True North

True North

Adult nonfiction
Imagine this. You check your mail. Mixed in with the bills and
flyers is a colorful unexpected package from a friend you've known
nearly half your life. It contains a copy of her published book with
a very personal inscription.
Don't tell me you wouldn't be over the moon.
Kathryn Olmstead and I go way back. The child I was hugely
pregnant with when I took her journalistic ethics class now has her
PhD. It was my favorite kind of class because my fellow students and
I were invited to really engage with important issues (as opposed to
memorize and regurgitate). I looked forward to every class session,
seeing it as a chance for conversation. I can still remember some of
the topics we discussed. The day of the last class I told her that
although she would no longer be my professor I needed her to be my
friend.
While I was procreating and child raising Kathy was engaged in a
different version of generativity. She was raising her own Magazine,
Echoes. If I was asked to describe Echoes in one word it would be
mindful. Its focus was on a rural, traditional Maine county,
Aroostook. A migrant from away, she had managed to sink roots in her
chosen home and learn the ways in which it's special.
True North is a compilation of pieces Kathy wrote for Echoes and
for the Bangor Daily News. It's radical in its embrace of tradition.
It's the ultimate screw you, Happy Bunny. In a world that tells us
it's all about me and I am what I possess she is saying it's all about
we and we are what and whom we value.
But it isn't preachy. There's no nagging or scolding, no
intimation of things going to hell in a handbasket since some Edenic
past. It's more a matter of enticement. Have you ever gone into a
kitchen and smelled something really good cooking and wanted to sneak
a taste? That's what reading each piece is like.
The essays convey a wide range of moods. Some show the beauty
of nature: the fox Kathy saw while skiing, the moose who developed a
fondness for her apple tree. Some portray traditions: the annual
several week potato picking holiday that enabled generations of
students to learn values like persistance while earning school clothes
money, the community celebration of all things Acadian. Some are
heart felt and profound like the one in which she discusses how seeing
the stars at night undiminished by light pollution changes the way she
thinks about herself.
"I have lived in Aroostook County long enough now that I can
hardly imagine the loss I would feel were I unable to wander out into
the darkness and be so small."
And some are just funny. If you want to learn about the beer
preferences of slugs as determined by research you'll have to read the
book.
Two important themes, crucial to 21st century survival, thread
themselves through the book. One is the interdependence that is so
much better than the categorizing of people as independent and
dependent--encouraging the former to spend on whatever luxury strikes
their fancies and demonizing the latter. A sparsely populated county
with weather extremes has a way of making people equals, each with
something to offer. I think most of us have at least an inner
yearning for that kind of community.
The second is stewardship of resources. Kathy shows
alternatives to the rampant consumerism most of us are caught up in--
depleting resources and bloating landfills. Do we really need to
revamp our wardrobes every year just because fashion mavens dictate
this behavior? How can skills like mending and improvising extend the
life of useful articles? True North can sow the seeds for productive
thought along these lines.
True North is not a read and set aside. Even if you don't live
in Aroostook County there are bits and pieces you can use to inspire
you.
*Who is your tribe? Where are your passions and values shared? Who
needs what you have to offer? I volunteer with Orono Community
Garden. I get to enjoy beautiful friendships and left over fresh
organic veggies while helping grow nutritious food for low income
people.
*Where can you reconnect with nature? Where can you put away the ever
present devices for a few minutes mindful walking or cross country
skiing? Such a space may be more accessible than you think.
*How can you break the habit of running to the store or online
shopping the second you notice a want or need? How about learning
repair skills or becoming part of a network? My kids were part of a
hand-me-down clothes chain that really cut down on back to school
shopping. And the yard sales that will pop up like mushrooms are
great ways to find things you want and gifts. Last year I found a
book of writing prompts for passing down a family's history. Filled
out it was the perfect gift for my geneology loving older daughter.
In affordable paperback, True North will make a great Christmas
gift, a perfect read for a snowbound evening. And it's a terrific way
to give yourself a treat. On a scale of one to ten I give it an
eleven. And buying it will help one of the small indie publishers
that the near monopoly corporate entities constantly endanger.
On a purrrsonal note, last fall I had an experience that True North
reminded me of. And this is a story Kathy hasn't heard. My husband
comes from a long line of people who hunted, fished, and foraged to
supplement income. Eugene learned these skills and traditions from
his father. A little over a decade ago he built a camp on a piece of
land he had in the woods. Every year he improves it in some way.
Adam spent part of Labor Day weekend with Eugene and me. Eugene said
to Adam, "This is your heritage. This is what you and your sisters
will inherit from me." Reading the book helped me to understand how
much richness lay behind such a simple seeming statement. (Jules)
Don't go to a pet store for your next cat or dog. We rescue critters
need furever homes too. And we are awesome. (Tobago)
A great big shout out goes out to Kathryn Olmstead and Islandport
Press for sharing such a wonderful and intimate collection of stories.
Tobago and Jules Hathaway


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