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Here are some pictures I took in Ostia.

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Ostia was the port of ancient Rome. Large merchant ships arrived at this port bringing grain, wine, and a vast assortment of merchandise for the city of Rome. There were many warehouses to store that merchandise here. There was also a population of merchants and shops for the people in Ostia. It was also possible to book passage on the commercial ships that docked here. Ostia was not a base for the Roman Navy. The nearest such base was Misenum on the northwest tip of the Bay of Naples. Today Ostia is several miles away from the sea. It no longer could serve as a port.

Canicus Modius is my real name. Really. Well, that’s not what shows up on my birth certificate or passport. Here is the secret. It’s Latin. It is my name translated into Latin. Canicus is Latin for Cainnech. (There are all kinds of spelling of that.)

Saint Cainnech of Aghaboe (515/16–600), also known as Saint Canice in Ireland, Saint Kenneth in Scotland, Saint Kenny and in Latin Saint Canicus, was a Gaelic abbot, monastic founder, priest and missionary during the early medieval period. Cainnech is one of the Twelve Apostles of Ireland and preached Christianity across Ireland and to the Picts in Scotland. He wrote a commentary on the Gospels, which for centuries was known as the Glas-Choinnigh or the Chain of Cainnech. (Cainnech of Aghaboe)

Among English speaking folk, St. Canicus is often known as St. Kenneth; so Kenneth translates into the Latin Canicus by way of Gaelic. But what about the Modius part? Well modius is an ancient Roman dry measure which is almost exactly our peck; so Peck translates into the Latin Modius. Or, to make a long story short, Canicus Modius is Kenneth Peck.

So much for all that. I am a retired septuagenarian who lives in Dallas, Texas. I was born in Ohio, but when I was 10 we moved to San Angelo, Texas, where I graduated from high school. I have lived in Texas ever since. I developed a passion for ancient history while a freshman music major at what is now North Texas University. I transferred to Trinity University and majored in history and philosophy. I graduated from Trinity with a B.A. and then taught history in San Antonio. I entered the Episcopal Theological Seminary of the Southwest in Austin, where I received a M.Div. I served as a deacon at St. Paul’s, San Antonio. I was priested at Trinity Church, Junction, and worked as a circuit riding priest in Junction, Menard, Fort McKavitt and Eden before becoming rector of St. Christopher’s, Bandera.

I returned to teaching. I taught just about everything in Stockdale — band, history, government, English and reading. I then became a special education teacher in San Antonio, getting a M.Ed. at Trinity University in special education with certifications in learning disabilities, diagnostician and supervision. I then worked as an educational diagnostician for the special education cooperative in Gonazales. I became the director of the Cooperative for Exceptional Children in McGregor, serving the Gatesville, McGregor, Moody, Crawford and Oglesby school districts. After 25 years in public education I was eligible to retire, which I did. I then went to work as a Senior Systems Engineer (a fancy title for a computer programmer) for Fast Tax in Dallas. After 12 years writing tax software in C and C++ I retired to a life of leisure.

In my retirement I pursue my hobbies of reading, photography, amateur radio (K5AOE), politics, and music. I continue to play oboe (which I started in the 8th grade), English horn (which I started as a freshman at North Texas) and bassoon (which I took up in retirement). I pursue my long time interest in history and particularly ancient history. I have made a number of international trips including England, France, Germany and Italy. I will be visiting Greece in September, 2013.