Story
From the first drawn breath and first suckle at a mother’s breast, those powerful eyes begin the recording of a life which is stored in the remarkable tissue of the brain. Therefore, each human life is a story that can be told, even if it is a very personal one.
For most of the twentieth century, the story of Man has speeded up because of the increased population on earth, mass education, use of technology and a food supply. This part of Man’s history also revealed his hostility to fight to gain power and control of others. I have been lucky to have been born and to have lived in that century. Through the lens of one human being fortunate enough to have the imagination and a simple skill of writing, this novel has come into reality.
What is the reason, gain or worth of a human being’s life? These may be many, for some are born into wealth, inherited power to rule and to others a form of dynastic inheritance. Many are born to serve and just to survive hope fully to an age where the ‘collective intelligence’ is passed on to the next generation. It is that ‘collective intelligence’ and experiences which is the main focus of this novel but it is arrogance to think that one simple life makes for a story of Mankind, so what is the true reason for such a story? I chose it to be the accumulation of information that through eyes of six decades of life has been kneaded into a dough known as ‘Wisdom’ Still arrogant in its tenor but if one records life trials and personal history in a humorous tale then just maybe one might philosophically have gained a bit of wisdom.
At this age in my sixth decade, I am fortunate to have the time to look back at a life filled with opportunity, the kindness and the horrible aspects of human beings and to see myself sliding through from one part of history through to another using the guiles of education, a warm and sunny personality and the skill of speech. As a visitor in the form of a human soul, I have found love, honest friendship, kindness and warmth of human beings so alien to myself, which have combined to allow me to thrive happily in an adopted country with a family of my own and with an understanding partner.
This is a story which covers a life born under the colonial system of England during the Second World War. It is a record of the experiences of rationing of food, the survival of a family in such an environment, of having an education and of nearly interacting with a few great human beings. Life has been one of enjoying the wonders of earth and its variety of life forms, the variety of human idiosyncratic traits but most of all the gift of humor, love and generosity. The colour and texture of the different countries in which I have been fortunate to have lived, the interaction with the simple human worker from the laborer, the landlady, the professional to the farmer, politician and the small role I played in this brief history as a worker in a medical laboratory in three different societies.
The question is whether or not I have fulfilled the goal of survival and whether this life has touched Wisdom. Only you the reader can judge but at the same time have a laugh at my expense.
