It is such a happiness when good people get together—and they always do. —Jane Austen While on a cross-country flight, I met a man who turned idealism into financial reward in the most unlikely of places—high-rolling Las Vegas. Jack Thunder grew up in Nebraska when TV shows were in black-and-white and heroes stood for […]
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“You did it simply by doing something entirely different, knowing it required being flexible and taking chances.” (My conversation continues with Thomas Seekins, a lone traveler, while we are on an archaeological dig in 2011.) “Yes, but there was more going on behind the scenes. Back at the hotel, I was doing my own […]
My conversation continues with Thomas Seekins, a lone traveler, while we are on an archaeological dig in 2011. Thomas was precise as he told me that he moved slowly but surely, thinking through one obstacle at a time. As I watched his hands artistically move as he spoke, it occurred to me that his […]
“I bandied about the pros and cons in my head for days in regards to buying the hotel I had been working at. A feeling akin to hunger lingered in the pit of my stomach although I lacked an appetite. How many scenarios would I think of before I could make a decision? With […]
“No kidding. Harry had no children and was hoping to retire but couldn’t face the prospect of selling the business he’d started from scratch. Once I got the job at the coffeehouse, I worked more than full time for Harry. I liked him—we had a bond. That winter was a bad one, and we […]
“Wait a minute,” I said. “You thought leaving the motel you felt you owned and going back to driving tourists would make you happier? That doesn’t make sense.” My conversation continues with Thomas Seekins, a lone traveler, while we are on an archaeological dig in 2011. “You know, you’re right. I wasn’t […]
My conversation continues with Thomas Seekins, a lone traveler, while we are on an archaeological dig in 2011. Open to his next adventure being better than his last one, Tom walked into a bar in downtown Jasper and, within an hour, stepped into his next job. “I went to this local Indian […]
My conversation continues with Thomas Seekins, a lone traveler, while we are on an archaeological dig in 2011. “On that short train trip, I thought about what Sam (Sam was a full-blooded Native American who had come to Canada in search of work) told me and compared it to what I had known […]
My conversation continues with Thomas Seekins, a lone traveler, while we are on an archaeological dig in 2011. “So when I got to Calgary, the only job I could find was driving a taxi on the midnight-to-dawn shift. My boss gave me a map of the city, and I studied it by walking […]
After five days on a Greyhound bus, Thomas Seekins knew that he’d never set foot in Boston again. When the door opened, a rush of hot air that felt hauntingly familiar enveloped him. His own voice filled his head: Finally, I’m in the land of my ancestors. The year was 1960. Thomas spent a […]