When we enter this world, some of us are born to run with scissors; some of us are born to run with brakes. I was born to run with scissors!!! I needed to EXPERIENCE the world, not just OBSERVE it. I hopped trains when I was 5 to do what hobos did. I took my 4-year-old cousin with me to the next town 14 miles away – several times. Then we had to follow the tracks to get back home before the whistle blew at 6:00.

I jumped off roofs with the best Tarzan yell I could manage, trying to grab tree branches as I went down. I “borrowed” my grandpa’s trusty saw to build a log cabin with my sisters and cousin - just like Daniel Boone! The trees were in the park by the lake. Who knew at 8 years old that it was illegal to cut them down. With two layers of tree logs up on our cabin, the police came and took us, and the trusty saw, to our mothers. Somebody might have noted then that I ran with scissors!

Your mom, grandma, and great grandma believed then, and do now at the age of 77, that you should say YES! to an opportunity and an adventure! I’d like to share with you the adventure of my life that changed how I approached the world – a trip around the world 54 years ago when I was 23 years old.

It began when my roommate found an advertisement for World Campus Afloat – a six-month trip around the world. As a senior in college at the University of Minnesota, I immediately said YES!!! Georgia Heller and I applied. We got accepted. THEN, we had the challenge to figure out how to finance it. Neither of us had any money. But we did it!!!! In January 1970, I took my very first plane ride from Minneapolis to Los Angeles where we were to meet the ship, the S S Ryndam, a Dutch ship. We had our passports, our trunk, our hopes, and boarded along with 480 other students from every state and Canada.

RULES MATTER

As a person who has pushed the boundaries of everything, including rules, I learned an important lesson while standing in line to get on the ship. We had signed documents after being accepted that we would not bring drugs on board. The rule was that if you did, you would be sent home AT YOUR EXPENSE and you would FORFEIT THE REST OF THE TRIP AND THE EXPENSES YOU HAD ALREADY PAID, E.G., TUITION, PREPAID TRIPS, ETC. I didn’t pay much attention to it as I didn’t do any drugs. But, while waiting in line, a kid in front of me opened his vest to show the drugs he was prepared to sneak onboard. I said nothing, but some officials saw it. He was sent home, forfeiting his prepaid trip around the world, his tuition for the classes and everything!!! He never even got on the ship! Dang!!!! I took notice that the rules mattered, and the consequences were real!!!! The rules for the various countries were presented before we landed in every port! I paid attention and sometimes even took notes – a first for me.

I found the room I was assigned to and met my roommate. I was totally unimpressed with the room. I don’t know what I was expecting, but this was not it! There were two double bunks on each side of the tiny room. The top one was for storing stuff and the bottom one was for sleeping. Bathrooms were shared outside the room and down the hall. We were lucky to not be too far from the bathrooms for showers, brushing our teeth, and going to the bathroom.

We set sail at 10:00 PM on January 5, 1970.