There are many times that I wish that I had taken the time to write more from my heart and from my feelings than from the necessity to write to survive in academia. Retirement time but especially the capability to transcribe journals and letters and memory has resulted in this rare collection of 55 stories that may be classified as 1) adventures, 2) insights, 3) reminiscing's, 4) campfire stories and 5) personal days gone by. Most entries have been written since the late 1990's although there are a few that I somehow managed to find and save from many years ago despite major moves across the country and the raising of a family. So many good things get lost or discarded along our journey of life.

A couple of things to know: At times it will appear that there is not a logical sequence or a time frame to the individual stories. That would be a good observation. I did attempt to keep the longer journal stories together as well as the campfire stories and much of my very personal insights. The 190 photos are mostly mine and my wife's. I thank her for her photographic ability and for working with me to select the best representative images possible.