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Motorcycle Trips

When I was in college, I bought a 360 Honda motorcycle. For a time, it was my only means of transportation, so I rode it year round. My brother Dan lived in Arizona at the time. I’d get a few weeks off in the summer, between semesters, and would ride my motorcycle to visit him.  My first trip was quite an adventure for me, having never traveled beyond Minnesota and western Wisconsin (with t . . .

Krabi

In 2004 I got the notion that it would be nice to spend Christmas, that year, in Krabi, Thailand. Krabi is in Southern Thailand, and was right in the path of the tsunami that struck on December 26 of 2004. Krabi was virtually destroyed. Fortunately, my plans didn’t work out and we went there three weeks earlier. This is an eerie parallel to my grandfather having missed the Titanic back in 19 . . .

Getting Married

I am often asked how I met my wife, especially since she is from Thailand.

When I was working at Sperry Univac, I had a friend, named Aye, from Burma whose wife is from Thailand. I helped him with a project once to fix a door. Afterwards his wife brought us some food. She told us that when we finished she would bring us a special Thai dessert. We ate the food, one of the dishes having been . . .

Clash of Cultures

Seldom is it that two cultures as disparate as the German settlers and the Sioux Indians clash as happened in the Battle of New Ulm in 1862.

The German settlers had only a short time before, immigrated to the frontier from Germany. They brought with them their heritage, culture and values. They . . .

Movie Potential

A number of people who have read the book have commented that it has movie potential. I agree, but believe that a movie should not necessarily follow the same chronological order as the book.

In the 1980’s there was a movie made called the Emerald Forest which began with a riveting chase scene in which a child was abducted and the father made a desperate pursuit.  Trial and Triumph has a . . .