3 comments about Prairie Wisdom: Reflections on Life in the Dakotas.

1. Though probably best read in small doses for proper assimilation and reflection, I found myself compelled to keep reading page after page of this wonderful collection of meditations. But donÕt let the term meditations throw you. There is nothing dry or boring about them. Bishop Coyner has a wonderful way of using the everyday events of our lives and how we react to them as reflections upon our relationships not only with each other, but with our Creator as well. I never felt that I was being preached to, but needed to be reminded of the need to "shave my head" when called to do so, learned a wonderful new word (Uffda!), and discovered that El Nino is not a bad thing for everyone. There is so much more to share, but some journeys we each have to make ourselves. This is definitely a trip worth taking.



2. Mike has been a friend of mine for years. He and I were ordained in the same class in our Annual Conference. However, I believe knowing him has helped me assess this work. The devotions are very thoughtful and the reflection of a well-trained pastoral mind. The stories show the a very compassionate human being who can see the hand of God in the work of people. Thanks Mike.



3. From Michael Coyner's personal Litany for facing change, with words that provide strengthening for many in the church family and those serving on the Bishop's Cabinet:
   "We pray for security, but God terrifies us with freedom."
   The immense size of Coyner's new area of North & South Dakota is daunting; the diversity of the people amazes, as does the facility of Dakotans to act as though Native Americans exist only in old 'Western' films. Native Americans have maybe 14 words for "snow", and Bishop Coyner thought during his first winter that even more descriptive words were needed! Blizzards were followed by snowmelt and floods - - leaving FIFTY THOUSAND homeless. It isn't difficult to imagine that people in the Dakotas are always fearing the 'next' winter.
   
   Did you know that the sunflower head standing tall can be harvested as long as the valuable head is still above the snow? I wonder how many Dakota parents embroider this truth somewhat to teach their children about survival, and to be stalwart? (Matthew 6: "Tomorrow will bring worries of its own. Today's trouble is enough for today" . . . compare with John Bunyan's words "He who would Valiant be . . . " set to the music of Vaughan Williams & sung in St. Paul's Cathedral London. (# B00002EIUG)
   
   Following a 'learning experience' with vandalism, the Bishop prayed: "Protect us from vandals who seek to deface; but PROTECT US EVEN MORE FROM IRRELEVANCE & inability to proclaim your good grace." In times of trouble, God will launch us to use our energy & imagination to "overcome" - - with the best examples coming from black sisters & brothers. In the most poignant chapter of all, "Sap on the Family Tree," Bishop Coyner states that "Racism has led us to disregard our common humanity." His ancestor owned a slave named "Sall" valued at $200. and he now has that to ponder. For each of us to ponder are other chapters: "Pavement Ends," "Sandbags," "Connected by the Inner Net," "Remote Starting the Church," "Celebrating Small Successes," "The Prisoner's Note."
   
   How empty the lives of those who do not make 'eye contact'. That sad fact goes back to experiences early in life when gentle, sometimes challenging words spoke by my father when offering the elements of communion, always with loving eyes, speaking always with kindness. This bishop has demonstrated such kindness. When receiving communion from him early in the year (2006) I 'flubbed'! He continued to encourage me by gesture & kind eyes, and that was true kindness to someone feeling the earthquake of leukemia.
   
   Reviewer mcHAIKU will close with a part of the bishop's prayer, (p.132): "Thanks for those who pray for ME each day, who pray I will follow your way HOPEFULLY." "Guide us, direct us and show us your ... way," but please . . . DON'T avoid detours!

No comments about Great Black Heroes: Five Brave Explorers (level 4) (Hello Reader).

No comments about Backcountry Pilot: Flying Adventures with Ike Russell (The Southwest Center Series).

No comments about Ice Man: The Remarkable Adventures of Antarctic Explorer Tom Crean.

No comments about Far Pastures.

1 comments about The World of Gerard Mercator: The Mapmaker Who Revolutionized Geography.

1. The history of maps seems to be an understudied element of history. Yet it had political, economical and religous ramifications and influences.
   
   If you stand in a classroom and look at a map chances are you are looking at a map of which its basic ideas were theorized by Gerard Mercator, a Flemmish born mapmaker who spend most of his life in Duisburg.
   
   In the first chapters we read about his predecessors and influences that made him into the most important cartographer up to this day. It's a book about his personal life, his political life, his economical life and also his religious life.
   
   By challenging some of the basic ideas of the Church, based in part on the ancient Greek Ptolemy, his maps could be seen as heretic. He was jailed for a while but got away with it. He keeps working on new maps, but is constantly haunted by a question: how to draw a 2D map of a spherical 3D world. He eventually came to some conclusion by shortening the lines nearer to the poles; this was both a better way of representation than before, but nowadays somewhat seen as eurocentric, since it makes Europe seem bigger than it really was.
   
   This book is great. Written in simple language so everyone will enjoy it. The author has taken great care into mentioning the political and religious reasonings on mapmaking and also why certain maps look like they do. It's a great book for any lover of ancient maps.

5 comments about Canoeing with the Cree Audio CDs.

1. Enough youthful daring and preparation on a wonderful journey which showed the better nature of people for the exploits of two tough and bright young men. A wonderful journey, with some historical photo's that help illustrate the accomplishment. A wonderful quick read.



2. 2250 miles in a canoe - a great adventure and a book worth reading. I can't add much that isn't already perfectly described in this book.
   
   At the start of the trip during a brief stay in Fargo, North Dakota, a friend and doctor named Frederick Gronvold sets the boys on their journey in a proper frame of mind. "Don't let anyone, no matter who he is, convince you that your trip can't be completed. You have youth and strength, and courage too, I hope, and with a little common sense you can do it."
   
   When the journey finally ends and the boys share their tale with the adults at York Factory, they are asked why? Bud responds simply, "Oh, for pleasure, I guess." A journey simply for the sake of the adventure. It is an idea lost on some of the adults listening to the boys. "Pleasure! What a jolly funny kind of pleasure!" Better yet, maybe the idea isn't lost. Colonel Reid continues, "Oh well, that's youth. Things look different when you're young, I suppose. My word, I almost believe I envy you."
   
   Enjoy the beginning and the end; enjoy the pineapples and everything in between. Enjoy the journey simply for the journey; it's an adventure that is perfect for any reader of any age!



3. "Eric Sevareid made his name as a CBS news correspondent. But at a young age, Sevareid experienced an adventure most only dream of. Sevareid detailed the journey in his book "Canoeing with the Cree". Now to mark the 75th anniversary of Sevareid's journey, two Minnesota men plan to make the same trip." Tim Post
   
   In 1930 two young men paddled their way from Minneapolis to Hudson Bay in Canada. A trip of 2200 miles. Everyone told them it could not be done. Eric Sevareid, then a 17 year old, fresh graduate of high school, and his best buddy, Walter Port, planned the entire trip. They garnered financial support, collected supplies and a canoe and paddles and off they went. Five months later after trials and tribulations, they made it to Hudson Bay. Their journey is documented by Eric Sevareid, who gathered the weekly diaries he sent to their local Minneapolis paper, and in 1935, he wrote this book.
   
   I stepped back in time to the 1930's when life seemed to be more innocent and the world a safer place to be. Sevareid who went on to become one of the most revered journalists of our time, wrote in an unpretentious manner, and we can feel the excitement of their adventures. They traversed unknown land and water. No one, it seems, had ever accomplished this trek. Even the best canoeists in the country failed. How then, did these two young lads accomplish this journey? Intelligence and good luck, I'd say. They questioned everyone they met, took upon themselves to digest all of the information and made decisions based on their best judgement. And, most of the time they were correct. They had no radio, no maps( this was uncharted country), little preserved food except for hardtack, but they had their ingenuity and the assistance of all of the people they met.
   
   The North Country was mostly woods. Camps, small towns and two larger towns had been established for hunting and trapping. Most of the humans they met were Indians who were kind and generous. As a matter of fact, most of the people they met were in awe of their journey and shared whatever food, equipment and conversation they were capable. The trip was amazing when we look at the obstacles they faced. Water, roaring cold water, sometimes rapids, sometimes falls, no maps, only the word of mouth of strangers, and cold brutal weather at times. Or hot humid weather with flies and gnats. They discovered all sorts of wild animals but were never in real danger. They had their tent, two paddles, food, water, ponchos and several blankets. This seems like a story of new adventurers discovering a new world, and in fact this is what they were. Two 17 year old lads set out on an adventure and one day after another they found one. Extraordinary when you think about it.
   
   Since the time of Eric and Walter, several other duos have made the trip by canoe. However, they had maps, food that could be kept for months and the best of camping equipment. This is not to lessen these young men's courage, but to think 78 years ago, this was accomplished with such primitive arrangments and care.
   
   This was an exciting read and one page after another flew by. The book was difficult to put down. Easy, simplistic writing. but some of the most important writing I have found. The boys parents and friends did not hear from them often and at times, I am sure the parents were worried. But the two lads persevered and the trip was taken.
   
   Highly Recommended. prisrob 06-26-08
   
   Not So Wild a Dream
   
   The Eleanor Roosevelt Story



4. This story is about two high school boys who decided to take a canoe trip during the summer of 1930. Not only is it an adventurous tale but it is a lesson about survival and the determination to accomplish a goal. It is well written and very descriptive making the journey very realistic. This is a must read especially for teenagers who love the sport of canoeing.



5. The late CBS News Correspondent Eric Sevareid's highly regarded adventure chronicle Canoeing With The Cree has been given new life in an enjoyable audiobook production released by Holton House Audio. The story, as written by the late Mr. Sevareid, is one of an epic journey through the Canadian wilderness during the summer and fall of 1930. Sevareid and his friend Walter Port, both just teenagers, set out from Minneapolis, Minnesota, in an attempt to do what no one else had ever done before: canoe over 2,200 miles north to the Atlantic Ocean.
   
   Holton House Audio chose Mr. John Farrell to record Sevareid's epic tale, and it has chosen well. Mr. Farrell's pleasant baritone displays a wide range of emotion that consistently matches both the intensity and innocence of Mr. Sevareid's story, and Farrell's reading style adds what almost seems like visual and sensory components to the recording. At times, as I listened, I could see and sense the stillness of the Canadian wilderness that Mr. Sevareid experienced, while at other times, the tone in Farrell's voice led me to imagine the deafening roar of crashing rapids. I could sense the perils that Sevareid and his friend faced on many occasions. Also, Mr. Farrell's ability to give characters in the story their own unique voices added yet another enjoyable aspect to this quality recording.
   
   I found it refreshing that Canoeing With The Cree was exciting, and yet profanity-free. The recording would be a great addition to any public library's audio collection, and it would also be appropriate for use in High School English classrooms. I intend to start using it in my own Alternative Education High School class this fall, and will make this wholesome and engaging story a regular part of my curriculum for many years to come.
   
   Eric Sevareid's Canoeing With The Cree is a great story, and it's been well told by Mr. John Farrell. I highly recommend this new Holton House Audio recording.

No comments about Blood Sweat and Lions.

4 comments about The Extraordinary Adirondack Journey of Clarence Petty: Wilderness Guide, Pilot, and Conservationist.

1. Any biography that states in its title "extraordinary...journey" has a great deal to live up to. This is especially true if the person is only regionally known. However, the life of Clarence Petty is nothing short of amazing and his life story confirms him as a living legend.

   Author Christopher Angus ("Reflections From Canoe Country: Paddling the Water of the Adirondacks and Canada") has taken on the voluminous task of writing the life story of a man who was bred, worked and still lives in the Adirondack Park. Clarence Petty was born to a poor backwoods wilderness guide and lived his life in countless professions all in the name of the environment.

   This is not a mundane tale of a "Dudley Doright". The reader soon discovers that Mr. Petty grew from being a well respected wilderness guide into a Federal and State conservationist, all the while honing his skills as a first class aviationist. Between these two professions Mr. Petty traveled the world. From dangerous missions over the Pacific in World War II to environmental works over Alaska and the Adirondack mountains, Clarence Petty moved forward to serve and protect the environment in which he lives. Also worth noting are the staggering number of conservancy organizations to which Mr. Petty belongs and contributes. There are few Presidents, Governors or other noteworthy politicians that Clarence Petty has not met in the last several decades. It is interesting to note that his viewpoint of politicians is adamantly level headed but not without strong opinion.

   If the reader is not familiar with some of the colorful Adirondack legends of the past century, there are some pleasant surprises. His family personally knew all of them and the truth behind most. These tales are woven through the upbringing of Clarence Petty and serve as a time table to his growth. Exciting stories from mountain and river mappings to political controversies over the Adirondack Park fill the saga of Clarence Petty. The reader can not help but wonder what keeps a man like this going so stealthily for so long. His story is impressive.

   People like Clarence Petty seem to be put on this earth at a time they are needed most. His influence and hard work to save the qualities of the Adirondack wilderness through the most crucial era of its' existence is inspiring. Mr. Petty's story is told in an unsentimental, yet moving manner.

   The foreword is written by Dr. Anne LaBastille, a close friend of Clarence Petty and author of the "Woodswoman" series, as well as environmental gems like, "Mama Poc" and "Jaguar Totem". Her latest book, "Woodswoman IIII" has just been released.




2. I have to say that I'm impressed with Clarence Petty's life. It almost makes me wish I was born in the Adirondacks around the turn of the century. Most people don't have lives much less the great life he has. It's a good story and the best part is that it's all true.



3. Let me begin with my biggest complaint regarding this book: No map of the Adirondack Park. Although this book purports to be the biography of Clarence Petty, it is a sketchy bio at best with the principal focus on the creation of this wilderness area in upper New York State. And yet, although this book constantly gives names of places and sections of the Park, not one map to help the reader better understand the forces at work here. I subtract two rating stars right off the top for this oversight. There is a map, a sketch actually, of a few square miles of the area in which Clarence grew up and currently lives. This brings me to my second complaint. Throughout the book, author Christopher Angus states that Clarence lived/lives in Coreys. But, if you look at the sketch in the book and then go to other resources, you find out that that is not true. Clarence's home is on Coreys Road. The hamlet of Coreys is another place entirely, approximately 20 miles to the north, and Coreys Road goes nowhere near Coreys. The book is pretty much a straightforward, simple and unstylistic narrative with appropriate quotes from individuals and other printed sources. One big bonus: Terrific photographs of the people involved in their natural setting. Yet, when I was done with the book, I had the sensation that I knew more than was necessary about the politics of the park, and precious little about Mr. Petty. Of course, his life revolved to such a great extent around the Adirondacks, that both had to be included. But, there is so much more to Clarence. For instance, no other place on earth inspired him to the extent these mountains did, except Alaska. We are told that he made more than half a dozen trips there, but only one is given any exposure, and then only cursorily. I would have liked to learn more about the other trips and what he found there that so moved him. We are told that he was an active letter writer promoting his thoughts on the environment. We get pieces of a letter or two, but not enough to give us an impression of the man. Several well-chosen letters in their entirety would have helped here. We are told he was often on the opposite side of environmental arguments with his older brother Bill, but there's very little evidence given to support that. More comments by both brothers on these debates would have been interesting and thought provoking. Further, except for environmental topics, we get precious little of the philosophy of this Adirondack original who is still driving at 99, who stopped giving pilot instructions at 94, who, for most of the year, lives by himself in the middle of this wilderness. I would have thought the author would have at least asked this man, who is only months away from becoming a centenarian, to what does he attribute his long, vigorous life? Good genes; an exceptionally active body and mind; a special diet; not smoking; not drinking? Or on that one occasion when he chose to imbibe, what thoughts and sensations flooded his mind? What lessons has he learned from life that he wants to impart to those coming after him? Clarence Petty is a remarkable human being, a pioneering environmentalist, activist, and aviator. You'll get the flavor of this man from this book, but not his essence. We need the "Bam!"



4. Reading this book will bring back many memories for anyone who knew
   Clarence either first hand or by reputation. For others who simply have experienced Adirondack adventures, it may inspire a sense of awe that one man could accomplish so much.

No comments about The Palliser Expedition (Western Canadian Classics).