Taking a moment to cry on your virtual shoulders over the loss of
Wisconsin writer George Vukelich, who left us for other places on
July 4.
If you don't know him, the best thing to do is to pick up a copy
of his /North Country Notebook/ (a collection of his weekly
columns). Otherwise, here's a few facts that won't help at all.
He was born in S. Milwaukee, spent a lot of time in northern Wis.,
and his philosophy was that "down here, it's all under Ma's rules"
and that Aldo Leopold was Her particular Marquis of Queensberry.
He wrote about the environment, politics, and the land to the north
of the north and its people. I can't begin to explain how much he'll
be missed. I feel like I did when Loren Eiseley died.
His last column blasts the anti-environmental policies of our
state's current legislature and governor. He points out that one's
political party affiliation matters less than one's willingness
to remember Whose rules we live by, and what a gift this earth is.
He reminds us that Aldo Leopold was a Republican (so was Bob
LaFollette). And he points out that some people face their own
imminent death by staying "on the greatest high money can buy,
and that high is power. Power of life and death over people,
animals, land, air, water, you name it. Power to bend everything
and everyone to your will whether they want to be bent or not."
I figured you all would be likely to understand the sense of loss
that the folks in "Three Lakes, Wisconsin" are feeling this week.
Thanks. Peace--
Michele Gale-Sinex
Madison, Wisconsin