As I am sitting on the hotel terrace and sipping my drink, my thoughts turn toward myself. I try to pin myself down in just a few words. The words come my way in a long stream: unattached, independent, rebellious, autonomous, nonconformist, unaffiliated, individualist, radical, eccentric… All these strike me as the right words for someone who has become free from every form of human organization imaginable. But then I start looking for a single word that could bring so many words together. It takes me a while to remember one word that I really like: maverick. I open my laptop at once, open the wireless connection, and go to my Residua website. When I search for this word, four pieces pop up. Written in 2000, 2008, 2011, and 2012, they all uphold my appreciation of the Americanism after Samuel Maverick, a Nineteenth Century Texas pioneer who left his calves unbranded. Judging by the years these pieces have been penned, the appreciation has only been growing from year to year. As has my freedom, as a matter of fact. Yes, I am a maverick. And proud of it, too.