Life has often been described as a "journey or "path". Robert Frost said that when

"two roads diverged in a yellow wood" he chose "the one less traveled by" and

that "made all the difference". This book of autobiographical essays views my

particular journey from the perspective of one standing on a plateau looking back

over the twists and turns of a path which was in may ways a "road less traveled".

The lens with which I view the people and places along that path is necessarily

shaped by all my experiences from early childhood. It is also shaped by concepts

gleaned from the general semantics teachings of S. I. Hayakawa concerning the

uniqueness and validity of each individual's perception of reality. Another

important influence is Buddhism, from the Zen concept of the "isness" of things as

expounded by Alan Watts in the early fifties to the Tibetan focus on the

transitory nature of being and the importance of compassion. If one truly

respects the other person's "reality", one cannot judge that other person and

must, therefore, feel respect for their point of view and compassion for the

struggles they face in this world.

I hope that this book, while not being too didactic, will illustrate my belief

that it is possible to see all that occurs in this lifetime as infused with a

certain serendipity which can only be viewed with wide-eyed amazement.