This is not a detailed recital of my whole life's experiences, nor is it an attempt to explore the motivations that pushed me along on so many occasions. I can claim neither for myself nor for this essay any excellence; I just hope it may be of some interest to you and that from it you may come to have a clearer picture of what life was like in some sections of Tennessee "threescore and ten years ago." All in all it has been quite an adventure...