I've been writing ever since my junior year in high school when I typed up the story of my first official bicycle adventure on my Grandmother Armstrong's manual typewriter in Louisville, Ohio, in 1973. This early process of writing lyrics, poems and my first adventure story documenting my thoughts and life experiences began a very circuitous path for me, one that would become an integral and consistent part of my life. My early lyrics and poems were generally written during three distinct time periods, and reflect my attempt to document my unformed feelings concerning adventure, travel, rock lyrics, life and love. These were intense periods of imaginative creativity and reflect a time of intense searching that laid the foundation for what was to become a lifetime of writing. Ultimately, my original lyrics and poems included in this volume collectively are best viewed as having laid the literary foundation that would later culminate in the adventures, stories, novels, philosophy, songs and blogs I have written to date and plan to publish sequentially throughout 2018 and beyond. On Wednesday, September 22, 1976, my friend Bruce and I departed on our 8,003 mile bicycle adventure around the United States on a journey I call The Great Adventure. Our adventure lasted through June 1977 - and was the single greatest decision of my life, as it was the bold decision I initially made to blaze my own trail and chart my own path in life despite all the naysayers - a decision that would ultimately lead to the many future adventures and writings of mine that would follow. My hope is that my personal stories and adventures will inspire you to live your own adventures in life someday - so that you, too, can one day look back on a life well lived, knowing you did your very best to live your hopes, dreams and passions in life Cheers Mark