“I planted the tree when it was merely a sapling, in honor of my daughter’s twelfth birthday, to acknowledge the start of her teen years.”
“The Old College Try”
“Last night, Checkpoint 13 thwarted me—again. It is my second try at the Land Navigation night test in the woods and hillsides surrounding Hall Lake…”
The Day After
“…you come across something you are interested in doing... It doesn’t matter what “it” is. So you sign on… Could be a trip, or college/learning, or something on your Life List… You load up your gear… You set out.”
Green for the Gray
“Being a big believer in listening to those quiet whispers in your soul that serve so well as guides, I found myself driving yesterday to Frederick Meijer Gardens for a bit of Gray Tunnel Relief”
Why Our Times Are Not Simple
“Nowadays my information is instantaneous, thanks to the internet, but there ends the simplicity of knowledge, as I enter the worm-hole of All That Mankind (Thinks It) Knows.”
The Art of Writing
“Being a writer can sometimes weigh heavily. As a representative of and advocate for the written word, I recognize the opportunity to demonstrate good writing.”
This is 'that' day
“This is that day, the one you know is coming for weeks, the one when you know it’s over. You are on your road thinking about the day when you realize: the color is gone.”
Reflections on Right and Wrong
“A 60 year old elephant, dead. Shot and killed. Boom! Gone. How can there be anything right about the “right” of anyone to do that?”
How Is It Possible I Feel Cold?
“I understand the wisdom of wearing multiple layers in the mountains, where the full range of weather can crop up any time. But in my sweet, safe, predictable lower-peninsula Michigan? In August? It just doesn’t somehow seem right, or fair, to feel cold.”
Machu Picchu
“It’s the “lost city of the Incas” which, as with the city of Sleeping Beauty, was covered by dense vegetation for centuries before being rediscovered.”
In Honor of Great Teachers
“On August 7 this year, an impressive gathering of aging, now mostly-retired paramedics from those early days gathered to honor Bob Marlin, one of the original DGH paramedics and for many years our Chief Paramedic.”
Getting High in Peru
“What I learned was that, although I’d been thinking “I’m going to Machu Picchu” for months, I actually fell in love with the larger context of Peru.”
On Being A Generalist
“And so, it seems, I have become a generalist. I’m generally interested in learning about or doing generally anything. In a world populated more often these days by specialists, I am an outlier…”
To The Man Who Called Me Bastard
“I remember looking down from the high seat at you, knowing enough not even to try reasoning with you. Any discussion or review of the facts was clearly not possible.”
Work Is Not A Dirty Word
“Work is a universal theme, but what struck me was how it is spoken with the tone of a person sentenced to life in prison.”
The Nature of the Beast
“Owning horses is not the same as being a horseman. One of my best role-models for the honor of being called a “horseman” is my friend and trainer, Kathy.”
Yes, You Can!
“Yes! is a strategy I have often found helpful. My own efforts at reining in the weight-creep that came after the sedentary habits of grad school…”
Join Up!
“As I was driving home along the quiet streets of the middle of the night from a medical call at 0330 (that’s 3:30 a.m.) recently, that old Army pitch came to mind: ‘Join the Army, See the World’. ”
March Forth!
“That sun! I could sense that the dull deadness of winter is passing away. For the first time in months, it offered up a tease of warmth.”
Fabric and Memory
“Jake’s ribbons signify so much more than a notch in my belt. They signify the desire to test our abilities, the hope of doing myself (and my horse, and my trainer, and those on my team) proud…”