In the ancient caravan city of Timbuktu, many nights before I encountered the bibliophile or the marabout, or comforted the Green Beret's girlfriend, I was summoned to a rooftop to meet the salt ...

For most people, Timbuktu is a place ... named locations can be found on a map, and visited today. Kalamazoo is actually pretty simple. It is a mid-sized city located in Southwest Michigan.