Preface

I’m writing this to find my way, not because I think my life is instructional, inspirational, or memorable.  I write to find a path into the last part of life, to summarize where I have been to better define where I might go. Has there been a hidden trajectory, some pattern I have missed that will suggest my next step?

I am interested in recounting stories only insofar as they shed light on transitions.  I am not here to write about everything that happened over the past 60 years.  I write to shed light on how I navigated life to illuminate a way forward.   

My audience is myself.

The text has been organized chronologically into the following chapters:

1.      1961-1978: Years 00-17: Miami

2.      1978-1980: Years 17-19: Madison and Eau Claire

3.      1980-1988: Years 19-27: Atlanta

4.      1988-1993: Years 27-32: Japan

5.      1993-1997: Years 32-36: Thailand, USA, Kuwait

6.      1997-2007: Years 36-46: Fukuoka

7.      2007-2009: Years 46-48: Nepal, India, Japan

8.      2009-2017: Years 48-56: UAE

9.      2017-2021: Years 56-60: China

In the first two drafts I included adjectival descriptors for each chapter but have removed them as they are likely to prejudice potential readers (including myself). 

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