Category Archives: history

PROLOGUE
I’m an old man now, living alone with a dog. My
active life is over, spent, and there is not much time left.
So I am in a hurry.
I’m not a writer, really, and have no literary
pretensions. I lack the skill, imagination, and creativity to
conjure tales out of my hat. This is the first, last, and only
one ever to be produced by me, so I do hope it is worth
telling and that someone will be out there, listening.
Not possessing a writer’s wit does not preclude credits
in other fields, though. I am fairly well educated,
intelligent, of the straight line, analytical kind. I am also
well read, reasonably honest, at home in seven languages,
and, until late in life, possessed of preposterous good
looks, of the boyish, dark, romantic Gregory Peck type.
Throughout my life, women have been attracted to me,
often embarrassing my inborn shyness.
If this sounds conceited or even narcissistic, let me add
that while it is surely a pleasant advantage to be burdened
with, still it is never more than a starter, balancing out its
own effects by turning you careless and lazy. Continue reading →