Now and then - a note from the road

Well … a little travel induced introspection …

I was thrown out of the University of Dubuque in 1978 at age 18, as well as the great State of Iowa, dropped off across the Mississippi via the Dubuque bridge in East Dubuque, Illinois to seek out a new path in life – so long as it was not within the Iowa borders. It would be 13 years before I would venture to step foot back there – required to do so as part of a consulting project – and not without some trepidation.

I was a philosophy and religion major during my very brief reign of terror at Dubuque. I was blessed to have William B. Gould as my faculty advisor. Dr. Gould was an existentialist – wounded by bayonet in World War II in North Africa – a wise and good soul - he definitely tried what he could to save me from myself. Alas, much work in the area of personal responsibility and understanding was needed, not to mention another twenty years, before there was any hope of this happening.

Looking back I find it quite awe inspiring to be working here in London and walking into a book store to pick up a replacement copy of Bertrand Russell’s “History of Western Philosophy”, having studied Russell, et al. while at Dubuque. Somehow, this would not have seemed possible in 1978.

It has been one great, though chaotic life with much unneeded (or maybe necessary) crazy making and mayhem. Being large and living large most of my life – I left all too large a wake in my path.

Prior to 2001 I was the quintessential bull in a china shop (or to bring it more current – a bull in the stands at a Mexican bullfight).

Now I am trying to strive more for peace and harmony with as Russell referred to it in his book, “The Conquest of Happiness”, with the “stream of life”. It does take work – but the rewards are there. All things flow toward an inevitable outcome of what Voltaire – satirized as “the best of all possible worlds”. Hmmm…