About the only way I can summarize
Art's Odyssey Unplanned
is to quote Mark Twain on the subject of Adventure. He said, "An adventure is something unpleasant that happened to someone else."
My story is a young life full of adventures, and even though some of them could be construed to be unpleasant, as long as I came out of them intact, I never regretted having had the experiences. In a very real sense my life was enriched by those experiences.
I honestly believe they gave me a confidence in myself that led me to live as an adult with few fears of inadequacy or of failing in any endeavor on which I'd embark. That resulted in experiencing shattering grief at the tragedies of the deaths of younger family members, but then regaining the customary joie de vivre of my life. Who could ask for anything more?