Be prepared in the pages of this book to have fresh light cast on the Human Experience-and therefore on the many experiences of your own life. Author James Baker has here collected the stories from his lifetime of adventures to provoke and inspire you by letting you see yourself in them. Baker grew up in the American Southland, traveled and studied in Europe, and taught both in the United States and in Asia. Everywhere he has lived and traveled, he has encouraged people to tell him their stories; he has listened carefully to them and jotted them down; and now, here he shares them with you. His stories of fantasy, escape, tribulations, and ecstasy demonstrate the bonds we humans form with people, places, and events. In them you will recognize the people, places, and events that you have known, hated and loved, feared and embraced. Read them with an open mind and an open heart. The will make you laugh, they may make you cry. They will give you pleasure.