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How High is Up? The Tale of a Restless Spiritsubmitted: Dec 1st 2008 | by: Richard S. Gunther | Total views: 1 | Word Count: 560
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Los Angeles, CA- It is common knowledge the typical Type A Workaholic is a heart attack waiting to happen. In the case of Richard (Dick) Gunther (www.dickgunther.com), author of How High is Up? The Tale of a Restless Spirit (Emerald Book Co. - A division of Greenleaf Book Group; February 2009; $21.95) it took three life-altering events to change that expectation. Gunther describes spending his first thirty-odd years in constant motion, scrabbling his way to the financial success he felt was the most important goal he could achieve. After serving in WWII, Gunther was discharged on a Friday and on Monday was back at UCLA, where he graduated summa cum laude in Business. He became an employee for the first and only time and shortly learned enough to become a self-employed real estate developer, building homes for returning GIs. He and his new wife, Lois, soon contributed three sons to the Baby Boomers of the future, and by age thirty-four he had achieved the American dream and a fortune large enough to retire. Such stunning success is interesting, but he felt his life was incomplete. An only child who at age 8 lost his father, and a few years later a much-loved stepfather, Gunther’s life was one of constant achievement trying to reach some plateau of contentment. Even after fantastic luck in the choosing of his life partner, he sensed if that life were a 360 degree circle, he was only living in 20 degrees and wanted more. Then, the three events occurred: his mother died of cancer, his own brush with death with a malignant tumor of his parotid gland, and he and his wife took an overseas trip that opened his eyes to the big world beyond his 20 degrees. From this point, you have an inspiration as amazing as one man can create. Turning his phenomenal work ethic to experiencing life, Gunther offers a tale rich in adventure, heart-warming but never saccharine, and a roaring good read! He plowed through inside and outside adventures in his search for what was missing. With his wife and sons, and occasionally alone, he literally climbed mountains – Kilimanjaro, Fuji, even part of Everest. They traveled the far corners of the globe, enjoying an African safari, cold war Russia, Israel renewal, and much more. He earned a Master’s Degree in Liberal Arts, served on State and local Commissions, became influential in politics, won awards and plunged into the New Age. They biked hundreds of miles around the United States and fabled cities of the world. And, while this was going on, he discovered what is called in his Jewish heritage “Tikkun Olam” (repair of the world). This realization led Gunther and his wife to become effective citizens of the world, assisting others through hard work, endowments, and other means. Dick Gunther has a lot to offer the world, and he has given it because he realized he is “connected to everything and everyone, to the oceans, to the mountains, and to people I have never met who live in tiny villages in far-flung corners of the globe…” In his memoir there is much we can learn, as he learned, and much to enjoy as Gunther continues (at age 83) to realize every day he has “yet another chance to set out and discover just how ‘HIGH IS UP?’” About the AuthorSuccessful entrepreneur who made a fortune by age 34, investor, writer, husband, father and grandfather, Dick Gunther is a man who learned to give. His charitable efforts have earned many awards and much recognition – to name a few: Founder AARP Legacy Award, Chairman of Operation Exodus, Grameen Foundation’s work in micro-enterprise, Co-President, Americans for Peace Now, Member California Governor’s Council on Wellness and Fitness and California State Commission on Aging, KCET TV and KPFK Public Radio Board of Directors, Member VP Gore’s Builders of Peace, was a delegate to the infamous 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago and honored by being named on President Nixon’s Enemy List. Still an avid reader, tennis player, and bicycler, he is also an extensive traveler and adventurer. His enjoyment of photography and the outdoors has filled bookshelves full of scrapbooks chronicling his life and that of his bride of sixty years, Lois, who has shared many of those adventures, as have their three sons and three grandchildren. They make their home in Southern California. CommentsNo comments posted. Add Comment |
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