Stephen is 12 years old and making his way through middle school. At the moment, his top interests are Lord of the Rings, the game Star Wars: Jedi Academy, and Lego Bionicle (maybe you've run into him online, posting to fellow Bionicle fanatics at the "BZ Power" bulletin board). Game Boy and TV round out Stephen's list of sedentary favorites.

When not sitting in front of a glowing screen, though, the boy might be found on his bike, on the phone with his best friend, or-- admittedly rarely, unless it's Tolkein, J.K. Rowling, or something assigned for school-- on the couch reading a book. He'd much rather be writing than reading, however, and one of these days we'll get to read the Great American Novel he's been churning out on Mom's old typewriter. Stephen was once a dinosaur nut, but that appears to have been superceded by an interest in space.

Though not an avid participant in sports, Stephen recently enjoyed some intramural archery, and he also swims in the summer. Meanwhile, Mom keeps trying to turn him into a baseball watcher, and he does follow the home team intermittently... but I'm not sure the word "fan" is yet appropriate. A graduate of Cub Scouting, he's now in the church youth group and has made some interesting trips with them.

Stephen is in his fifth year of music lessons and currently plays first violin in his school orchestra. He's also a member of the Harford String Orchestra. In May 2004 he earned a I rating playing a level 4 piece at the State Solo and Ensemble Festival. As an antidote to all that classical music, he enjoys listening to disco and, when Mom allows it, rap. [Alas, I'm not making that up. --Ed.]

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Stephen's Links