Acknowledgments

All of us are the product of our times and experiences. We see the history we live in and that our lives have phases. We learn and grow under the watchful eyes of our parents and learn the facts and ideas of the world from our teachers. We learn the skills to make a living and provide for ourselves on our own. We marry, raise our children and watch them grow, and learn, and go out, and forward the same as we.

I am grateful to my parents, teachers, and my loving wives. I am proud of my children and the lives they have made for themselves. After seven decades of life, I thought it was time to put down the mantle, relish my remaining time, and enjoy the fruits and blessings life has brought me.

Sometimes life can take unexpected turns, open unexpected doors, and bring new self-discovery. It can happen at any time and surprise us. I have always gravitated toward younger people as my friends and co-workers, especially more so as the decades have rolled on. There are two who have inspired and have come along at this twilight juncture. There are two more who have cared and helped, one who stands close by and one appearing from the distant past.

Thank you Abraham, my African son, for teaching me what it means to be human. Thank you for your lessons of courage, resilience of the human spirit, perseverance and faith.

Thank you Jim, my passionate teacher. You are my professor, but I call you teacher for its higher meaning. I have known a lot of the facts for many years, but you have opened my eyes to the meanings. You taught me to feel history. Thank you for awakening my passion for learning and igniting my love for history and writing. The ideas are planted now and need to grow, mature, and be harvested.

Thank you Nick, my literary and insightful son. You have been with me every step of the way; patiently reading it all, discussing it all, analyzing it all, and the sounding board for the important ideas.

Thank you Joan. As my old friend, so long far way, you have appeared back in my life when I needed you most. As a teacher of teachers, I couldn’t have hoped for a better mentor, editor and partner. You believed. Your generous words were your gifts to me. I understand you now. Your words - words of writing, words of ideas, words of encouragement - were gifts of love and friendship. Your gifts made a poor book a good one. You brought me the last mile.