Comrade Cymbells Jr. and other short stories

Biographie de Bob Neudorf

By the time I was six years old I had lived on three continents and five different countries. My parents were protestant missionaries in French Soudan (later the Republique of Mali). I have often said, in referring to my childhood, that Mom thought that God was looking after me, and God thought that Mom had me under her wing. This understanding left me mostly alone to wander the wilds of Africa, living off my hunting skills and avoiding the multitude of dangers.
It was an idyllic childhood until boarding school at Mamou Alliance Academy in the neighboring country of Guinea. My brother died suddenly and later we lost a sister. I have two graves to visit sometime, if I ever get the chance to return to Mali. I returned to Saskatchewan in my teens, finished high school, found a job and in every way faded into the life of a regular Canadian. But lurking, bubbling and boiling, underneath this veneer was a desire to tell my extraordinary story.