Hi there and welcome! I’m the little guy in the middle. What memories!
- “Of course we didn’t take them from the fountain!” Said after handing the tropical fish shop owner a fistful of wet, green coins.
- “I have a girlfriend and it’s not puppy love!”, I defiantly announced to my mom upon returning home. I was 6 years old.
- “She’s a gold-digger!”, I exclaimed the following year when I saw her frequenting a classmate whose dad owned a stuffed toy company.
- “You could get a lot of money if you put those buckteeth of yours under your pillow tonight!”, I enthusiastically suggested to a neighbor friend of my parents. She graciously described me as “outspoken”.
Nice to be able to make my mark early on in life. So now moving on…
There I am now! Steven Wills: an old, single American living in Morocco. Can you see the wisdom etched into that face by years of experience? It’s actually numbness – a look I mastered attending classes at Syracuse University. (Pretty good, huh? I do have skills.) Software developer by profession, I have owned and operated a small computer company here for the last 25 some years (working for other companies in France, Canada and the U.S. prior). Curiously enough, I have yet to be accused of being: a missionary, religious or gay. A few put their chips on CIA or NSA, but most think I’m just odd. Those in the latter group would, of course, be correct. But that was a safe call.
Now you’re probably wondering if anything serious can come from this guy. Yes, indeed. I actually have two personalities (both dysfunctional). Here the transition to serious… But first: M-O-R-O-C-C-O. Not Monaco. The difference is like a gazillion dollars. Casablanca? People always get that.
- Looking out… at Moroccans / Arabs / Muslims? A delightful people and culture. How I wish you could see them through my eyes. Thank you, Morocco, for the priviledge of living, working and being among you.
- Looking back… over my life experiences here? Chaos, disappointment, frustration, shattered expectations and dreams… What? You were expecting a Hollywood storyline? “Life is pain, highness. Anyone who says differently is selling something.” – Westley, The Princess Bride. Good things too, but we need to be real.
- Looking in… to who I have become? Wonderful transformation. How true the phrase: “You can’t change the world but you can change yourself”. I am so grateful for the road I have been on and continue to be on. I look forward with anticipation to all of what’s to come.
“Let me tell you why I’m here. I have come because I know something. What I know I can’t explain but I feel it. I’ve felt it my whole life, felt that something is wrong with the world. I don’t know what, but it’s there like a splinter in my mind, driving me mad. It is this feeling that has brought me to this place. Do you know what I’m talking about?”
– Morpheus, The Matrix (1999) – me turning his words around