Spreading Wing

Pat Gillum, a hillbilly with an adventurous soul, spins many true stories of his ancestors, as they push their way west in the mid 1800s. They eventually all gather up around Wing, Arkansas, deep in the Ouachita mountains, around 1898. They do well there, for the times, with much hard work. The Great Depression accompanied by six consecutive very hot, dry years changes all that, however, and by the time Pat comes upon the scene in 1944, the Gillums have reverted back to how they lived before the Depression, living off the land, the forests and the river, back during the "good times." Pat gives dozens of true, entertaining first person accounts of his life in those mountains, living much like the mountain folks lived in the early 1900s. Together with his dog, Tooter, Pat becomes the family wild meat provider at a very early age, giving the Gillums a welcome break from salt pork. As he grows older, he hears many exciting stories from JR Turner, a world traveler with an incurable wanderlust. That wanderlust begins to grow in his heart, and he is determined to see the world after college. A beautiful woman, Barbara, soon changes all that, and holds his wanderlust somewhat at bay as they make a living and raise a family. Upon retirement, Pat discovers, to his great joy, that Barbara has a strong wanderlust of her own, and they begin a 14 year odyssey of seeing America, then spreading wing to see the world. Barbara soon asserts herself as a full fl edged good will ambassador to the world, and a savvy world traveler. Pat longs to achieve that status, also, but he just never quite makes the grade, assailed by one small "panic attack" after another. Being of modest means, they travel through 19 countries alone, on a very thin shoestring, never with reservations ahead, just taking the world as it comes. They fl y on bonus fl yer miles from their credit card, saved up during their working years. They eat peanut butter sandwiches until they discover " where the local people eat" in each country. Follow Pat and Barbara and their adventures, as these "Senior Citizen Backpackers," a very rare breed out in the world, they discover, get into one scrape, one problem after another, always extracted by bold and beautiful Barbara, who just will not allow any problem she meets to defeat her. No rocking chairs for this pair. There will be time aplenty for sitting and rocking, much later, on their nursing home front porch.