I Married Adventure +++++

Perhaps this book defines me more than any other in the sense of what I read when I was growing up. The time, 1942-43, the place, Long Beach Calif in a huge, lovely bluff-side rental house,wondrously furnished with things to set a girl to dreams of other worlds, the circumstances...my sister and I were buddies with lots of war-time stuff, soldiers, sailors, actors, air raid drills, gunnery practice at the army installation across the street from our house. The library in this rental house was small, filled with treasures of varied literary value, all intriguing to a pre-teen. Reading became an escape from what was swirling around us on a daily basis with our father intimiately involved in military matters. And there was a real (well I was going to complete the phrase, real live...but that wouldn't be true) there was a real, dead tiger skin, complete with skull and claws, on the library floor which just invited a sprawl with a good book. So I did very often. It was something out of fairy tale.

One book on their shelves was I Married Adventure (1940). Not only did it have a title very appealing to a young girl but the cover was done up in a printed zebra hide. Gads...love and adventure all wrapped up in one volume. I was hooked. The book was by Osa Johnson and recounted her life before, during and after her marriage to Martin Johnson, a world class adventurer. In today's environmentally aware climate, his tactics would be a little suspect, but the total result of his work was to bring awareness of unseen animals and cultures to millions of people. He and his wife, Osa, lived a life dedicated to the preservation of unique environments. Of course I didn't read to learn about his research and altruism...it was all adventure driven. And Osa's part in his career was extreme for a woman in that era. Many places they visited had not seen white men and certainly not a white woman in such a roll as photographer and specimen hunter and pilot. She completely captured me with her personae.

About 5 months ago I found the very same zebra-striped book in a used book store we prowl thru frequently. I couldn't resist it, paid the $8 and set out reviewing the wonderful photos inside. Then I reread the book with complete enjoyment and wonder at this young bride's courage and determination to fit into a world so foreign to her heritage. A wonderful remembrance.