we see, hear, taste, smell, and feel – that it is the best way to explain the origin of matter and the amazing creative artistry reflected in fish and the sky and so on.
I also believe strongly we should value the ethics taught in the Christian Bible, such as the Ten Commandments, the Beatitudes, and the Golden Rule; that they are universal and absolute truths, and that we should strive to make them characteristic of our lives. I believe the biographical accounts of Jesus of Nazareth to be historically accurate. I believe He took the punishment we deserve for not meeting the absolute standards and thus mediates between us and the Creator, who, as an intelligent being, desires a personal relationship with us, the
magna opera of His creation.
I do not believe that everything that has been said or done in the name of Jesus Christ is an accurate reflection of Him. God is very loving, caring, honest and just. The people who disagree must not know Him like I do. I admit there are things in this world that seem to contradict God’s nature and that confuses me, but, it confuses me less than does explaining the origin of matter without a Creator.
I try to take very good care of my animals and very good care of my clients; to be honest and understanding in all my business transactions. By personality I am a bit of a perfectionist, preferring quality over quantity. So, I only have breeding programs set up for three species, but the attention I can give them y
ields extremely healthy and beautiful reptiles. I am currently working with Angolan Pythons (
Python anchietae) and two species of Australian Knobtails:
Nephrurus Amyae and
N. Wheeleri Cintus. I am always open to trades that help me tweak my collection. I am also a reptile Importer/Exporter licensed by the
U.S. Department of Fish and Wildlife.
Enjoy!
- Paul
A June sunset on Lake Michigan as seen from a 300 ft. bluff in Leland, MI. A little farther north I saw a Bald Eagle fly just below the bluff about 75% up the grade, but I was unable to get a picture of it. Paul R. de Boer, Jr. 2005 (c)