Jef Kaiser grew up in Florida but has lived in Multnomah County, Oregon for the past 42 years. Despite a love for the natural beauty of the Pacific Northwest, the gloominess of Oregon winters sometimes turns his thoughts to the sun and subtropical wilds of his home state. This novelette was written during one of those winters as a vicarious way to escape the drear and return to the haunts of his boyhood during the 1950's and 60's.
"Adventure Bequeathed" offers the reader a quirky tour of natural Florida led by an author who has extensive firsthand knowledge of the Sunshine State beyond the Disney World and tourist glitz. A retiree confronts the loss of his artist-father and is drawn into a treasure hunt with venomous consequences. Believers in extraterrestrial visits, prohibition era executions, and navigating sweaty waterways and trails add spice to the story's wildlife-laden context.
Although thoroughly a work of fiction, the story was inspired by real places, people and experiences liberally embellished by imagination.