The picture I have of a historian is Doris Kearns Goodwin, me not so much. I don't think I ever consciously set out to be a historian or a historical writer. Yes, I have always written poetry ever since I can remember. I think my very first poem had something to do with Curious George and the Library in Albany, New York that my grandparents would take me to. I was just a rambling youth when I first made my way into to Colorado to ski the mountains. I just wanted a few powder turns on some steep and deep and that was the simple truth. So I wintered there with some friends of mine and had the chance to ski often. During that time I developed a great fondness and admiration for the owner of the mountain and his nephew. I thought the owner was what I would call a cliche, he was literally a mountain of a man. Someone I looked up to and admired greatly. As all things go in seasonal endeavors that season ended and every one moved on. I went to Florida to visit my little sister and then was called home to Albany as my father hurt his back and needed me to run the family Plumbing and Heating Business. I remember sitting on the Tarmac in the Airport in Washington D.C. and it was raining. I was on my way back to the real work world. My fondness for Arapahoe Basin and the family business that ran it was great. I was a Plumbing and Heating Contractor and that was that. To make a long story short, I returned to New York did the right thing a good son does and forgot about writing the History of Arapahoe Basin. Easy, right? Not so, something bothered me about it. Something had transpired and I couldn't verbalize it or put my finger on it. It drove me crazy. All of this is just the thought process to bring out the historian in me. You see, the same duty that made me run my family business now makes me understand that I must become a Historian and in the process write the story of A-Basin and Joe Jankovsky, the Mountain of a Man.
Begin at the beginning, I couldn't grasp the concept. I know in Centennial, James Michener writes about the formation of Colorado from the beginning of time. Do I really think that I have the ability to go up against someone like him in my writing? The answer to me is to simply write it out. It is a process to become a Historian and the trick is to enjoy the process and journey. It doesn't matter how long it takes the answer is in the journey and the journey will reveal the truth I am searching for. It is one thing to talk about doing something. The real moxy is in actually doing it. Here is where I raise my non-existent glass and say, " I'll drink to that."
A Song very close to my heart.
"Where Do The Children Play" Cat Stevens
