Although most of the stories in my book are fiction, there are several bits and pieces that really happened. For instance, in The Trouble with Molly, Patrick Barksdale hitchhiked across the United States when he got out of the Air Force. That was me. I got out of the Air Force in 1978 and hitchhiked from New Jersey to California. Barksdale is the name of the Air Force base where I was stationed for 18 months (it’s near Shreveport, Louisiana).

While many of my peers were going to college or working, I was hitching around the States and Europe, living the life of a vagabond and exploring new places. Many of my tales come from my experiences. I wrap them around situations and characters, add some humor, and try to make them believable.

This is me in Ostend, Belgium in 1979. I spent 1979 through the end of 1980 wandering around Europe. My life fit nicely into my Jansport backpack. I owned the same backpack until last year. I gave it to my grandson Guthrie. I have no plans on hitchhiking across America or Europe again. but one never knows what lies ahead. If I do head out again, I’ll take my favorite hitchhiking book. I had this book when I was wandering around 40 years ago. I lost it somewhere in the next forty years, but found a copy on the Internet.