Ordinary People, Extraordinary Deeds: A Memoir of a World Citizen Diplomat

By Lois Ann Nicolai

This book details how the founders located Lifebridge Foundation in NYC that funded four grants to enable the members to sponsor many important activities during the 1990's. The book tells the story of the first Soviet-American Peace Walk venturing across the USA in 1988, Introducing the first Soviet citizens to meet middle-class Americans. It tells about the Bridges For Peace New Jersey delegation of twenty citizens who went to Volgograd, Russia and lived in the homes of their Russian hosts. It tells about the ten-week Peace Caravan that traveled throughout Canada from Montreal to Vancouver and up to Alaska. By the time the reader has read this book they begin to understand all the millions of peacemakers around the world who are doing their part to help bring a peaceful life to its world citizens.

• Language: English
• Publisher: BookBaby
• Release date: Sep 15, 2022
• ISBN: 9781667857954

Book preview

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Self-published by author, Lois Nicolai

With help from BookBaby Self-Publishing Specialists

The names and identifying details of some characters in this book have been changed.

All rights reserved, including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form.

First paperback and eBook editions published Oct. 2020

Ordinary People, Extraordinary Times:

A Memoir of One Citizen Activist

Second paperback and eBook editions published Oct. 2021

Ordinary People, Extraordinary Elections: A Memoir of International Democracy Builders

Third/Final paperback and eBook editions published 2022

Ordinary People, Extraordinary Deeds:

A Memoir of World Citizen Diplomats

Published by BookBaby Publishing Company,

Pennsauken, New Jersey

Manufactured in the United States of America

Copyright © 2022 by Lois Nicolai

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Nicolai, Lois

Ordinary People, Extraordinary Deeds

A Memoir of World Citizen Diplomats

Print ISBN: 978-1-66785-794-7

eBook ISBN: 978-1-66785-795-4

BOOK 3 DONORS/ADVISORY COMMITTEE

Tom Bieg,

Carly Graver-Carnovale & Zac Carnovale,

Brenda Leffler-Creamer & Michael Creamer

Caroline Creamer & Michael Creamer, Jr.

Neil Goldstein

Patty Leffler-Graver & Townsend Graver,

Sophia Graver & Elizabeth Graver

Eileen Leffler-Larkin & Keith Larkin

Ginny Misner

Walter Muehling

Stella Murashkina & Marina Puznukhova

Rose Marie Tucker-Nemeth,

Deborah Leffler-Newman

Barbara Fracassi-Nodine,

Jean Dorgan-Nostrand

Dolores Hewitt-O’Neill,

Michael Ottis

who contributed generously to the publishing of my book, and who now comprise my third book advisory committee.

R

eviews for Book One:

"Ordinary People, Extraordinary Times:

A Memoir of One Citizen Activist"

"Lois Nicolai appears to have lived ten lifetimes in one. Ordinary People, Extraordinary Times provides incredible insight into the actions of a profoundly courageous woman and those who are also willing to risk it all while fighting the good fight, primarily through the World Citizen Diplomat organization. For me the most eye-opening part of Nicolai’s memoir is the no-holds-barred look at the impact of radiation on some of the world’s most vulnerable, namely children, which is absolutely heart-breaking.

+++++ 5-Star Review

Reviewed by Asher Syed;

READERS’ FAVORITE BOOK REVIEWS

Author Lois Nicolai delivers a superb work that will captivate readers from all walks of life, most especially those who are interested in stepping outside of their own cultures and comfort zones. For those in educational settings, the book is exceedingly well-edited and organized to give a really informative experience of lesser-known cultures and countries, most especially Kazakhstan, where the bulk of Nicolai’s investigation and advocacy takes place.........I would highly recommend it as an accomplished work that will be sure to broaden the horizons of anyone who reads it.

+++++ 5-Star Review

Reviewed by K.C. Finn;

READERS’ FAVORITE BOOK REVIEWS

Ordinary People, Extraordinary Times is a simple and straightforward read that outlines the courage and exceeding humility of Lois Nicolai. I loved the self-effacing way the author approached this story. She always seemed incredibly surprised at the impact one little woman from the farm was able to have on world leaders, movers, and shakers. It was this humility that made the story so compelling for me. This story gives each of us reason to stop and think about what, if any, contribution we personally are making to make a difference in the world and to protect it for our children, our grandchildren, and generations yet born.

+++++ 5-Star Review

Reviewed by Grant Leishman;

READERS’ FAVORITE BOOK REVIEWS

Nicolai writes with verve and good humor while projecting, modestly, an image of her adventures -- and adventurous spirit -- that anyone, especially any female -- might envy. The book (and doubtless those that will follow) has a cinematic aspect that could, and probably should, evoke a film version. All told, Nicolai’s memoir is anything but ordinary -- her life’s work is an inspiration, and this account of her life is both eloquent and engagingly down to earth.

++++ 1/2 - Star Review ( 4 1/2-Star)

Reviewed by the Editor of SPR

SELF-PUBLISHING REVIEW

Ordinary People, Extraordinary Times: A Memoir of One Citizen Activist appears in two editions: one in color and one in black and white. The colorful photo edition is being reviewed here and is highly recommended reading for its engrossing story of how Lois Ann Nicolai moved from a 26-year marriage in Indiana that ended with her husband’s sudden death to becoming an activist at age 50........the power of the color prints in this title is outstanding and are part of what lends a compelling immediacy to Nicolai’s story.

Reviewed by Diane Donovan, Editor

MIDWEST BOOK REVIEW / BOOKWATCH

(Midwest does not issue star ratings)

I would like to tell you why this effort is important and valuable. Lois worked as a citizen activist" for peace initiatives, in Europe and America. In these endeavors, as an unpaid volunteer, she wrote grants, encouraged various peace conferences, visited internationally, and hosted Russian and Eastern Europeans to visit America for demonstrations against nuclear testing.

 Reviewed by Barbara F. Nodine, PhD 

Professor Emerita

ARCADIA UNIVERSITY

Reviews for Book Two:

"Ordinary People, Extraordinary Elections:

A Memoir of International Democracy Builders"

In Ordinary People, Extraordinary Elections, Lois Ann Nicolai relates what she experienced from 1988 to 2014 as she traveled to developing European countries to help the OSCE/PAE create new democracies. From being guarded by soldiers with guns in perilous, war-torn countries to seeing the horror of the Srebrenica massacre in the eyes of the survivors and dealing with mosquitoes, heat, and other inconveniences, the story is filled with memorable and challenging experiences. That Lois Ann Nicolai decided to take on a challenging goal and impact the world positively is a message to all that they can contribute to the world and achieve important goals at any age.

+++++ 5-Star Review

Reviewed by Foluso Falaye

READERS’ FAVORITE BOOK REVIEWS

Ordinary People, Extraordinary Elections: A Memoir of International Democracy Builders is a work of non-fiction in the memoir subgenre and serves as the second installment in the Ordinary People Trilogy. This was one of the most fascinating books I’ve had the pleasure of reviewing for this site, covering in detail an aspect of 20th-century European history that often gets neglected despite its clear and important relevance to modern-day politics. Ordinary People, Extraordinary Elections as an important educational tool in the discussion about international politics and civics.

+++++ 5-Star Review

Reviewed by K.C. Finn

READERS’ FAVORITE BOOK REVIEWS

Ordinary People, Extraordinary Elections: A Memoir of International Democracy Builders (Ordinary People Trilogy Book 2) by Lois Ann Nicolai is a continuation of the amazing journey of this former Indiana farmer’s wife who reinvented her life after her husband’s tragic death. Setting out on a journey of promoting peace around the world, Lois has kept up a breathtaking pace for the past thirty odd years. Lois Ann Nicolai has made a difference in the world, as only Lois can, and I wait with excitement to read the final memoir of this ordinary woman on her extraordinary journey through the second half of her life.

 +++++ 5-Star Review

Reviewed by Grant Leishman;

READERS’ FAVORITE BOOK REVIEWS

Lois Ann Nicolai dives into another fascinating chapter of her own life in Ordinary People, Extraordinary Elections: A Memoir of International Democracy Builders, an insightful and passionately penned memoir. Reflecting on political subjects and personal experiences that are both timely and timeless, readers are given a behind-the-scenes view into the nuances of contentious elections and culture in a myriad of countries, across Bosnia, Croatia, Sarajevo, Macedonia, Georgia, Kosovo, and more.

++++ 4- Star Review.

Reviewed by the Editor of SPR;

SELF-PUBLISHING REVIEW

Book 2 of Lois Ann Nicolai’s memoir trilogy, Ordinary People, Extraordinary Elections: A Memoir of International Democracy Builders captures history in the making. It follows the life and times of Nicolai as she travels to developing European countries, helping the OSCE/PAE create new democracies. Its eye-opening, enlightening surveys provide the rare opportunity for better understanding not just from a reporter’s eye, but from the efforts of an embedded professional who was active in overseeing and guiding the political evolution of nations.

Reviewed by Diane Donovan, Editor

MIDWEST BOOK REVIEW / BOOKWATCH

(Midwest does not issue star ratings)

DEDICATION PAGE:

It gives me great pleasure to dedicate this third book of my

trilogy to

The Lifebridge Foundation in appreciation for their support and belief in our peace-making efforts.

Lifebridge Mission

The Lifebridge Foundation, Inc. was established in 1992 for the purpose of supporting organizations and individuals who, through cultural, educational, and/or scientific means, are creating bridges of understanding among all people by actions to realize the oneness of humanity and the interconnectedness of all life. We support groups and individuals whose innovative projects reflect the oneness perspective; whose work exemplifies a global vision, demonstrates a spirit of inclusiveness, and fosters transformative action in a changing world.

History & Background

The Lifebridge Foundation, Inc. was incorporated and funded as a small independent family foundation in 1992. This marked the beginning of an absorbing and compelling journey into the relatively uncharted territory of what could be termed holistic activism. The idea was to foster the truths of the underlying planetary unity and the factual reality of a single human race through philanthropy. The Foundation was established to provide opportunity for groups and individuals who were working to promote these ideas. Since that time, over 200 non-profit organizations and individuals have been helped to fulfill their missions. A wide and inclusive mission statement reflecting openness and breadth was key. 

Lifebridge Foundation

On Human Rights Day, December 10th, 1997, The Lifebridge Foundation was confirmed as an NGO affiliated with the Department of Public Information of the United Nations.

For more information, contact by mail or email

The Lifebridge Foundation, Inc.

PO Box 327

High Falls, NY 12440

Tel: [phone]

Email: [e-mail]

Chapter Index:

Chapter 1: Soviet–American Peace Walk, 1988

Chapter 2:

Bridges for Peace Exchange New Jersey, USA –

Volgograd, Russia, 1989

Chapter 3:

Creating World Citizen Diplomats, 1990–1993

Chapter 4:

Peace Child Production in Prague, 1991

Chapter 5:

Lifebridge Foundation, 1996–2022

Chapter 6:

Creating Peace 2000 Network in Costa Rica,

Santa Barbara, CA and at the United Nations, NYC, 1996

Chapter 7:

Peace 2000 Caravan through Canada – 1997 (Part 1)

Chapter 8:

Peace 2000 Caravan through Canada – 1997 (Part 2)

Chapter 9:

Peace 2000 Caravan through Europe – 1998 (Part 1)

Chapter 10:

Peace 2000 Caravan through Europe – 1998 (Part 2)

Chapter 11:

The Hague Appeal for Peace Conference, May 1999

CHAPTER 12:

Essays Written By Citizen Diplomats

INTRODUCTION

In December 1987, following the celebration of my fiftieth birthday, I moved an hour away from my children on the Jersey Shore to Princeton, NJ, to become actively involved in International Relations and Peacemaking—intending to spend the second half of my life making my contribution toward building a safer and better world for my children and grandchildren.

For the next twenty-five years, it was as if God and all His Angels laid out the steppingstones in front of me as I walked my new path. Everything happened at such a pace that it was like one gigantic dream!

In the spring of 1988, I met one of my favorite peacemakers, Martin Sheen, at the Princeton Aquinas Institute, and he chose to sponsor me to participate that summer on the thirty-day Soviet-American Peace Walk across America with 215 Soviet Citizens, happening because of the growing perestroika and glasnost movement in the Soviet Union.

That next spring of 1989, I traveled with a group of local anti-nuclear movement members to the Nevada Nuclear Test site and experienced my first civil disobedience with hundreds of other Americans.

That fall of 1989, I joined twenty other New Jersey citizens as part of the Bridges for Peace Exchange with Volgograd, Russia, for a two-week visit, living in the homes of our new Russian host families.

These first three experiences opened my eyes to a whole new understanding of the world we live in and the vast need for breaking down the misconceptions and stereotyping that caused so many decades of what was referred to as The Cold War.

After returning from Volgograd, twenty of us started meeting weekly for more than a year, eventually growing to an active group of more than fifty citizens. Professor Dietrich Fischer and I co-chaired our growing citizen activists as we put the foundation and by-laws together. We received our 501c (3) non-profit status in 1993 and became very active for another dozen years.

During those years, we sponsored dozens of activities, such as several International Peace Caravans, seminars in Costa Rica, Santa Barbara, Princeton, and the United Nations in NYC, participated in the Hague Appeal for Peace Global Conference in the Netherlands and numerous exchanges worldwide.

By the time the new millennium arrived, I realized that I needed to record my experiences so my children, grandchildren, and future descendants would have an idea of what all I did during my Senior Years, so I began writing. In 2019, I put many stories into one document and searched for a local publisher who would put my stories into a book and print it for me to give to my family for that Christmas. I had no intention of publishing it because self-publishing is very costly and I didn’t have any money, so I just had thirty books printed to give to my children and grandchildren as my Christmas gift. I was so proud to give my family some of my many experiences in writing, so they could read them someday when they found the time.

You can imagine how shocked I was in late January 2020, when I opened my computer and found a Go-Fund-Me account in my name. Three of my granddaughters had read my book over the holidays and were so impressed they decided to create the account and raise the funds for me to publish it. I was in shock for days, realizing they cared enough to try to find a way to help me get it published.

Once I put together a draft listing all my experiences since I arrived in Princeton in 1987, it became very clear that one book was not going to meet my needs. That was when I organized all the events into three categories, realizing I needed to create a three-book Memoir Trilogy. Thus, the result was my three existing books.

My first book, Ordinary People, Extraordinary Times; A Memoir of One Citizen Activist, was published on October 1, 2020. It consists of all my missions focusing on my nuclear disarmament work as a citizen activist, learning about the serious radiation problems humanity now faces because of the nuclear testing era. The last chapter features essays written by eleven knowledgeable International Citizens who are actively educating the average people of the horrors of radiation.

My second book, Ordinary People, Extraordinary Elections; A Memoir of International Democracy Builders, was published on October 1, 2021. It consists of my missions as an International Democratic Election Supervisor, Registration Officer, and Observer in ten European developing nations. The final chapter features essays written by ten citizen democracy building colleagues who volunteered, the same as I did, for the OSCE (Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe). They share many of their remarkable experiences creating democracy worldwide.

My third and final book is Ordinary People, Extraordinary Deeds; A Memoir of World Citizen Diplomats, which you are about to read now. It is being published in the summer of 2022, completing my Memoir Trilogy. This third book features all the activities we sponsored through our World Citizen Diplomats organization. The last chapter consists of essays written by eleven men and women, either focusing on projects and activities they personally encountered, or their interpretation of what it entails to be a World Citizen.

Please visit my website, which gives a clear picture of all three of my books. I hope you choose to read them. They are 100 percent true, historical, informative, and hopefully both entertaining and inspiring. Enjoy!

Lois.

Website: loisnicolaiauthor.com

Chapter 1:

Soviet–American Peace Walk,

1988

Turning fifty was a big milestone for me, after raising my six children and recovering from the traumatic unexpected loss of my husband, Jim, following twenty-six years of marriage. Once I settled into my new little apartment on Spring Street in Princeton, I found employment and began to lay out my plan for the second half of my new life. Spending the last three years walking the beach and boardwalk of the Jersey Shore gave me the opportunity to build my vision for a new future. I struggled as I made the difficult transformation of self-discovery, leading me to extraordinary changes. At my fiftieth birthday dinner, I announced to my children that I was moving to Princeton to become actively involved in International Relations and Peacemaking.

Living one block from the front gate of Princeton University was an exciting experience, and I immediately took advantage of everything a university town has to offer. I attended every speech focusing on international relations open to the public, all held at the former Woodrow Wilson School for Public and International Politics Building—today known as the Princeton School of Public and International Affairs. Early each morning before going to work, I jogged throughout the campus grounds, enjoying the site of each remarkable unique building, and astonished at the academic atmosphere. Just breathing the pleasant air of such an intellectual climate was invigorating, probably because I had dreamed throughout my twelve years of grammar and high school of attending such a magnificent university. Unfortunately, my father informed me he could only send one of the four of his children to college, and he said that needed to be my one brother, the boy of the family! Ironically, my brother didn’t even graduate from high school and had no interest in attending a school of higher learning. So, I did what my school guidance director suggested and enrolled in nursing school (which cost pennies compared to going to college for four years), and she explained I would spend six months attending Monmouth Junior College while taking the four academic courses required by the Ann May School of Nursing at Fitkin Memorial Hospital in Neptune, NJ. However, I couldn’t even practice giving a needle to an orange while thinking it would be someone’s arm someday, so once my six months were completed at college, I gracefully escaped my nursing school through the basement with my suitcase in hand! The only reason I am sorry I had to do that was because it broke my mom’s heart since she wanted me to be a nurse so badly. Nursing just wasn’t my calling in life. But at least I got to go to one semester of college, and then ten years ago, I took a Creative Writing course at my local community college and got an A+. I still have my report card from Monmouth Jr. College in 1956, when I completed and passed all four medical courses—but none of my final grades at that time were A+’s!

In February, I picked up a Walking Magazine where I read an advertisement for a Soviet-American Peace Walk coming this summer. It said 215 Soviet citizens were coming to the United States for the first time since the beginning of the Cold War, and they would be able to walk freely across the United States. The organizers of the walk were looking for American citizens who would