Visit Your Local PBS Station PBS Home PBS Home Programs A-Z TV Schedules Watch Video Support PBS Shop PBS Search PBS

Flag Content?

preview
Monday, September 14, 2009. This has nothing to do with the fact that I came from a memorial service for an older friend this afternoon or the fact that I’ll be attending my forty fifth high school reunion this weekend; but the coming of this reunion and the passing of my friend has got me to thinking about my own life. (So I guess it has something to do with it .) What really got me thinking about my age was watching the preview of the National Park documentary by Ken Burns. When I grew up, camping in northern Wisconsin was our family vacation. Those camping trips are the best memories of my childhood. A few months ago I found the lake we camped on, on Google Earth. Even though it’s 55 yers later I can’t tell you the name of the lake because the fishing and the beach sand and clear water were so great, I still want to keep it a secret. And now I’m getting close to the time I should retire and like many others, my retirement funds went backward instead of forward. So I’m planning to work a few years longer. After watching the National Parks preview, I got a little depressed. I have been an outdoors person all my life and I began thinking that if I had to work until seventy, would I still be able to see all the Parks that I haven’t been to? I don’t know. I’ve been to many of the famous Parks in the West and a few in the East but there is so much more to see. I’m really looking forward to the show, but know that if I don’t have the time or ablilty to see more Parks it will be the biggest disappointment of my life. Gary Stonewall