An Essay

by Rick Bass

It isn't easy or simple to impart a life lesson with energy and grace and not become detached in the struggle or didactic. This is a fine piece of living and of writing. Thanks.

"Packing Out" makes me think about the time an old man told me my grampa could tie a fancy knot holding all the hunting camp accoutrements onto a pack mule, but he could only seem to remember how to do it after a couple shots of whiskey. It's fun hearing all the old hunting stories, and I really like hearing them from people outside the family. I am hungry for lost know-how. Those long body pangs of exhaustion when fishing, hunting, and growing food as a spirit quest, enrichening you beyond your initial hopes, is not the desert plain of trading time for dollars or even a beloved career. I do both. Many do. I am so grateful to Mr. Bass for telling how doing both isn't a beat-down to either one, but an adventure of this particular time. I'm hungry for more of his stories that are more real than fiction.

What a beautiful snapshot of another way to live!