I hope you found your way to this website because you have a desire to explore, go on adventures, be the best person you can and meet others with the same interests.
My name is Paul Lockhart. I live in Virginia but am originally from Texas. When I was young, I had an aunt who gave me adventure books. I was four years old when I received my first book from her. The title was, “Wild Animals of North America,” published by the National Geographic Society. I spent many hours reading about big horn sheep, whales, bears and many other creatures. She also told me adventure stories about the jungles in South America and the wild animals that lived there. From her, and the books she gave me, I learned about the many different types of creatures that inhabit our planet and the men and women who explored our earth’s valleys, plains, rivers, oceans and mountains. I soon found adventure book series in the library, such as “Danny Dunn” and “Doc Savage.” You probably don’t recognize these because they are from my youth. They provided me hours of enjoyable reading. My friends and I traded these books. I also watched “Johnny Quest” on Saturday morning TV. These books and films were exciting as they showed people in challenging and sometimes dangerous situations they did not understand, but through courage and working together as a team, they overcame their difficulties and survived.
I then found true adventure stories about men and women. Men like Daniel Boone and Davy Crockett, Chuck Yeager and Scott Crossfield. Women like Madame Curie and Clara Barton. I found their stories just as thrilling as Danny Dunn or Doc Savage. You may not know these courageous individuals. If not, I challenge you to read about them. I am sure you will find their lives interesting as well.
If you or someone you know has had an adventure, and you believe I would want to know, send me a note. I don’t want you to use your friend’s name unless their story is in a public newspaper. Make sure you ask your parent or adult first. I always enjoying reading about boys and girls who go on adventures or overcome a difficult situation in their life. They might be riding in a bicycle race or competing in a robotics competition. They might be overcoming a challenge in sports or school or facing an illness in their family. Each of us has adventures in our lives. We just have to recognize them.
Adventures can be what each person makes of their life. Each day gives us the opportunity to be an adventure. We only need to look at it that way. Helping your parents around the home can become an expedition to search for something new and exciting. If you live where there are trees and flowers, your adventure can be a search for a new animal or pet in your neighborhood. If you live in a city apartment, it can be a search for new friends or maybe a story about your apartment you did not know. Maybe someone famous lived there once.
I wondered when I was young if I would someday go on adventures. Fortunately, my life has been filled with exciting events and a lot of ACTION! I have worked on ranches in Texas, lived in foreign countries, hiked the jungles of New Guinea, trained for combat as a United States Air Force fighter pilot, tested new aircraft and weapons as a test pilot and even flown to space as an American astronaut. I have hunted across this beautiful country we call America and also in Argentina, a country in South America. During all this, and more, I have made many wonderful friends. I hope I can make more friends with you through this website and learn about the adventures you want to do someday.
I want to make this website interesting for you and me. I welcome your suggestions. It is still new. I plan on making it bigger and better. I will write stories about some of my trips and the wonderful people I knew and what I learned from them. When I write a story and post pictures, I expect to hear from you with your ideas and thoughts. You should ask me why I chose to do what I did and where was I when it happened. Hopefully then you can learn a little bit from me as well.
I want you to enjoy the photographs and videos I have posted. They are just the beginning of a longer conversation with you as we learn about new places to go, interesting people to meet and your story as well.
I am also thinking of writing an adventure book, maybe with your help. Let me know if this is something you would like to do.
I should sign off now as I have work to do. But I will be back.
Your fellow adventurer,
Colonel (ret.) Paul Lockhart
United States Air Force
NASA Astronaut