"The new electronic independence re-creates the world in the image of a global village."— Marshall McLuhan

In the spirit of a deficiency becoming an asset when circumstances change (e.g. Malcolm Gladwell's book, "David & Goliath" or the academic paper: "The Strength of Weak Ties", I collect globes and some maps because my knowledge of geography used to be so poor. We'd moved fairly often when I was a child and, while I'd taken Canadian History a few times in my youth, I'd never studied international geography or even many cultures by the time I finished high school.

When I was about 20 years old, I still thought Thailand was an island (!!) and a friend bought me a map. A New Year's Resolution to learn more geography and The Collection was born.

With the prevalence of today's GPS technology and social media links, my map reading skills aren't put to the test very often. Today, when I travel to a new city or country, rarely do I study a map before I go (like I would have in the old days), because I can just fire up some technology when I land, grab some public transit with good wayfinding, and get comfortable being temporarily "lost and found" throughout each day. It's all part of the adventure.

But I still love having a Collection that is both useful and beautiful.