Legs McNeil loomed over their table, a figure of chaotic energy, his presence an assault on the senses. His hand descended on Noah’s shoulder like a vulture’s talon.

“And who’s this? Your girlfriend? Or perhaps your latest victim?”

Noah laughed nervously, “Woe, friend, I’m just here for the pasta.”

I found myself gravitating towards the world of welding. The process of shaping and combining metal captured my imagination and allowed me to express my creativity in ways I hadn’t anticipated. A year in Central Africa led me to blend in native design and emotion to my metal fabrication

One afternoon, as I sat in a small café, pondering my next move, a man took the seat next to me. It was Gideon Samuels, an American who introduced himself as a reporter for Rolling Stone. He was there to write an article on a new Asian form of blues and rock, a precursor to what we now know as K-pop.

In 1992, as the Bosnian Civil War erupted, I found myself traveling through Eastern Europe, only to become trapped in the besieged city of Sarajevo.

... a 16-year-old with a taste for adventure, was on a high school trip to Washington, D.C. Not one to conform to the humdrum itinerary of the group ,...