World Traveler — Writer — Poet — Ancient History The first German Dennstedts came to Canada in 1845. Johann Ernst (20) and his cousin Johann Gerhardt (27) built their own sailboat to make the ocean passage. Made it to New York City, crossed overland to the Niagara peninsula, picked up the Huron Trail into SW Ontario, entered…

My Moment With An Angry Bear — I lived in Alaska for 15 years. In spring and summer, I would hike into the vast and barren Chugach mountains to be alone. After passing beyond Flattop, the highly popular viewpoint for both local enthusiasts and tourists, I would find myself suddenly immersed in utter silence and absolute solitude. …

A South America Photographic Journal — My brother and I left the United States in 2012 intending to live in Merida, Yucatan, Mexico for 6 months. We stayed 2–1/2 years. Our early adventures were documented in Stephen’s book: Expat Journal: Postcards From the Edge and in his blog: Expat Journal on his website IndochinePhotography.me. In 2014…

Introducing You To My Self-Published Books — And One Actively Seeking An Agent — I know I’m risking your wrath by posting this. I too am reluctant to read another’s self-promotional efforts. If such bothers you, please move on. Seriously, I will not be offended. What I offer here is my simple introduction to four books self-published as an Indie author. Full disclosure, and…

Book reviews — November 2023 — For several years, I wrote professional book reviews as an official Top Reviewer for Readers’ Favorite — a highly respected online review site. Beginning April 2023, I committed to writing book reviews specifically for Medium Members designated as published Authors. Walter Rhein invited me to share my reviews with followers…

A Travel Story — This scene from The Quiet Man doesn’t feature the Duke himself, but I cannot locate any photo Steve might have taken of the great man’s bronze statue in the middle of the small village where the movie was filmed. We’ve watched that classic movie a few times since returning to…

A non-prescriptive perspective — Because I am not a depressive as such, this is not a depressive piece. This is a story involving three moments of depression that I suffered while living life. There were more than three such moments; each was more than just a downer. In other words, I recognize depression when…

Prologue — I awakened to the aftermath of war. No longer connected to Mother Grid (Mama G.), I found myself lost and confused. Also, I was wounded. I still had a functioning right arm that I used to target rats and members of the cockroach colony I’d joined. The automatic spray option…

And the ex-pats who stiffed us — It’s intriguing how fatigue can adversely affect one’s mood and perspective. We pulled into La Antigua, Guatemala, after an inordinately long bus ride, having endured an overlong delay in a genuinely disgusting border town and, from that point on, being assaulted by the smell of dog shit embedded in a…