Category: General
-
MY FRIEND LEVI
This is my friend Levi. He is perhaps the most outstanding young man I have ever met. He’s been visiting me once a month for more than two years now. He comes during the day with a colleague and knows I am busy at work so he never stays for long. Levi is soft spoken […]
-
JASMINE MEMORIES
Human beings have a remarkable ability to remember aromas. All of our senses can be connected with memories but perhaps none evoke nostalgia as much as smell. The olfactory bulb has easy access to a part of the brain known as the amygdala, which plays a role in evoking emotional memories. Yesterday I got a […]
-
THE PAPER ROUTE
There’s been talk in our household lately of our first jobs. Joseph just secured his first job. He’ll be helping in the fight against world hunger by feeding students at a university burger shop. It’s perfect for Joe as he’s right on the university campus and allows him to save up for that coveted possession […]
-
THE TOUGHEST JOB YOU’LL EVER LOVE
It was 35 years ago today that a bunch of recent college graduates in agriculture, forestry and environmental education and I landed in Central America to begin our two-year Peace Corps Costa Rica Volunteer assignments. We all got to know each other a few months earlier in Harper’s Ferry, West Virginia. The Peace Corps flew […]
-
AN EAGLE SCOUT
Day 7 of 7: Challenge on Nature Photography. Eagles, Amery, Wisconsin – 1973 For the past six days I have shared my appreciation of nature with you. For my final day in this nature photography challenge I’m going to share a personal story about how I developed that appreciation and my concerns that today’s generation […]
-
RESERVES OF STRENGTH
‘Those who contemplate the beauty of the earth find reserves of strength that will endure as long as life lasts. There is something infinitely healing in the repeated refrains of nature – the assurance that dawn comes after night, and spring after winter.’ Rachel Carson, Silent Spring In the summer of 1978, I worked as […]
-
PASQUE FLOWERS FOR THE MINORITIES
‘For us of the minority, the opportunity to see geese is more important than television, and the chance to find a pasque-flower is a right as inalienable as free speech.’ Aldo Leopold, Sand County Almanac When I was a student at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point I took a nature literature class and read A […]
-
ALONE IN THE WILDERNESS
‘Wilderness is not a luxury but a necessity of the human spirit, and as vital to our lives as water and good bread. A civilization which destroys what little remains of the wild, the spare, the original, is cutting itself off from its origins and betraying the principle of civilization itself.’ Edward Abbey, Desert Solitaire […]
-
ISIS THUGS IN PALMYRA
The ancient desert oasis settlement of Palmyra in the central steppe of Syria has had a special place in my heart. But today, IS thugs are knocking on its doorsteps and if they are true to form, they will destroy the UNESCO World Heritage site. I first travelled to Syria in 1990 for an interview […]
If you see this after your page is loaded completely, leafletJS files are missing.