John Eldon Green"s original ambition in life was to become a writer. Instead, he took a long detour - about seven decades, in fact - that led him through a career as a senior public servant and consultant, with side trips into the world of sports, the military, volunteer service, and even harness-racing. A life-long independent thinker and champion of the underdog, he acquired a reputation as a thorn in the side of the religious and secular establishment, an experience he chronicled in his memoir, A Mind of One"s Own. In his 80s, aging but by no means old, he began work on this collection of reflections about life, love, politics and religion, written in his inimitable wise, witty and sometimes painfully candid style,