About

An avid recreational enthusiast, Tom Russo resides in the Myrtle Beach area of South Carolina. The Hunt4cleanair is Tom's personal webpage that captures his professional, technical and personal writing experiences. The acronymic-styled title is adopted from a strategy learned from years of Hobie Cat sailboat racing. In sailboat racing, (not unlike NASCAR), finding clean air is a strategic move to get to the front of the pack and win. At times...it works to be a formula for success. The clean air reference is a curiosity for some who perceive that it must be about environmentalism. Living along the coast does encourage adoption of an environmental ethic and when under sail, one is tasked to harness the power of the wind. It becomes a personal philosophy whether we reference recreation, professional or personal pursuits, we Hunt4cleanair.

Mission

The notion of "Being prepared" captured my attention when I had committed the Boy Scout oath to memory. I learned from my grandmother that an apple a day keeps the doctor away. I took it literal and cultivated a healthy lifestyle, ate wisely, worked to maintain some level of fitness and attempted to be environmentally sensitive. Over the years, I came to the conclusion that preparedness (like for emergencies) is not unlike living a healthy lifestyle...each requires us to engage in activity with the promise of some future reward for which there is no guarantee, its outcome will ward off the threats we seek to avoid! Today preparedness takes the form of Homeland Security and keeps the liberties and freedom we inherited safe for future generations. Boomers grew up during the cold war, never realizing the threat that cast a shadow on the task of growing up. Today, brings new threats. We find those liberties, once taken for granted, now compromised for the security of living in a free society.

Car Guy

I grew up tinkering with bicycles, scooters, motorcycles and eventually cars. I recall the Eagle scooter always required the kick starter key to be replaced as I constantly was shearing it off. But it was wheels and quite cool for a fourteen-year old. Than came a Honda CB 160 and the Honda Boys as we called ourselves. Group of guys that hung out with their Honda bikes. We toured, scrambled and evaded a few patrol vehicles. All of which culminated with a Honda CB 160 drag bike that we raced at Oswego Drag Raceway. The bikes were cool but by eighteen, cars became more interesting and could accommodate passengers.

My first new car was a 1967 Chevy II Supersport with a 327/275 four-speed. In that year, Chevy dropped the 327/350 but I went out and bought an over the counter engine that sported a Holley, honed out the heads, added a cam and other modifications I no longer can recall. Drag raced at Oswego but we also found our way onto the streets both winning and losing $ much to the chagrin of friends who loved to watch that SS leap out of the whole with its 456:1 rearend and eight-inch Mickey Thompson slicks. At the track...it was consistent high twelves for those curious. All of which is to answer why the intrigue with America's Sports Car...the Corvette. When I bought that Chevy II, I wanted a Corvette but couldn't afford the $5,200 price tag. I settled with a $3.000 Chevy II which today would cost me $30,000! Go figure!

"No occupation is so delightful to me as the culture of the earth, and no culture comparable to that of the garden...But though an old man, I am but a young gardener."

Thomas Jefferson wrote this to Charles W. Peale, August 20, 1811. Whether its Monticello, Brookgreen Gardens or a backyard sanctuary, each offers rewards to visitors for the labor required to nurture its gifts. The joys of digging in the earth, playing tug-o-war with briar roots that drive to takeover good garden deeds...much of which was nothing more than a sand dune decades ago. Each spring after compost, mulch and TLC, gardens come alive with earthworms, bugs and rewards visitors 365 days a year with something in bloom each day. Frequently visitors include a variety of our aviary friends from cardinals, carolina chick-a-dees to owls, hawks and the bone rattling Pileated Woodpecker. We even get ground critters that include possums and raccoons all of which stirs my faithful canine campanion. Peter Hatch captures the Monticello as maintained over the centuries but the message is simple...where is your "Rich Spot of Earth."

Why write?

My grandparents offered much encouragement and inspiration during those formative years despite my difficulty with handwriting. Click here to read more.

Contact Information: Click to correspond via Email