One must be ever-vigilant to stop others from intruding on personal liberty. I think Patrick Henry said it best:
      Give me Liberty or give me death!

And of course, Wendell Phillips:
      Eternal vigilance is the price of Liberty.

I designed this website to share my travels with you visitors. In 2000 I motorcycled across The United States. Along the way I made friends with other world travelers. I continue to travel and take journeys of a different sort - getting to know myself again.

I traveled a little in 2001. I spent time with my parents in Florida during the spring, then I returned to New Mexico for the summer. In New Mexico I worked for lodging, mostly - as a "handyman," financial consultant (my software is to die for!), business card and stationery publisher, and began some website development.

Then I moved into a friend's home in El Dorado (for the neophyte: City of Gold), a suburb of Santa Fe. El Dorado is nestled in the hills just outside of the city. The sunsets are to die for! I helped out with chores and so forth. In fact, I felt guilty for getting such fine accomodations for such simple tasks: walking the dog, vacuuming, and watering the garden!

By mid-September 2001 I returned to Florida to coordinate my job search. I took temporary employment including an assignment at Peace River Citrus, a Bartow processing plant. The work was fun but not challenging. I learned a little about the citrus industry while I buffed up. I left the assignment on December 13. Apparently I was having too much fun on the job. The Supervisor for the temp agency demanded that I leave my walkman at home. I would have understood a request to remove the walkman for work itself. But isn't it rather insidious to require that I leave it at home? Imagine an employer requiring you to remove your car stereo. Isn't that an intrusion on personal liberty? She also demanded that I remove my ear ring. This, too, seemed invasive - just another petty means to control my being. I recall that in 1993 I had removed my ear ring for Johnson & Higgins (a fascist - racist and sexist - corporate entity now merged with Marsh & McClennan Companies). By the end of 1995 they had almost taken my soul as well.

Last Spring (March 2002) I moved to Republic of Korea (South Korea) and I taught young people in Cheong-ju, the capital of Chungbuk Province. I had a great time and I decided to stay. I was recently promoted from middle and high school English teacher to University professor at University of Ulsan College of Social Sciences. I am having a great time teaching a survey course that embraces all of the social sciences - from political theory and economics to business and sociology. I research my sources, create my own slides, write my own summaries, and lecture and assist my students in their progress. Officialy my teaching hours are short. I only teach for fifteen hours each week, but this first semester takes a great deal of my time as I create the course from scratch.

Did you know that Korea has the Twelfth largest economy in the world? I sure didn't. Because Korea is bereft of natural mineral resources, the culture places a great emphasis on bilingualism and on creativity and education: THE BRAIN TRUST. In this country of innovators everyone studies a foreign language, the most popular ones being English, Chinese, Japanese, and German.

In Summer 2002 I experienced Mongolia, a beautiful and magical place where the dominant culture is one of independence. Mongolian herders retain a nomadic lifestyle, moving their horses and cattle freely over the wide-open Mongolian steppes in search of good grazing area for livestock.

I plan to move to Mongolia in 2003, where I hope to marry, raise a family, ride horses, and open a business (but not necessarily in that order).

Last Updated: October 1, 2005
Photos http://www.flickr.com/photos/lmbeharry/

 

Other Projects
  During the spring of 2002 I created a nifty piece of software, writing macros to annualize financial figures from simple daily inventory and sales data. This brainchild erupted to help a friend who announced that he wanted to open a cyber-video cafe. A month of intensive work resulted in a software to provide useful information for small businesses. Biz-Eval computes prospective income statements, balance sheets, projects taxes, and produces graphs and so forth with minimal inputs. It's terrifically handy if you're thinking about starting a business but need some virtual analysis beforehand, or if you are trying to sell a business and need a method to calculate a fair price. Plus, the software will give you hard data to take to a lending officer or investor (graphs and all). If you'd like to try the software, email me here.  I'm charging $50 U.S. currency for it (money order or cashier's check).

 

What Else? During my first sabbatical from "the Matrix" in 2001-2002 I confirmed my philosophy of life, Objectivism. That same year I wrote my first novel, The Dark Horse Killings (it's a good mystery story)! Click here for the full text!

I have started a second novel, an espionage thriller about a young man's adventures in covert operations. According to my outline, I'm about a third of the way through. I have just recently started work again and I'm looking forward to completion as soon as possible. So far it looks pretty good! I'll post additional parts after some more editing.

In 2001 - 2002 volunteered with VISTA: Volunteers in Service to America (like the Peace Corps except you stay in the States). The Objectivist Society claims that volunteerism is "altruistic." I have a different view. I think volunteerism is the most selfish ideology a man may pursue. At the very core, it is self-preservation. I endeavor to build society and avert corruption. When I work with children I aim to suggest a proper lifestyle to them; I may educate them; and I may help them break a cycle of looting or mooching. Even Ayn Rand's John Galt "volunteered" when he stepped into the world to recruit producers and help them discover their own worth. I enthusiastically look forward to volunteering throughout my life. It's a great way to improve self, meet other people, and share ideas.

 

America...The Beautiful The United States is a glorious country, saturated with majestic vistas and incomparable terrain. Please see it firsthand.

 

Enjoy Life! This is it! Have a great ride and keep the rubber side down. Thanks for stopping by and sharing my journeys!