Nate finally extricates himself from the grips of the Air Force, but in a parting shot is warned that he may not like the Real World; in fact, he’s told many troops re-up within a few months. Why is that? Nate wonders. He remembered seeing a

The December of My Dreams

May 25th, 2015 20m 24s

In which Nate discovers his…well, he discovers a great deal of what’s going on inside of him while attending the performance of Beethoven’s 9th Symphony in Stuttgart with the grande dames, and even more with them afterwards. You know, about t

FIGMO

May 25th, 2015 18m 1s

Nate undergoes some radical personal changes after learning his story about the General was published without his attribution. His anger is tempered by throwing an I Ching, the fact that he’s FIGMO, the arrival of Tony with the new Beatles’ W

Touch and Go

May 25th, 2015 14m 39s

You may remember that Nate’s recruiter promised he’d become a jet aircraft pilot. This, of course, turned out to be nothing more than a ploy to get him to enlist, and he was disabused of this aspiration by the two instructors during Basic Tra

Oktoberfest

May 25th, 2015 16m 50s

It’s really such a great German tradition, Oktoberfest, a party to end all parties. Too bad Dylan spoils it for the troops. But then again, if he hadn’t, would they have met the three philosophy students from Heidelberg University? Would they

Time Has Come Today

May 25th, 2015 23m 56s

Their last days on Socrates Island and dissent fills the air. Alan tries to talk the other troops into going AWOL and, well, you gotta listen to believe it. Yep, they go back, but not the same guys who’d left a month earlier. Especially not N

Socrates Island, Part II

May 25th, 2015 24m 54s

Sun-drenched beaches. Starry nights. Friendship, firelight, and philosophy. Idyllic Socrates Island continues to seduce the troops with its siren song.

Socrates Island, Part I

May 25th, 2015 24m 45s

After listening to this chapter, I know you’ll want to visit Socrates Island. Sorry, but it’s fictional, although there are many wonderful, obscure, charming, historically fascinating islands in the Adriatic Sea. You might even like Crete, wh

Children of the Future

May 25th, 2015 38m 3s

This is just so unbelievable. Remember those two old ladies the guys met at the Ravi Shankar concert last chapter? Well, they’ve invited Nate and the gang to their house in downtown Stuttgart, for what they do not know. But ever game for new

Liederhalle

May 24th, 2015 29m 54s

Liederhalle. In Deutsch, a place of song. A place to celebrate music of all kinds. This night the Mozart-Saal, one of the music halls within the beautiful Konzerthaus Liederhalle, is host to Ravi Shankar and his sitar. Yes, Nate has seen Rav

Change of Command

May 24th, 2015 29m 28s

It’s spring, 1968, and the world as Americans know it is falling apart: the Vietnam War rages, President Johnson is stepping down, Martin Luther King is assassinated, and Nate’s commander is retiring. Nate throws a mysterious I Ching that say

A Writer’s Life

May 24th, 2015 25m 15s

“Write what you know” is a common piece of advice given to writers. Nate, given that it’s unlikely he’ll ever see one of his articles for the Stars and Stripes newspaper in print, decides to follow SSgt. Tom Tremblay’s advice and enter the US

The Pieces Fit

May 24th, 2015 29m 30s

Nate is figuring out how to use the I Ching which Jane had given him for his birthday. Henry Harold Henry introduces the troops to John Coltrane’s music. Southern California Ricky, none too stable any time, is having a tough time dealing with

Zeitgeist

May 24th, 2015 29m 32s

What’s a zeitgeist? The troops ponder, debate, question it. But Nate sees beyond Alan’s intellectual posing. He knows – really knows – what Alan thinks of zeitgeist, regardless what he says. And Nate also knows it’s exactly what he thinks it

Sedition

May 24th, 2015 30m 51s

Nate catches a hop on the courier plane to spend a weekend visiting London. He stays with his old friend from Stateside, Tony Rizzo, in Tony’s bachelor pad in the barracks. London is in full Mod mode; Nate is enthralled with Carnaby Street, t

Der Alten Scheune

May 24th, 2015 25m 7s

Nate, Alan, Henry and Tim have found a secret place to meet up, get high and talk. And it’s right behind their barracks. Tony unexpectedly flies in from England and joins the troops for an evening in Der Alten Scheune. He tells them about a C

Stars and Stripes Forever

May 24th, 2015 34m 37s

Nate embarks upon his new duty assignment as base correspondent at Kleinelachen Air Base, and meets Sergeant Tom Tremblay, his NCOIC editor at the Stars and Stripes newspaper. Nate’s excited, but soon enough learns that things are not quite w

First Sergeant Buford

May 24th, 2015 34m 39s

Nathaniel “How could I know” Flowers arrives at his new duty assignment, Kleinelachen Air Base, Germany, and immediately gets himself in a heap of trouble with his new first shirt. He follows that by going on a three-day bender with his new b

The Summer of Love

May 24th, 2015 28m 31s

Nate, back from his first acid trip, begins examining the meaning of the Real World more closely. Sitting in the swing on Jane’s front porch, they have a spirited discussion and Nate learns a few new and amazing things about her. He also lear

Memphis Blues Again, Part II

May 24th, 2015 26m 21s

Nate continues to nudge open the doors of perception, compliments of Tony and Owsley's Monterey Purple.

Memphis Blues Again, Part I

May 24th, 2015 27m 9s

Remember Tony Rizzo, whom Jane and Nate met after the Grateful Dead concert? Well, Tony has decided it’s time for Nate to meet Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds, and that his rather unique digs in a Napa County vineyard are just the place to part

Haight Ashbury

May 24th, 2015 41m 48s

Ever wonder what it was like to hang out in the Haight for a kid back in the 1960s? Nate and his roommate Lee find out big-time in this chapter as they unknowingly wander into the Summer of Love. Jane takes Nate on a hike up Mt. Tamalpais, th

Goin’ to California

May 24th, 2015 40m 15s

A wacko who runs a pizza joint and greets customers with “Goddammit!” A roommate who drives an arrest-me-red Austin Healy 3000 sports car. A lovely young Irish alcoholic poetess. Haight Ashbury. And Jane. Ah, yes, Jane. What else awaits Nate

Hurricane

May 24th, 2015 35m 38s

In which our unlikely hero braves Hurricane Betsy and lives to write about it. Not only that, but survives military punishment for doing so. And what happens when Dinky, Hubba-Hubba, JD and his barracks mates celebrate aboard the riverboat? C

Fall In

May 24th, 2015 36m 49s

To Fall In or Fall Out? That is the question, the philosophical question Nate Flowers must grapple with in Chapter 2. Whether it is better to just fall in and follow orders, try to be just one of the troops, or to relive bittersweet memories