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Gary Orleck
In 1965, Gary Orleck graduated from Babson College—a small but
outstanding business college with students from around the world—in Wellesley,
Massachusetts and set out along Route 66working his way around the US for four
months. Most helpful was an agreement he had with the Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company that he could work in any store during his travels, but he could not be paid
locally. Instead, his pay was sent to his home later. Gary was well-versed in the tire
business because his father owned the largest Goodyear Tire and Service store in
New England.
For a young boy from Rhode Island, this was a life-changing experience. Gary was
present for the Watts Riots and the world premiere of Fantastic Voyage with Raquel
Welch and Fernando Lamas at Grumman’s Chinese Theater. He arrived in San
Francisco the day topless was approved. The four-month trip wet Gary’s appetite for
more traveling. While driving home from California, he made a promise to himself: to
drive around all of Europe the next year.
Gary bumped into a college student who graduated with him . The student was from
Iran, a country most Americans had never heard of at the time. Gary didn’t know it at
the time, but his friend was from the wealthiest family in the world at that time. His
friend had lived in Switzerland for four years of boarding school, four years of college
in London, and seven summers in the South of France for summer school. He asked
Gary to join him that following summer to drive through Europe—his friend offering to
be his tour guide since he knew Europe like the back of his hand.
At first, Gary was hesitant because of his friend’s perceived reputation, but he was
very persuasive, promising to be the best tour guide ever. Reluctantly, Gary agreed
which led to the most mind-blowing experience—a ten-week trip through 12 countries
and 19,920 miles of earth-shattering adventures that include turning a ship around in
the middle of an ocean, dining with the King and Queen of Denmark and the King
and Queen of Belgium, meeting The Who backstage, being entertained by the
Empress of Iran Empress Farah in Paris, gambling with the Shah of Iran in Monte
Carlo, and even being rescued by Shirley Temple Black after being arrested during
the Czechoslovakian Revolution in the summer of 1968.
Gary says, “It took ten years for me to process that trip—five years of research plus
five years of writing—because I wished to share with the world the greatest
adventure a young naïve boy from Rhode Island could ever imagine happening. So,
fasten your seat belts for a ride inside the elite world of the rich and famous and join
me on a trip of the lifetime. A trip you will never forget. I promise you that!”
You can follow Gary on Twitter @gorleck.
OUT NOW
Travels With Maurice: An Outrageous Adventure in Europe, 1968
Released April 5, 2022