Hello and welcome.
I have been fortunate to have had many wonder-filled experiences over my lifetime and I now realize that many of the adventures I experienced will fade from memory and that many of the sites I have seen no longer exist. Thus, I have taken on the task of writing a series of essays to pass on the tales of adventure and the lessons learned to my great-grandchildren and future generations
Although I was born in March 1931, in the depths of the Great Depression, my parents provided everything I and my sisters needed to learn and thrive.
Most of my early memories are of life at Lake Lottawana, a man-made lake about 30 miles east of Kansas City. Being a “Lake Rat” meant that I had greater opportunities to be adventurous and develop self-reliance than my town contemporaries had. My parents were tolerant of the many pets I collected including snakes, a raccoon and even a mole. I was able to swim and run my own outboard motorboat by the age of five. I never had swimming lessons and I was always sorry that I never learned to swim the crawl properly.
My parents were really good about sending me away to camp, which gave me a great love and appreciation of the outdoors, but thinking back, I suspect they were also interested in keeping me out of trouble at the lake.
Two particular events changed the course of my life. When my parents felt that I might get in into too much trouble attending public schools in Kansas City, they wisely sent me to the Peddie School in Hightstown New Jersey, and in retrospect, I'm sure that move changed my life in a positive way more than any other event. The other event that really changed my future was being fired from my job at the firm my father had founded in Kansas City. That led me to Aspen and the financial success that made my extraordinary sailing and traveling adventures possible.
I was also fortunate to have two wonderful women in my life. Robbie, my first wife, gave me three wonderful kids and great support when I was fired from my job. My second wife, Betty, was a wonderful partner in our building projects and a wonderful sport about traveling and managing the work and lack of convenience living on a 44-foot yacht exploring unknown ports for most of 12 years.
Set sail and explore my stories!