Sparrows of Senegambia

This memoir connects my birthplace, life, work, education, and travels to more than a dozen African countries on the Continent; places in South America and 48 states in the South, Mid-West, as well as travels to Europe, Southeast Asia, including Thailand, the Cambodian and Laotian borders, and Indonesia. My 2005 travel to Senegal was the beginning of my knowledge of Senegambia, a historical name for a geographical region in West Africa, now no longer recognized by that name. It is located adjacent to the West African countries of Senegal and The Gambia. My travel to the West African slave port Goree Island, while in Senegal, opened my eyes to the significance of Senegambia. My life and work experiences caused me to compare my American family to be as the sparrows; birds that symbolize power hard work, diligence, productivity and persistence. The flight of the sparrow allows it to rise above circumstances of reality, doom and dismay.