A recent exploration of my file archives has inspired me to undertake a new project. I happened to open and re-read the file of a newsletter sent long ago. It was like a chance meeting with an old friend long absent from my mind that suddenly took me back in time and reminded me of things long forgotten; where I was, what I was doing, how I was feeling, and what was happening around me. That in turn led me to open other newsletter files which further energized me and motivated me to undertake this new project to assemble and re-publish those letters from way back then. I have some digital files going back to the 1980s, not to mention older ones in paper form that remain “lost” among the boxes full of saved documents.

I’m surprised at how much I’m enjoying the process of rediscovery and renewal. I’m reformatting, and annotating these files, adding a few pictures, and using something old to create something new. It’s not a mere nostalgia trip, nor is it a vanity project, it’s an opportunity to gain perspective on my life’s journey and how I got to where I am today; to show others “where I’m coming from” in expressing the ideas and proposals I’m propounding today.

As I savor anew the good times that I had, I’m also able to recall the tenor of the times and how I was influenced by them. My successes and failures, errors, and lessons learned, now stand out in sharp relief, showing me how I’ve become, for better or for worse, the man I am today.

It’s a project that will take some time, and may not ever be completed, but a good start has been made, and I will continue to work on it as long as the spirit moves me to do so. I’m posting these “memoir” files on my main website, BeyondMoney.net under a new Menu item called “Newsletters/Memoirs.” The earlier newsletters had to be scanned from paper documents that were at the time sent by “snail mail,” so these are presented as photocopies of the original, along with some description of their contents. Later newsletters were sent via email, so digital files are available which enables me to do some minor editing and annotation to update and expand their stories. In terms of my professional work, each “chapter” has relevance in that most of my travels involved invitations for me to participate and present at meetings, conferences, and workshops pertaining to my roles as monetary historian and theoretician, community economist, and developer and advocate for honest, equitable and effective means of exchange which I am convinced are a prerequisite if we are ever to have a peaceful world in which everyone is free to achieve their higher purpose and potential. I hope my readers will find these reports interesting as well as informative and inspiring. —t.h.g.