Fireside Reading
As a boy, I spent a lot of time outdoors. I camped out in the woods and explored the fields and waterways near my home. I hunted and fished. And whenever I could afford the 35 cents, I bought and read Field & Stream magazine.
From 1953 to 1961, Robert Ruark wrote a column each month in Field & Stream, and many of these stories were collected in the book The Old Man and the Boy. I came across this book recently, and read again the stories that I had read many years ago. The stories had faded from my memory, but I remembered Ruark's unique voice.
Robert Ruark grew up in eastern North Carolina during the depression, in a time and a place where hunting and fishing and the outdoors defined a way of life. It is a way of life that I was not destined to live, but The Old Man and the Boy brought back to me, an old man reading in front of the fire, an echo of the passion that I felt as a boy for God's wonderful creation.
The drawing above is by Walter Dower, whose nostalgic and graceful line drawings illustrate the book.
The Old Man and the Boy by Robert Ruark - Henry Holt and Company 1993
Nice photo and a good write up of a way of life that most young people today will never experience, too bad really. Growing up I read a Canadian writer Greg Clark, who had similar story lines. Good memories, thanks Edd.
ReplyDeleteThanks Robert. You are right about the fact that young people growing up now miss out on many things. I guess things change all the time--my grandparents probably had similar thoughts about the "youth" of their day.
ReplyDeleteAnd thanks for mentioning Greg Clark. I am not familiar with his work, but look forward to reading him.
I think you'll enjoy Clark, I just went online at the local library and reserved one of his books, The Bird of Promise.
ReplyDeleteThe Bird of Promise--what a great title. I will definately seek Clark out. Thanks
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