I’VE LEARNED THIS LITTLE LESSON before, and I will probably relearn it many times again. You never know when you write a book, when you share some words and thoughts and feelings, where they will go or who they may touch. Even a humble, silly little book. When I received an email from France, from old friend Doug Cushman—artist and
WHEN I WAS A BOY, every summer had a 2 week slice of heaven built into it. That was the time our entire family gathered in a cabin on the shores of a beautiful northern Minnesota lake called Kabetogama. Time away from important jobs and studies and school and stuff that I hated, and close to lakes and loons and
TODAY I SPENT the day at the Twin Cities Young Authors Conference (YAC) on the beautiful campus of Bethel University. About 500 middle school students especially interested in writing are bused from all over the metro area to spend time with professional authors, get tips on the writing process, and simply get inspired. I’ve been invited many times and it’s
“MAN IS WHOLE when he is in tune with the winds, the stars, and the hills… Being in tune with the universe is the entire secret.” Justice William O. Douglas As I look around me, I see the sapphire blue of sky and a sparkling lake, the green shades of trees, the swooping arcs of gulls, and the clean hardness
IF YOU’RE GONNA BE DUMB, YOU GOTTA BE TOUGH. In my new book ‘A Wild Path,’ I tell the story of golfing with my buddy Carroll. On the occasion of a foolish and somewhat painful mistake–a ball ricocheting off a pine tree, perhaps, or a shank off a shin–Carroll spoke the memorable words quoted above. I broke up laughing and
A YEAR AGO, I lost a dear friend. David was a good and kind soul with a wise heart, and I enjoyed every moment I ever spent with him. Yesterday I lost my beloved cousin, my brother, Terry, with whom I grew up–a good and kind soul with a wise heart. I enjoyed every moment I ever spent with him.
THE BRIGHT MARE’S TAILS and puffy clouds of summer sunsets are no more. A skim of ice completely covers the Father of Waters, and by 5 o’clock the woods are dark. No lingering dusk, no calling of loons or white throats. But a late autumn glow fills the river valley, reflected by the ice, and the chill air booms with
“AND HERE IS THE SECRET if you have not already guessed it. The heart that gives thanks is a happy one, for we cannot feel thankful and unhappy at the same time. The more we give thanks, the more we find to be thankful for. And the more we find to be thankful for, the happier we become. We don’t
THE LETTER THAT CHANGED MY LIFE, and the next step… Today I am feeling grateful. Tidying up a storage area in the cabin, sorting through materials from my 12 years as president of the Listening Point Foundation, I was powerfully reminded of the profound effect that beloved North Country author Sigurd Olson had on my life. That connection began with
LITTLE STREAM, I can still hear you calling, though my footsteps may take me far away; through the seasons you’re rising and falling; young and old each new day, you move along but you stay, and I thank you for passing my way.