As I reflect upon my years as a cartographer, it becomes clear that my career has been shaped by a series of fortunate circumstances. The first of these is timing. Some events could be considered to be “forced timing,” such as the advent of World War II or the arrivals of my daughters and the need to support my family financially. Other opportunities developed because I was in the right place at the right time. Second, I seem to have developed an innate sense that lexicographers call serendipity—”the apparent aptitude for making fortunate discoveries accidentally. © 1991 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.