Dear Jeril... Love, Dad

Wayne P. Anderson

Description

As a Father's Day gift Wayne Anderson's oldest daughter Jerilyn, often called Jeril, presented him with a fat three-hole notebook containing the letters and stories he had written her from the time she was twenty until she was thirty-eight—from 1977 to 1995.

It was one of his dearest Father's Day gifts ever. And it was an especially appropriate gift as she had been an avid reader since childhood and was now a creative librarian who continued to cherish the written word.

Anderson was amazed at how much detail there was in the letters about his adventures around the world. He has decided to share the parts of these letters that other travelers, active or armchair, might enjoy in this Venture Bound Book.

Sujets

• Travel
• Western
• Europe

Informations

• Publié par: eBookIt.com
• Date de parution: 16 mars 2016
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781942168317
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 2 Mo

Extrait

Here’s what people are saying about Dear Jeril, Love, Dad:
 
“Wayne Anderson’s wit and wisdom combines to embrace readers, taking them with him on exciting and memorable adventures around the world. Through his eyes we see the beauty in the Hermitage, the sounds of speakers from Hyde Park Square, and the taste of delicious cuisine from kitchens and street vendors in distant places.
“Wayne writes to his daughter, Jerilyn, of his experiences from around the globe, as well as in his home country. Dear Jeril... Love, Dad will make you laugh out loud, gasp in amazement, as well as bring tears to your eyes. You’ll find yourself recommending this delightful and informative book to all your friends.”
 
~Dorothy Watson, PhD–Emeritus, University of Missouri-Columbia
Founder of Watson Literacy Center, Parkville, Missouri
 
“I n the charming intimacy of letters to his daughter, we accompany Dr. Anderson on his world travels. Dr. Anderson’s childlike wonder at the variety of life make it a rare pleasure to join him on his global adventures. I found the book thoroughly delightful.”
~Alice Anna Reese, PhD
Author of Show Me Famous Missourians
 
 
“I have been an avid reader for almost ninety years, and Dear Jeril... Love, Dad is one of those rather few books for which I eagerly awaited time for reading. Each chapter caused me to wonder what fascinating stories would unfold next.
“In an age when news stories are filled with reports of non-functioning families, Dear Jeril... is a story of a highly functional family, bound together by mutual love and respect, with each making a major contribution to society. I was so impressed by the ability of the parents, Wayne and Carla, to blend their highly respected professions with productive trips around the world to serve the greater good. Anderson’s insights as a psychologist gives the reader helpful insights into foreign personalities.
“Amidst the new technology of texting and Twitter, the book emphasizes the value of exchanging and keeping written letters. It is a fascinating travel book, but much more.”
 
~Reverend Mel West, International Humanitarian


 
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Copyright © 2015 Wayne P. Anderson,
All rights reserved.
 
 
www.venturebound.net
www.samplingtheworldattractions.com
 
 
Published in eBook format by AKA-Publishing
Columbia, Missouri
www.akayola.com

Converted by http://www.eBookIt.com
 
 
ISBN-13: 978-1-9421-6831-7
 
 
No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical or by any information or storage and retrieval system without permission in writing from the author or publisher.
 
Material from articles previously published in the Columbia Daily Tribune used with permission.

 
 
 
To my daughters Jerilyn, Debra, Rosalyn & Stephanie for the richness they have added to my life
INTRODUCTION
As a Father’s Day gift my oldest daughter Jerilyn, often called Jeril, presented me with a fat three-hole notebook containing the letters and stories I had written her from the time she was twenty until she was thirty-eight—from 1977 to 1995.
It was one of my dearest Father’s Day gifts ever. And it was an es pec ially appropriate gift as she had been an avid reader since childhood a nd was now a creative librarian who continued to cherish the written word.
I was amazed at how much detail there was in these letters about my adventures around the world. I decided to share the parts of these letters that other travelers, active or armchair, might enjoy. I have retired from full-time teaching and now write travel books and have continued to write a weekly travel column for the Columbia Daily Tribune.
My wife, Carla, and I started traveling with our children when the two oldest, Jerilyn and Debra were quite young. We lived on the East Coast and took the opportunity to explore the battlefields, museums and parks. When we moved back to the Midwest and had two more children, Rosalyn (Rosie) and Stephanie, we continued our travels, first with a tent. After finding it couldn’t hold six comfortably, we bought a travel trailer.
As a psychology professor at the University of Missouri, I had summers off and a flexible schedule allowing some travel. I arranged to take time off to teach abroad for a total of three years spaced apart. I took an additional year off on sabbatical in order to see more of the world. My wife, Carla, was a psychologist in private practice with control over her schedule, which added to our freedom to travel.
In our first year abroad teaching in a graduate program run by Ball State for the Air Force in Europe, we had all four children with us (Jerilyn­­­–sixteen, Debra–fourteen, Rosalyn–eight, and Stephanie–six) so letters were not necessary to keep them up-to-date.
But on our second year assignment in 1977-1978 with the Air Force, only the younger children were with us so regular reports on our experiences to the two older girls became part of the pattern. The reader needs to keep in mind that personal computers did not exist, often a typewriter was hard to find, and copy machines were rare, so some letters were handwritten and others typed.
Later both of the older girls were stationed for years in Europe, Debra as an army officer and Jerilyn with her army officer husband. Part of the problem in communication was the lack of cheap telephone calls, something the younger generation probably cannot imagine, so the letters continued.
I found I had forgotten much of what had happened to me and enjoyed reviewing my adventures in the United States and foreign lands. Occasionally I will put the age after a daughter’s name to keep the reader aware of the passage of time .
In reading the stories you will note that money always seemed to concern me, and some of the numbers I mention sound very small. But keep in mind how much the dollar has been devalued over the last forty years. Despite my complaints it should be apparent that we were able to take advantage of our travel opportunities to a large portion of the world, some of it even traveling first class.
Living in foreign countries, traveling alone or with various groups, I have had more contact with the locals than the average tourist who is often sheltered from reality.
When I retired from full-time teaching in 1995, I began writing occasional stories on my travels with a trauma team into disaster areas for the Columbia Daily Tribune and in 1998 began writing a weekly travel column, Venture Bound. I feel that I moved so easily into the role of travel writer because of the experience I had had writing letters to my family.
In this book I include an occasional travel story published in the Tribune some years after the trip. These are based on a daily journal I always kept so I could remember what had happened. Often so much occurs in a short time that I would forget important details if I didn’t make a record of them shortly after they happened.
Please join me in the following pages as I relive some of my adventures from around the world.
 
I have inserted here a Venture Bound column published in the Columbia Daily Tribune Carla and I wrote because the first letters cover the 1977-78 years in Europe accompanied by our two youngest daughters, Rosie and Stephanie. Our daughters’ recollections will give readers a flavor of what it was like to travel abroad especially with children aged fourteen and twelve.
 
ADVENTURES TRAVELING WITH OUR CHILDREN
 
At our recent sixtieth wedding anniversary celebration our four daughters interspersed family memories between songs by the Missing Window trio. We will first share some memories of the two daughters who focused on some of our family travels.
 
Debra : Of course when we were young, Mom and Dad included us in their adventures. We all remember “Bravery Training.” We took hikes, climbed tall objects, learned to shoot firearms and went camping, boating, and fishing.
I remember one hike in particular when Jerilyn and I were grade school age and came upon a water tower with a ladder that reached the ground. We decided to climb it.
I remember looking down from high up the ladder wondering why Dad hadn’t caught up yet. He was about halfway up when he called that that was far enough. I thought, “Who’s this bravery training for anyway?”
We made it back down and felt pretty good about the job we’d done. That’s when I learned that Dad was not at all fond of looking down from great heights. And while having our feet held, we have leaned out on our backs over a wall—not an easy task—to kiss the Blarney Stone in a castle in Ireland, which is said to give you the gift of gab.
Stephanie : If I may interject here—Dad reminded me of a story this week. When we were going on a hike when I was five years old, I sat down in the middle of the path and moaned, “I am so tired of being toughened in.”
At times I have seen more countries and cathedrals and bridges than I care to remember. I recall one time early one morning, Mom burst into the room where I had spent the night, flung open the shades and asked, “Would you like to go to a museum?”
Well, I was stunned. This may not seem like a strange question, but I had never been asked this before. After I got over the shock, I composed myself and responded that I would rather sleep in. Mom laughed and said, “I was just asking to be polite. Get dressed and let’s go.” Needless to say I never ever fell for that one again!
For me Erma Bombeck