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These stories are a result of encouragement by family and friends to document my most intense encounters during my travels from 1976 through 1989. The names of those involved have been changed, and the dialogue has been reconstructed as accurately as possible. Although I kept journals during these excursions, two years of writing material vanished when someone stole my backpack in Hawaii in 1978.

By some standards you could say I've traveled a lot, but by a world traveler's standards I've just begun. My journeys include treks through every state in the United States, the Yukon and all of Canada’s provinces, all the countries of Western Europe, parts of North Africa, Central America and South America, the West Indies and much of Mexico.

All but one of the close calls in this book came about while hitchhiking in the United States. People outside America may use this fact to confirm their allegations that the U.S. is the most dangerous country in the world, but please note that I accepted a ride from everyone who stopped. The close call outside the U.S. occurred in Morocco.

Readers may find some of the stories difficult to believe. All I can say is that the cliché "truth is stranger than fiction" had to be coined by a world traveler.

For those interested in why I began traveling, it was a combination of personal problems and several interview articles with Ray Bradbury in the 1970s. In the articles, Bradbury talks about beginning writers and offers hints and advice on writing. "So, what you have to do is be a kind of hysterical, emotional, vibrant creature who lives at the top of his lungs for a lifetime," Bradbury said in an interview for Writer's Digest.

As for the personal problems preceding my travels, it was a failed marriage and drug overdose at age 22 that made me perceive life as rather meaningless. With nothing to lose, I decided to live out a dream: to hit the road and live in the moment.

With few material possessions, little money and the desire to stay present each moment, my journey began. Oh yes, a few members of the music group the Ozark Mountain Daredevils graduated from my high school. A line from one of their songs said, “If you want to get to heaven, you got to raise a little hell." I was ready to be that "hysterical, emotional, vibrant creature" prepared to "raise a little hell" if necessary. I wanted any experience that would move me closer to discovering who I was, why I was here, and the truth about the life force that runs through us all.

After graduating from the University of Missouri with a general studies degree, I drove away from Columbia, Missouri, in a faded turquoise Dodge Polara loaded with a box of books, a typewriter, guitar, backpack and tent. When the gas money ran out, I left my car in Oregon and hit the road with my guitar and backpack. That too was a dream of mine. I had done some hitchhiking between the larger cities in Missouri, but never farther than 200 miles. After reading Jack Kerouac's On The Road and James Michener's The Drifters, I had great expectations and romantic visions of life on the road.

Most certainly there is excitement traveling the world’s highways and byways, and the unknown risks are a part of that excitement, but there are also days of loneliness and destitution. I have been more than 3,500 miles away from friends and family with just the clothes on my back: no money, no passport, no identification—nothing! It's a strange and scary feeling, but once you've been there, your outlook and perception on life drastically changes. You realize the fleeting allure of the physical possessions desperately sought by most people, as well as the ephemeral nature of the human body.

I would like to add that while some of these stories involve drug use, I vehemently discourage the use of all drugs, including alcohol, caffeine and nicotine. I have been drug free for nearly 20 years with one exception—I smoked hashish (a concentrated form of the drug that's found in marijuana) while in Morocco. I smoked it not because I wanted to, but because failure to do so might have resulted in my death. You'll find that story at the end of this book.

Today, more than ever, I see how important it is to stay in the moment. We miss far too much life either lamenting over the past or fearful of the future. We are most alive when fully conscious of our bodies, aware of our thoughts and feelings, and cognizant of the fact that the choices we make determine the life we live. And what’s even more wonderful is that at any moment we can make a new choice and thus influence the world around us.

Happy travels to all of you, whether it's in your imagination or upon the roads of life, or in the skies of this world and beyond.

Bryce E. Yarborough

To order a copy of Close Calls: Narrow Escapes Living on the Road, go to www.bryceyarborough.com or www.authorhouse.com. The book also is available to order from most major bookstores including Barnes and Noble, Borders and Amazon.com.