Last week, I received a text with a photo from an unknown number. At first, I had no idea who it was from, but after seeing the photo, I realized it had to be from my college roommate Gene. It was the first time since the 1980 Lake Placid Winter Olympics that I’d heard from him. The photo ...

When it comes to paddling long distances, one person stands out above all others — the short, barrel chested, full-white bearded Verlon Kruger. My introduction to Verlon was at the beginning of a trip in 1989 down the Churchill River to Hudson Bay. Our float plane had just dropped its ...

Anyone who knows me or regularly reads this column knows I have special reverence for Wilderness. Wilderness with a capital W is “official,” as designated by either the federal or state government. The federal definition was largely written in the early 1960s by Howard Zahniser during ...

I make maple syrup, which is a relatively simple process. You collect the sap, which is about 2% sugar, and boil it down until it’s 66% sugar, and — Voila! — you have maple syrup. It sounds easy, but like anything, the devil’s in the details. As a kid in the Finger Lakes, I helped ...

I’ve written in the past about three people who I’ve been fortunate enough to have as mentors. A fourth, Tap Tapley, doesn’t qualify, only because I didn’t spend enough time with him. But he does qualify as being a role model second to none. I was with Tap only three times. In 1971, ...

Last January, I penned a column on an experience I had at SUNY Cortland with the woman of my dreams (https://tinyurl.com/3wa3cntn). Unfortunately that’s all it was — a dream. Imagine my surprise when the story got picked up by the SUNY Cortland Alumni Association and was featured in ...