A scene from a movie called Jeremiah Johnson – played by Redford – set me on the path to publish this dang book. This scene’s towards the end of the movie. Jeremiah encounters the zany character Del Gue, some time after first meeting earlier in the movie. Del Gue now has a full head of hair. Formerly, he had shaved his head bald for fear of Indians scalping him. Jeremiah says, “Ain’t that hair I see on your head, Del?”

Del responds, “I figured that when I depart this life I’d like to leave something behind even if just to be remembered on some man’s lodge pole.”

Jeremiah responds, “Sound thinking, Del.”

That resonated. Realizing that things I’ve done, known, loved and hated may never be known to anyone else can cause you to wonder if, one day, the future will be as if you never lived. Think about that.

If you’ve never have, well, you should. Death comes to us all. However, this shouldn’t be depressing to consider. No facts of life should. Frankly, I’m grateful to consider all this. As a childless bachelor, not knowing if this status is ever going to change, it feels right to try to leave some evidence that I was alive once.

My trip to Europe I took in May and June in the year of our Lord 2000 – which is the subject of this book – provided some of the highest emotions I’ve ever experienced. This is still so decades later. It was like nothing else because it was the first time. You’ll see what I mean.

To me, it doesn’t matter that this trip happened a long time ago. Europe’s old. Americans’ first reactions to new things in Europe will be similar 50 or 100 years from now. They will. I won’t be the last American dingdong visiting the Old World for the first time.

More than my scalp may now be remembered.

FEATURED PHOTO FROM: upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/99/Totem_Pole%2C_Monument_Valley.jpg/640px-Totem_Pole%2C_Monument_Valley.jpg