From Kalamazoo to Timbuktu

A young boy waves at passing cars on a dusty rural road in Upper Michigan, and dreams of the wide world. Then step by step he follows his dream, becoming his family's first college graduate, and studies in Europe help him realize the excitement and diversity of the wide world.

Peace Corps service brings him to Senegal on the edge of Africa's Sahara Desert where he experiences first-hand the hardships of the world's poorest people - who teach him important lessons about generosity, sufficiency and luxury. In Africa, he finds love and discovers a career that opens the world to him, eventually visiting 90 countries across Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean, working to make the world a better place.

His adventures lead him to ride wild stallions, camels, and elephants. He gets into and barely out of trouble in the Grand Canyon. He climbs mountains and volcanoes in Africa and Asia, scuba dives and learns how to make a good rum punch in the Mediterranean, and drives his growing family on safari on Kenya's Serengeti Plains amid galloping giraffes and herds of zebra and gazelle.

He experiences multiple health challenges and faces them with remarkable optimism, deals with aging parents with appreciation, and approaches retirement with sharable sensible planning. His life goal centers on raising his children to become remarkably kind and generous adults.

This memoir of openness and wonder offers reflections on attitudes toward life and core values as strengths of character. Bravery in the face of the unknown, and faith in love and family are true guiding stars.