I never have been to Kenya in my life!

My wife has been after me to write my memoirs, and this is my feeble attempt to comply with her wishes. She thinks I tell funny, entertaining, and enlightning stories about places I have been, people I have known, and things I have done.

However, I contend that while these stories can be fun, they are best for spur-of-the-moment situations where they can be used to liven up the conversation, offer a different insight, or just, as mentioned above, entertain the listener.

In fact, I cannot normally produce these things from memory...they just pop out when some receptor in my brain recognizes a link which can be exploited. Thus, friends and family, and a few total strangers, are usually warned by one of these phrases: "I know a story about that..." or "You know, that reminds me..." or something similar.

I guess it's a touch of the Irish in me that likes to tell a story. I always harken back to that "dear little priest", Father Cunningham, who used to both amuse and upset the nuns by telling us mystery stories or old Irish folk tales, when he was supposed to be teaching us religion. He often told us stories about amteur detective Father Brown, a character created by Gilbert Keith Chesterton, in that lovely Irish brogue when I was in grade school at St. John's elementary in Warrington, Florida in the 50's. It was probably those very stories which prompted me to spend hour after hour reading mystery stories, western tales, and science fiction books checked out of the Pensacola Public Library.

You see, talking about telling stories reminded me about Father Cunningham, which reminded me about "The Quiet Man" with John Wayne, which reminded me about the time John Wayne filmed part of "The Wings of Eagles" near my home in Pensacola and onboard Pensacola Naval Air Station, where my father worked for 30+ years, which reminded me of all the times I was onboard NAS Pensacola myself as man and boy, including the very spots where some of the scenes were filmed....which reminds me of my own career in the U. S. Army....

You see how it goes!

As mentioned in the title of this post, I have never been to Kenya in my life, so why the title?

In the great British comedy, "As Time Goes By", one of the lead characters, Lionel Hardcastle (Geoffrey Palmer), has written an autobiography with the uninspiring title, "My Life in Kenya". When asked in one episode what the book is about, he responds, "My life in Kenya"!

In the show, all who read the book, even those who love him the most agree that the book, about things which matter to him and which have made him the man he is, are really boring to read.

That's how this blog will probably wind up.

It will be boring for the most part, interesting or funny at some points (I hope), frightening or enlightning at others. It will allow me to write down, in some vaguely autobiographical manner, the things that have happened to me or which I have learned in my 64 years on this planet.

Well, that's enough for the first installment. I hope to add to this daily, but am sure, based on past performances, that there will be lapses in that plan.

However whichever day you choose to happen by, I will always wish you....

Have a great day!

Donovan Baldwin
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