A Lifetime of Small Adventures: Stories of Adventure, Misadventure and Lessons Learned Along the Way (Paperback)
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Description
His mom turned away for just a moment. Bill Birnbaum, then a three year old boy, walked the few paces to the bus which had just stopped at the corner. The doors opened and he climbed aboard. The doors closed, and the bus continued on its route down Thirteenth Avenue. Bill’s mom, suddenly realizing that he was gone, looked in all directions screaming, “Billy, where’s Billy?”
As far as he can remember, that ride on the Thirteenth Avenue bus was Bill Birnbaum’s first “small adventure.” But it was hardly his last. For it set the tone for a series of adventures throughout his lifetime. And that’s what this book is about – a lifetime of adventures. Writing in his hilarious, reader-friendly style, Bill Birnbaum tells of his adventures, his misadventures, and his lessons learned along the way.
- You’ll laugh when you read about 14-year old Billy flooding the basement of his home — quite by accident, he claims.
- You’ll laugh again when reading of his experimenting with rockets and explosives, and doing — quite innocently he insists — just a little bit of damage.
- You’ll hold your breath when you read of the plane’s single engine quitting at an altitude of 2,500 feet. Nope, he wasn’t killed.
- You’ll hold your breath again, and again, when you read of his exploits both hitchhiking and picking up hitchhikers. Fortunately, only a few of his passengers were seriously dangerous.
- You’ll move to the edge of your chair while reading of his being caught by the current while swimming across the Colorado River — and hearing the downstream rapids growing louder and louder.
- You’ll pause to reflect when you read of his thoughts about how we creatures of modern society are too damn busy. And too materialistic. And you’ll nod in agreement with his theory about “the three ages of man.” And how every person needs to maintain their dignity.
- You’ll either admire him or think he’s nuts when your read that, at age 64, he applied to join the Peace Corps. And when the Peace Corps’ medical department turned him down, he and his wife sold their home, put everything they owned in storage and flew down to Peru in search of their own volunteer opportunities. They moved to, and worked voluntarily, in a poor community in the Peruvian Andes.
Bill Birnbaum writes in his humorous, reader-friendly style. So you can relax and enjoy reading of his lifetime of small adventures.
About the Author
Born and raised in New York, Bill Birnbaum spent his middle years in Southern California. There, he led climbing trips for the Sierra Club in California’s Sierra Nevada Mountains. He raised two sons and enjoyed a twenty-five-year career as a self-employed management consultant. For twenty years, Bill published and edited the Business Strategies Newsletter. He authored two business books, including, “Strategic Thinking: A Four Piece Puzzle.” Published in 2004, that book is currently in its third printing.
In 2007, Bill and his wife, Wendy, were ready to write a new chapter in their lives. They sold their home, put everything they owned in storage and purchased two one-way tickets to Arequipa, Peru. They spent the next eight months living in Peru, six of those months working voluntarily in a poor community in the Peruvian Andes. Following their volunteer work in Peru, the Birnbaums spent an additional four months traveling in Ecuador, Patagonia Chile and Argentina.
Bill holds both a Bachelor’s Degree in Electrical Engineering from The City College of New York, School of Engineering and a Master’s Degree in Business Administration from California State University – Fullerton.
When asked to describe his memoir, “A Lifetime of Small Adventures,” Bill simply refers to the subtitle, “Stories of adventure, misadventure, and lessons learned along the way.”
Bill lives in Sisters, Oregon with his adventurous wife, Wendy, a red kayak and a well-worn pair of hiking boots.
