The Dance

The Dance

The Dance “Most things worth doing come with their fair share of risks.” Kristen Beyer Way back when, my cousins and I all owned Model A Fords, and in the summer, we would drive them somewhere wonderful in the west. The summer of the photo above, we drove...
The Good Old Boys

The Good Old Boys

The Good Old Boys “I never made one of my discoveries through the process of rational thinking.” Albert Einstein My first home, on a small street in a friendly little neighborhood, was just seven minutes from my new job. It was nice and quiet until summer...
Lost in the Woods

Lost in the Woods

Lost in the Woods “It ain’t over till it’s over.” Yogi Berra Mr. Black received the land, nearly eight hundred acres, as partial payment on a real estate deal he made in the thirties. As a kid, I thought he must not have been too happy about...
The Leap

The Leap

The Leap “If it’s both terrifying and amazing, you should definitely pursue it.” Erada Svetlana On one of my family’s Model A trips that took place over many summers, we went to the spectacular Monument Valley in northern Arizona. Many of my...
The Road Trip

The Road Trip

The Road Trip “Adventure is not outside man; it is within.” George Eliot In the summer of ’76, my close friend Scott McNatt and I decided to take a little drive from Los Angeles to the Olympic Games in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, over three thousand...
The Treehouse

The Treehouse

The Treehouse “I begin with an idea and then it becomes something else.” Pablo Picasso When my cousin Stephen and I were about fourteen and fifteen, respectively, we decided to build a treehouse near my aunt and uncle’s cabin above Lake Tahoe. We asked if...