I retired and decided to go on a little camping trip. That was six years ago and I’m still going. I live the nomadic lifestyle, camping, mostly on public lands, and traveling full-time. I’ve loved camping and traveling my whole life. I don’t remember it, but I’m told I started my life camping in diapers. And while I’m not there yet, I’ll be happy to end it the same way! 

Before transitioning to life in flip-flops, I was self-employed for twenty-nine years and lived in rural Wisconsin, where my now late wife and I raised two sons. I moved there because I grew up in New Jersey. I’ve been running from crowds ever since. I love people, but prefer very small groups. Before leaving, I did get a degree in religion from Rutgers. Being a state university, it educated me in religious history without the agendas and dogmas that can come with religious education in private colleges. If there were such a thing, you might say I have a graduate degree in undergraduate studies. Thanks to bouncing around and changing plans,  I extended my studies to five and a half years, ending up with enough or nearly enough credits to have also majored in English, history, and communications. While I might be a “jack of all trades, master of none”, the scope of my studies has suited me well in my love of examining commonalities across various cultures and disciplines.     

Since college, I’ve been thinking about it — for forty years.