Our Nephew Ethan

Here's a picture of our nephew Ethan, who stopped off at our place in Illinois for a couple of days last September. He was riding his bike home to Indiana after a summer spent studying nature and survival skills...in Montana.

He'd logged about 1,800 miles on his bike at that point and had another 200 to go to make it home to Indianapolis.



That was the way Ethan lived his life. He decided he'd give something a try, just to see if he could do it. He'd calculated that he would run out of money before he finished the trip, and was living mostly on Ramen noodles when he got to our house. But he still had a couple of dollars left, because he told me that every time he stopped in small towns along the way, he would get to talking with people and they invariably bought him a few groceries in return for hearing the story of his adventure.

I hear that as a kid, he didn't always make the best decisions, but by God people seem to like him. I sure do.

Last Saturday, we got a call that Ethan is missing in a canoe accident. We're waiting to hear, but I believe he's on that one last big adventure. Travel well, my friend. I am a better person for having had the chance to know you.


-Rog