Adventures Of An Ordinary Man

Few people can claim careers in two biblical professions: minister and tax collector. In his captivating memoir, Adventures of an Ordinary Man, William Lee Goff shares the triumphs and tragedies of his life as both a Presbyterian minister and an IRS Revenue Agent. Goff writes unpretentiously with deep humanity and subtle humor about his life's adventures: learning to play the cello from a freedom fighter; overcoming his fears to become an amateur stage actor; and traveling in South Africa, Israel, Russia and Denmark. Adventures of an Ordinary Man is a compelling and rewarding read. Although a native of St. Louis, Missouri, William Lee Goff spent his formative years in Los Angeles, California. He earned a bachelor's degree in English from UCLA and then went on to Fuller Theological Seminary where he completed a Doctor of Ministry degree. Goff has had dual careers, one as an ordained Presbyterian minister who served as pastor in churches in California, Colorado, and Idaho. His alter ego had a nearly 25-year career with the IRS. Goff lives with his wife, Tatyana, in Southern California.

This book has two parts. The first part of this book will relate some of the many exciting and sometimes dangerous experiences that I encountered while living in the isolated and primitive bush country of North Western Ontario. The extreme cultural shock of moving from a home with hot and cold running water and central heating to a cabin with a coal oil stove for heat, a hand pump for cold water only located at the kitchen sink. The second part of the book relates to my life some 20 years later as I was employed as a sales manager for Philippine Airlines and later as a tour director and guide for tourists throughout the orient China and Southeast Asia

Few people can claim careers in two biblical professions: minister and tax collector. In his captivating memoir, Adventures of an Ordinary Man, William Lee Goff shares the triumphs and tragedies of his life as both a Presbyterian minister and an IRS Revenue Agent. Goff writes unpretentiously with deep humanity and subtle humor about his life's adventures: learning to play the cello from a freedom fighter; overcoming his fears to become an amateur stage actor; and traveling in South Africa, Israel, Russia and Denmark. Adventures of an Ordinary Man is a compelling and rewarding read. Although a native of St. Louis, Missouri, William Lee Goff spent his formative years in Los Angeles, California. He earned a bachelor's degree in English from UCLA and then went on to Fuller Theological Seminary where he completed a Doctor of Ministry degree. Goff has had dual careers, one as an ordained Presbyterian minister who served as pastor in churches in California, Colorado, and Idaho. His alter ego had a nearly 25-year career with the IRS. Goff lives with his wife, Tatyana, in Southern California.

HIM AND METhis memoir is sub-titled "the extraordinary memoirs of an ordinary man" Born in Holland, the author has lived in six countries on three continents. The Simons family were caught in the tumult of the last century and emigrated no less than four times: in many ways they embody the 20th century migrant experience. Kosti Simons is a novelist, playwright, marine journalist and now biographer. He pioneered a coffee plantation in the highlands of Papua New Guinea, pioneered the Highlands Highway in P.N.G., pioneered the art of ferro-cement boat-building in Australia with a 38-foot yacht, pioneered the revival of a thousand year old pilgrimage road in the north of Spain (in 2010 it carried 250,000 pilgrims), and in 1993 founded a successful Passion Play in South-East Queensland, unique in this country as it has a purpose-built venue. It is still current.Appointed as the master of a coastal vessel in the islands at age nineteen, he has sailed in numerous Sydney-Hobart Races, cruised the Pacific islands, cruised extensively through the Mediterranean in his second yacht built in England, lived on his boat with his family in Barcelona Harbour for twelve years, sailed the Barrier Reef, managed Arts Council tours, and built a stone cottage with his wife. That is where he is now.The mainspring of this autobiography, and its justification, has been a lifelong search for the spiritual dimension to life. While always at least a nominal Protestant, at age fifty he underwent an epiphany at Lourdes in France. This sets the tone for Part 2 of this memoir, with visits to Vietnam and Russia and particularly Israel providing a fitting climax to his story. The writer has taken advantage of his playwriting experience to write dialogue emanating from the Lord Jesus Christ. The success of this book will no doubt hinge on this dialogue working¿ I commend the book to the reader.

I enjoy writing. I don’t possess an imagination that can make up fiction, so I only write about actual historical events particularly those that occurred during my life. As has been said, truth can be stranger than fiction. Necessarily, my writings include stories involving my forebears, but they predominantly document events that took place during my marriage with Alida. I was born and raised in Scotland, a country known for its excellent education system. I was able to read and write before my sixth birthday. As a boy, I read extensively, first comics then the classics. I say “comics” but the weekly publications (Rover, Wizard and others) consisted solely of adventure stories, words without any pictures. Boys would create pictures in their own minds to illustrate what they were reading. I hope that readers will be able to form word pictures in their imaginations when they read the stories in this book.