A Visit from the Wild

Sep 8, 2021 | Writings

A bear visited us one morning last summer. She—I assume it was a she as this bear certainly knew her way around a kitchen—pushed open the front door and padded through the dining room right into the kitchen. I know this because when I walked down the stairs that...

Living in the Forest: A University of the Spirit

Sep 8, 2021 | Writings

“You will find something more in woods than in books. Trees and stones will teach you that which you can never learn from masters.”Saint Bernard I wonder how many of us, when asked where we live, would answer: “in the forest.” For we live in the Tongass – at almost 17...

Riding the Alaska Ferries

Aug 30, 2021 | Writings

Most people would consider climbing Denali the quintessential Alaskan experience, but here’s a well kept secret: the true Alaskan experience is inhabiting the present and nowhere is it easier to do than in riding the ferry. So few places exist where we can live fully...

Lessons in English – and democracy

Jan 7, 2015 | Writings

When I saw the faces of young people in Hong Kong demonstrating for more democracy, I wondered if any of my former students were there. My former students would be in their 20s now. In 2003, I taught in an English-immersion summer camp in Shenzhen in the southern part...