Following Atticus: Forty-Eight High Peaks, One Little Dog, and an Extraordinary Friendship by Tom Ryan is published by William Morrow. It tells the story of my adventures with Atticus M. Finch, a little dog of some distinction. You can also find our column in the NorthCountry News.

Monday, March 03, 2008

Unexpected Pleasures

It seems things rarely turn out as you expect them to. I often think of life as a jungle and the vines that get us from place to place are the people in our lives. In going through changes in life it is important to remember that while we may be going through changes, like our move up north, no one else is experiencing the same thing. In the course of living my life and people living theirs I am reminded that people come and go. Those who were fixtures in one period of my life are not necessarily there now. In heading into this winter there were people I expected to keep in touch with and even visit with us up here. I've kept touch with some, mostly those who continue to write or call me, and a couple of have even visited. You expect to lose touch with people from time to time. But I must say one of the unexpected pleasures of this winter has been the wonderful correspondence I have received from some I never expected it from or from those we have never even met. There are some emails I get from these people that I cannot wait to read and as soon I see one appear in my email 'inbox' I click on it immediately. Some are so good I read them more then once. These are the unexpected pleasures that are like Christmas gifts and they have made the long cold winter a little less cold, a little warmer. Thank you.