Epic Adventure Book
An Epic True Story Adventure
Connecting The Dots
The Destiny Rides Shotgun book is a traveler’s search for questions, not answers. All things considered, a journey should produce far more questions than answers about one’s self and other life issues. This Rock & Roll road trip from Amsterdam to Kabul, Afghanistan, is filled with perilous encounters for the trio of travelers. This situation raises the question: “Why do we keep finding ourselves in this predicament?” And then there’s the hopeful question: “Will we be saved again by interventions known as ‘Dots’ or Guardian Angels?”
This inspires the author to develop a concept that explains the unusual situations and magical interventions they often come across. Connecting the Dots becomes the concept’s focal point and involves Dark Matter, Karma and Dots.
In addition, recollections and memories of an earlier time are humorously placed into the context of the twenty-first century.
Theory of Dots
Long after the events in this book, I reflected on our experiences, karma, and Dots. A hypothesis emerged and is introduced in this book as the Theory of Dots. The Destiny Rides Shotgun book is an action-packed saga that will entertain and engage anyone interested in adventure travel.
"A wild journey. Hair-raising close calls. And the key to survival meant connecting the Dots…"
Rock & Roll Fueled Road Trip of Discovery
When reading this book, it’s important to note that it was during a golden era, the early days of widespread use of “soft” recreational drugs. There was camaraderie, a sense of freedom while sharing a joint, even with strangers. That was especially so if you identified as a hippie. At least that was true in my experience. Above all else, it was a time before the ugly side of drugs emerged and the underbelly of human behavior — greed, violence, and money took precedence. In contrast, the Destiny Rides Shotgun book takes place in a sweet spot of time.
Those remarkable years were too brief. However, they allowed me a flurry of adventure and travel in a world free of social media, fake news, the Internet, and digital everything. All of which were to become traumatizing agents in society. On the horizon were realities and unfolding events, including an exploding population of humans on an ever more crowded planet. Science was hurtling toward ground breaking discoveries in physics, astronomy and space exploration. Climate Change was a new term and unknown to the masses.
The Destiny Rides Shotgun book takes you back to a simpler time and friendlier world. The photo shows police mingling, unarmed, in a calm crowd of people.
"Imagine Bill Nye getting high with Ken Kesey."
A Word From The Author
Karma was a big deal. It was heard and seen everywhere – in song titles, lyrics, and peppered the vernacular of the 70s. Above all else, you needed good karma, and it was equally important to avoid those with bad karma. I’m willing to bet most didn’t know what it really meant or where it came from. Without a doubt, if you were cool, you knew it was the thing and tried to find the good stuff everywhere. In particular, travelers coveted the vague concept of karma and regardless of the language, the word karma was recognized. Taking a road trip, you needed good karma to get there. If you were leaving for India and following the hippie trail, it was going to be a karmic trip.
The Destiny Rides Shotgun book is full of references to karma for good reason. It wafted through our journey like hash smoke in a concert. What’s more, it rode shotgun in the Flying Wreck and was always there when we needed it most. Equally important, karma introduced us to its companions: luck, guardian angels, and Dots.
Connecting The Dots Playlist
Listen To The Road Trip Music
Rock & Roll, played an important part in the cultural and political evolution of the world. Wait a minute, think about it. Whatever you think is hot music now wouldn’t be here if not for R&R! Give due respect and listen to the music dear reader.
By listening to the music and reading the song lyrics you can drift into the vibe and feel the era. It was a helluva time and I am grateful for having lived through it. If you were there, you may feel the same.
As humans are want to do, many fans of Rock & Roll took sides in their taste for music: Beatles or Rolling Stones.
Rolling Stones vs Beatles
To me, the choice was like fishing. The Rolling Stones music was the bait on a hook with a lead weight to sink it into the deep water to catch the older and clever big ones. On the hook was an earthworm – alive, earthy, and active like the blues and jazz that were the roots of the Stones’ music. Their music grabbed you and shook you, made you move and feel the beat. Their music was edgy and naughty. They were the bad boys of rock and were one step from trouble, if not already knee-deep in it.
The Beatles’ music was like fishing with a bobber. It floats on top with a piece of bread as bait to catch whatever might come its way. The bread would rapidly dissolve, leaving nothing on the hook. I liked some of their songs, but they didn’t last very long as a group and perhaps would have developed into more of what I liked had they the staying power of the Rolling Stones.
My opinion is unscientific, biased, and probably considered by some to be slanderous (unintended). Nevertheless, it aptly illustrates the musical foundation upon which this book is written. Rock out, take risks, have fun, and don’t forget to shock those over thirty for good measure.
Spotify limits this embedded playlist to short versions of each song . You can listen to the full-length version by clicking on the Open Playlist Button. There’s an option to sign up for free on spotify.com.
What Readers Are Saying
Real words from real people. Solicited, but unedited. I hope you agree after reading Destiny Rides Shotgun.
Photo Gallery
A Camera Was Always Hanging Around My Neck
My father had a Minolta 35mm camera that I lusted after. He needed the exterior of the family home painted. We settled on a trade—I painted the house for the camera. In short order, I was hooked and set up a darkroom and got deep into photography. Eventually, I accumulated a bit of money and bought my first Nikon in 1970—a Nikkormat. It served me well for several years and is the camera used for the photos in Magic Carpet Ride.
I had three lenses—a 55mm “normal” lens, a wide angle 35mm, and a 200mm telephoto. Given that a backpack had limited space and my budget was even more so, I didn’t take or use a flash. I shot Kodachrome positive film and Tri-X B&W negative film. Occasionally, Ektachrome positive for a faster ISO and Ilford B&W for less grain. As soon as practicable, I set up a cramped darkroom in my flat in Amsterdam and developed the B&W film. Kodachrome was sent in for processing whenever I was somewhere that had the capability, and I was there long enough to receive it.
Backpacking & Road Tripping Photographer
Auto-focus in 35mm cameras didn’t exist then. You needed to either be quick, pre-focus to an anticipated spot, use an aperture/shutter combo for greater depth of field, or all the above. Store-bought film had about 36 shots max in a roll of film (unless you loaded your own.) Therefore, you needed to keep track of exposures left in order not to be caught out when the action flared. As a result, out-of-focus shots would sometimes materialize in the developing tray as you watched the image emerge in the darkroom. That was an in-your-face disappointment. You will see some of those out-of-focus shots in my travel photos. I have two excuses: hashish and things occasionally getting out of hand when the action heated up.
I’ll update this section as I scan and digitize more photos.
Destiny Rides Shotgun Photos
Click Photo to Enlarge
