A good story

Look around you. Look at the people you call family, friends and colleagues. What do you really know about their lives? Do you know their stories? A few of us have little hesitation in telling a good story but most are shy about sharing. The richness of their lives are often unsung.

Many of my neighbors in Hillsboro, Kingston and the surrounding countryside are retired but do many of us know their stories? What was their profession? Where did they grow up? How did they end up living here? Each of us has interesting tales to tell though most stay quiet about the past. “Who would be interested in my life,” they often think.

I just lost a good friend last week. He had been battling cancer for almost 6 years and it finally bested him. TJ was a fine storyteller. He knew the southwest very well, having grown up in Arizona and worked for decades as a wildlife biologist. He was also a Chautauquan performer of Aldo Leopold, as am I. That is really how we became friends. TJ had accumulated a fine collection of Leopold era items and books. As he was no longer able to perform, TJ wanted to pass the torch on to someone who would put them to good use. As we became good friends, we shared our stories. He had a wealth of knowledge of the natural world and expressed that with a font of colorful tales.

I am currently working on a book called Walking with Aldo. In it, I want to include short stories from people who had experienced what I call “Nature Wows.” Those are the moments when we witness something that we know we will most likely never experience again.  I asked TJ to write out a few of his favorites. He did, and in doing so, unleashed his need for sharing his stories with his family. He read a few to his kids and when they said, “Dad, we have never heard this part of your life”, TJ kept writing. He later thanked me several times for what happened next. His family started gathering for story time. One daughter would join them on a Zoom call every week, so she did not miss anything.

He was thankful for a way of really bonding with his family by sharing his life’s stories. By the time TJ passed on, he had written down more than 100 of his stories for the family to share. His family was also now researching other parts of their family history and sharing. He inspired his family to delve into their own stories and TJ’s story, has been an inspirational reminder to me of the importance of life’s moments. They may not all seem important, but woven together, they take on color and character and remain a lasting tribute to someone’s life. We all matter in some way that weaves itself into life’s fabric.

I am just starting on a similar path with my website, aldoleopoldlivinghistory.org. A few years back, a dear friend and well known Mountain Lion biologist, Harley Shaw, approached me with an idea. He and TJ had known each other since 1959 and since those early days had talked about the need to honor the many scientists who had devoted their careers to gaining knowledge about the natural world. Most of these people will pass on and their libraries and works will be lost. All of those years spent working on understanding some aspect of the natural world, writing papers that few but their peers ever read, lost to mankind.

I am going to start recognizing these people by writing about their life and their accomplishments. I am going to tell their stories and share the wonders that they stumbled upon on their journey. These stories build together to give us a much deeper understanding of the life around us. I am starting with the people influenced in some way by Aldo Leopold. That number is daunting and continuing to grow.

So, as you meander through life’s journey, think about your own stories. They are insights into who you are. They may not seem “earth shattering” but they matter. We are all members of life’s community, that woven gem of a story called the LAND, the animals, plants, soils and waters. Add the quite important ingredient called air to land and you have a thriving planet filled with stories to pass on to others to learn from. All members of life’s community have stories to tell. Seems a shame to waste so much time, as in a whole life, by not respecting and gleaning knowledge from the stories of others.

Ask the children for their stories. They are astoundingly observant and perceptive. Share your stories to give them mileposts to seek out and questions to ask. Honor our elders by asking about the colorful pages of their life. They are the sages, the ones who have seen the most, learned the most and that knowledge is invaluable and should be treasured, listened to and respected.

Please, share with your family and friends, A GOOD STORY.