Bøger af Mark D Jones

Jennifer was amazed as she gazed at the most marvelous sight she had ever seen! Before her in the distance was a wonder to behold - an island of beauty and splendor beyond her wildest dreams! Rising out of the turquoise blue sea was a majestic tropical island with pristine beaches of sugar-white sand. The terrain rose steeply into alpine peaks that pierced through a thin layer of wispy clouds. Rising above the clouds and set against a powder blue sky, stood the most beautiful and fabulous turreted castle glistening in the sunshine! A colorful and festive array of flags, pennants and streamers flew above the castle's silver-white stones and pointed slate-shingled turrets. Jennifer was speechless and spellbound at the sight!

I'd always wanted to fly jets and be a fighter pilot ever since I was a boy, yet at some point along the way I'd given up on my dream once I knew fighter pilots needed 20/20 vision to be accepted into the United States Air Force and I wore glasses. It turned out that my aircraft of choice, the F-4 Phantom, had a two man crew with a specialized navigator or Weapon Systems Officer (WSO) manning the rear cockpit, and the WSO could wear glasses. In addition, the WSO could do most everything the pilot could do, to include flying the aircraft - so I was hooked! I decided right then and there to apply to become a WSO. While I could dream of flying Phantoms all day and night, the reality was I was as far away from making that dream come true as I could possibly be. Had I known at the time the immensity of my achieving my goal, I wouldn't have pursued it, so in that case it was best I remained fat, dumb and happy to the entire process of what I needed to accomplish to earn the privilege of turning my dream into my reality. What I didn't and couldn't have known at the time, was that the process of selection and qualification was more rigorous than I could have ever imagined. Every step of the process from beginning to end was graded and evaluated, and the standards were set so high that a significant number of applicants were washed out of training at every milestone along the way. Only the very best made the grade to progress through the training pipeline and of those who did qualify to fly, fighter training slots were reserved for the best of the best. Here I was, a kid starting the process with a huge disadvantage of no military knowledge or experience beyond watching the Vietnam War play out on the evening news and a few WWII movies and TV shows, and making model airplanes as a kid growing up. Had I known how astronomical the odds were of succeeding at my quest, I might have reconsidered, but I pressed on undeterred like Don Quixote tilting at windmills. The only advantage I really had was the fact I'd come from a background of adversity and hardship forged in 'The School of Hard Knocks' for many years, and the one thing I'd learned was to never say never and never give up no matter the odds. This, in the end, was the best skill I had in my proverbial tool kit at the time, and it was this attribute of mine I had to draw from time, time, time and again. Never give up on your dreams either, for dreams are given to dreamers, and your dreams are worthy for the simple reason they've been given to you - not to remain dreams - but to be turned into your reality! Carpe Diem, seize the day and live your dreams! Don't be discouraged, never give up and one day you'll live your dreams just as I did all those years ago! Cheers! Mark

I've often found my life being guided by moments of great insight or 'eureka moments, ' as I accidentally discovered the next direction my life should take while stranded at various mileposts and chapters during the course of my life. It seems these momentary glimpses into the future tended to occur more often than not when I was floundering and failing in life, not knowing what I was to do or where I was to go. So it was when I knew in my heart it was time to return to Michigan State University while watching the Michigan-Michigan State football game in the fall of 1979 on Bainbridge Island across Puget Sound from downtown Seattle. I knew in an instant I was to go back to school and arranged the details of my return in minutes, not days or weeks, to redirect the course of my life. Yet, I had no clue as to what this new journey and adventure I was starting out would mean to me and my future, or even what that future would hold. All I knew at the time was the timing was right to return to MSU, as my life was stagnating in Washington State with no real end game in sight. So it was as I boarded that Greyhound Bus - was I making the right decision? Would college work out for me this time around? Would I find my way into a career I wanted to have after graduation? Would I even graduate? I had no idea at the time, just a gut reaction that this was the right thing to do. In the end that's all that mattered, as I knew adventurers needed to know how to make decisions and stick with them. I'd made mine and now it was time to make the best of it... My life was filled with the excitement of the open road and traveling to parts unknown, while working various jobs to fund my adventures and experiencing opportunities I'd never dreamed of before, yet I began to wonder if that was all there was to life for me. At the end of the day I still didn't have a purpose or a plan, and life couldn't continue carrying on that way in a never ending series of road trips and hardships. I needed more out of life than just hitting the highway on yet another adventure. I still didn't know the meaning and purpose of my life, but came to understand it couldn't just be adventure for adventure's sake. This is where I found myself leading up to the beginning of Book Twelve of my autobiography, deciding at the time to return to Michigan State University to finish college and get my degree in business. I still didn't know what I'd do with my business degree, but felt it would at least funnel me into something where I could start living my life as an adult and not as a perpetual dreamer seeking my next adrenaline rush from adventure. Little did I know at the time I'd remain a dreamer my entire life, yet I found a way to not only live a life of purpose, meaning and responsibility, but also to continue living an adventurous life on an entirely new level I couldn't have imagined.

This is the Second Book of my 'Air Force Years' and Fourteenth Book overall in my serialized autobiography entitled 'In Search of the Meaning of Life (An Autobiography).' My aim in telling the story of my life in the Air Force is not a typical military memoir, but instead a journal of my personal challenges and accomplishments within the backdrop of my goal of flying jets. My goal had been to fly the F-4 Phantom from the very beginning and fortunately I'd overcome a number of failures, setbacks and roadblocks to finally get that opportunity at F-4D 'Replacement Training Unit' (RTU), at Homestead AFB, Florida, in the fall of 1982. This chapter of my life specifically shows how I pursued my literary dreams without having any clear understanding of where they would lead me and how I began writing my first novel entitled 'Jonathan's Amazing Adventures: Jonathan's Dream (An Adventure Novel)' literally by accident. It was during a 'freeform writing exercise' that I'd come up with, when the first two paragraphs of Jonathan's Dream literally sprang from the page without my realizing I'd just begun writing my first novel. The goal of this book is to show you my personal challenges of learning to fly the F-4 Phantom and all the associated adventures of my life, up to the point of beginning my first novel and jump starting my literary career. While I had ambitions to one day become a published author, I had no idea of how or when that would ever be possible, as I thought I'd need to attract the attention of a publisher who could make it happen for me. Now, some 37 years later, technology has made it possible to self-publish my own books and stories, taking me on a very long and circuitous literary journey to bring these stories to you, the reader - enjoy! Book Fourteen paints a portrait of my life flying Phantoms in West Germany and beyond, and it's an honor and privilege for me to tell this story I've lived. Mine was an era that seems far removed from the world we live in today, but not really that far removed. A time when life existed before cell phones and the Internet, when analog gave way to digital technology and when global navigation first became possible. So while not a history book per se, it is a record of how things were, and the dreams and adventures of a young boy who grew up in Flint, MI, hoping to one day to fly jets, live a life of adventure and see the world - and did. If I could make my hopes and dreams come true, then you certainly can, too! Carpe Diem, seize the day! Cheers! Mark

This was but a small corner of the Spencer Farm, but Jonathan didn't know that at the time. In fact, he really wasn't sure of much of anything at all. For you see, poor Jonathan, being only eight years old - eight and a half if you were to ask him yourself - was lost. Oh, he wasn't lost in the usual sense, as if he had wandered too far afield chasing rabbits, as he often had a habit of doing. His mother had gone looking for him many times before after he had gone off adventuring in the fields, but this time was different and he knew it. It was only yesterday he had set out on his latest adventure, not knowing that it would be different from all the rest...

As I sit here to begin telling the story of my life that I call In Search of the Meaning of Life (An Autobiography), I aim to trace this singular thread of searching that has remained constant in my life of adventure. My life has been a mosaic of many independent events that on face value appear to have nothing in common, that is, when viewed from the outside. One must always remember to avoid drawing conclusions from appearances alone. When I view the events of my life from the inside, there is a great consistency and commitment to this search for meaning in my life. It is no small miracle that I have survived my adventures to this day to be able to tell my story, and it is by the grace of God alone that I've reached this point in my life to share my hopes, dreams, journeys and adventures with you. My journeys and adventures officially started the day I intentionally stepped off the well-worn path of life and onto the path less-traveled. It was a deliberate and calculated decision and my life has never been the same since. It has not been an easy life, for once the comfort of the path well-traveled is left behind, there are few signposts to follow and no maps to guide you. Uncharted territory as they say and not without its pitfalls, danger and misfortunes. I often wondered if this path would ever lead me back to the safety and comfort of the familiar again. In some ways it has and in other ways it hasn't, but 'The Great Adventure' I began in 1976 has never really ended for me over all these many years. I will be traveling this path less-traveled in my continuing search for the meaning of my life right up to the very end. I couldn't really explain it when I was growing up, but I wished there would have been some sort of guidebook I could read that would have broadened my choices in determining the course and direction of my life. Life seemed so programmed, restrictive and predictable - kindergarten, elementary school, junior high school, high school and college. I felt straight-jacketed by the whole process and progressively funneled down an endless hallway leading to a destination that wasn't of my choosing. This entire process felt automated and confining - like a widget being processed along a conveyor belt or being prodded down a cattle chute leading to an unknown and uncertain outcome. Life seemed to be all about the process of conforming, as opposed to being all about journeys, dreams and adventures - which were never classes listed on my course schedule. The crux of the problem was that I wasn't enjoying life while growing up, and couldn't see any light at the end of the tunnel to give me hope and encouragement...

Sometimes, the best way to find ourselves is to get lost in the process. So lost, in fact, that we're afraid we'll never find our way back again, especially the direction we've only just come from. It's when we find ourselves alone and directionless in the quiet moments of our lives, in surroundings we know we don't belong in and aspire to leave behind, that we can hear ourselves think without the distraction of the status quo calling us back to what had been our everyday reality. My questioning began very early on in this odyssey on the road, and as this internal dialogue developed I wrote down all of these debates with myself on a yellow, legal pad. This process of spontaneously writing my 152 philosophical questions and ponderings, laid the foundation for a resolution to the dilemma as to which way I should go with my life, seemingly giving me permission to follow my heart and my dreams...

This is the story of the second half of my solo-bicycle adventure to England, Scotland, Wales & France during the late spring and early summer of 1979. I was living a dream of mine to travel overseas and see the British Isles and the Continent, and was now setting out to explore Scotland, Northern and Central England and Wales before returning to Seattle, WA, on a Pan Am 747. The theme of my adventure so far had been the wonderful hospitality and graciousness of the British people in how they'd taken care of me and welcomed me into their homes. I was now setting off on a journey of discovery through ancient and idyllic lands I'd never seen before and couldn't wait to experience all they had to offer me...

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 bicycle adventure of over 8,000 miles 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

What do you do when life is good and seems to be getting better all the time, but you're still not happy? What happens when your life seems to be moving in a completely wrong direction? What if changing the course of your life requires you to strip away all that you currently are for the possibility of achieving all you could possibly become? What if remaining true to yourself - to who you are as a person and to your spirit of adventure - requires you to follow your heart into the unknown without a compass or map to guide you into the future? These were the questions I began asking myself in the winter of 1978-1979, not knowing what my future held or the direction my life should take. I didn't know what my meaning and purpose in life was, or why I was even born to live this life in the first place. All I knew at the time was I was lost and directionless again in life, in what turned out to be my desert place meant to find myself. This is the story of how I got there and the process I took to begin finding my way out again...

The dream seemed real enough to Jonathan, after all, he'd adventured across the entire Land of Myllanthar with Dijia and Sammy, with the help of Gramps and the other Light Bearers in an epic battle of Light against darkness - but did it really happen? Jonathan refused to believe it had only been a dream, for it was too real to have been a dream. If it really did happen as Jonathan remembered it, wouldn't there be a clue as to what happened, like bringing something back with him that couldn't be refuted? There was something he'd brought back with him though, something given to him by Gramps - also known as Illandor, Arrydor and Myllanthal - a letter and a prophecy: "In the days, Of the dragon, In a City, Of Sparkling Light, Arrives a boy, To become king, And a dragon to fight...A boy, Is no match, For a dragon, Some say, But wait, For one day, A dragon, He will slay."

Book Two in this trilogy of Jonathan's Amazing Adventures introduced a quest to defeat and slay a dragon of unimaginable size and power, yet much of the danger Jonathan and Sammy find themselves facing in this tale remains unseen - filling them with dread from a threat that could be anywhere and nowhere at the same time. They find themselves in places and situations never experienced before in their short history of fantastic adventures and quests. Can they face this new danger and the challenges it presents without succumbing to the paralyzing fear conjured up inside them, while battling through this quandary to reach new lands, peoples and kingdoms? This could be Jonathan and Sammy's most challenging adventure to date, for so little is known or understood by them from the beginning to the end of their quest, leaving them little to go by and most everything to fear. Yet, they can't accept failure, as there's too much at stake here to give up - Princess Aydreanna of the Kingdom of Arwyall...

Captain Grayghost eventually faded from the scene after decades of plundering ships on the high seas between the years of 1675 and 1721, seemingly retiring after years of pirating to spend his golden years treasuring his hoard of gold, silver and precious gems in a secret hideout that was never discovered. In fact, neither his treasure, nor his pirate ship - the Pieces of Eight - his pirates or Captain Grayghost himself were ever found...which causes people to think that Captain Grayghost and his crew of pirates were all ghosts on a ghost ship, pillaging treasure at will on the high seas...

This is the story of the first part of my solo-bicycle adventure to England, Scotland, Wales and France, where I gave up all that I was in Seattle at the time in May 1979 to follow my heart for the uncertain promise of becoming all I could be. All I knew at the time was when I returned to Seattle I'd be homeless, jobless, carless and pretty close to penniless, but it was that important to me to remain true to my spirit of adventure and honor my commitment to myself to live a life of adventure, and somehow make all my hopes, dreams, passions and desires in life come true. I didn't want to live a life of regret having given up on my dreams of travel, so I stripped away all I was at the time for the chance of becoming so much more...

I had no idea of how my life would turn out after arriving in Seattle with Bruce following our bicycle adventure in June 1977 and it turned out that life opened up for me in ways I could have never thought possible. At the same time, after the adventurous initial ten months of mine in Seattle on my own, I couldn't have foreseen the dramatic changes that would occur in my life and sweep me away in ways I couldn't even believe at the time. All of the experiences I was going through during my time in Seattle were subconsciously making me more aware of the need to discover a greater theme of meaning and purpose for my life, for I still had no idea what I was to do in life, why I was born or what my future held. There had to be something greater than an endless series of adventures, but I really didn't have a clue at all as to what it was. At the time, I couldn't see further into my future than the next moment or two, leaving me no awareness of where I was headed and going in life. I certainly didn't see the changes to my life in Seattle that were just over the horizon at this point, or the dramatic events I'd be part of in the upcoming years...

It is with great pleasure that I introduce you to my best buddy and longtime friend, Sam the Tugboat and the beautiful, sunny, pleasant and idyllic coastal community of Beach Harbor! Please allow me the opportunity to paint a portrait of childlike wonder, sweetness and light as I pull back the curtain to take you, my special guests, on a short tour of Sam's world especially for you. Sam's world is a world of smiles, laughter, sunshine and happy endings - despite the fact that many of his adventures are very serious and quite dangerous in fact! Somehow, Sam and those who help him, always find a way to save the day to keep everyone safe and sound - especially little children!

It was through the process of visualization that I had the idea to write this book, in order to help anyone utilize the technique of visualization to improve their lives and the organizations they're part of. Visualization provides you with the opportunity to see anything from a fresh new perspective, explore alternative options, and open yourself to eureka moments of self-discovery in your life and in the organizations you participate in. This process of visualizing something we've never before experienced, or hasn't taken place - or doesn't even yet exist - allows us to explore new and imaginative ways we can transform the world around us and create the world of our dreams. It is this radical alteration of how we look at our world that can change everything for us - and it is the Art of Visualization that can make it happen!

Moments in time - simple passages from the present into the future - transport us to a world of discovery that eagerly awaits our arrival. Like sea shells revealed by receding waves or coral suddenly transformed into tidal pools teeming with life, it is our choice to boldly and courageously seize the moment before it vanishes or slips through our fingers like so many grains of sand. In the excitement of these moments we experience the purity of unfolding expression and chance, where life introduces itself to us and hearts beat with renewed passion and urgency with each precious moment. These are life's signature passages, when we're immersed in the process of living and most receptive to serendipity, carpe diem and to living life as it's meant to be - spontaneous, unscripted and in the moment. It is into this unscripted world we now travel, where lives are open to chance, circumstance, trials of the heart, uncertain choices, self-discovery, heightened awareness, difficult challenges and hazardous routes - forming images of who we are, who we're meant to be and who we choose to become by choice and/or by circumstance - 'The Many Portraits of Life (A Novel)'... Like a child waiting for an amusement park to open, I began this adventure tugging on imaginary shirt sleeves and pleading, "Can we go in now!" For a whole new world awaited my exploration, called 'The Many Portraits of Life (A Novel).' This journey began as an online adventure when I decided to write about relationships while at the same time immersing myself in many of my favorite themes and places. What began as a single relationship, quickly evolved into seven different relationships as I dreamed of circumstances I wanted to visit and explore. Soon these relationships began to overlap one another around the edges, until eventually they began to weave together into a tapestry of color and life - as if strolling through an exhibition titled 'The Many Portraits of Life' in the wing of an art museum. It's only natural that I would find myself paging through my favorite thoughts and places as this story unfolded into a rainbow of my dreams. You will find parts of me within each and every character, setting and place as I invite you to stroll with me through this landscape of my heart's desires, leading to unexpected situations and destinations in this world of my imagination that now eagerly awaits your arrival - for this is the world within which we live - this gallery of our lives, this world of our hopes and dreams, 'The Many Portraits of Life'... Cheers! Mark