Me and My Heroes

I write tough guy detective stories. My hero, Grady Harrison, is a high tech -- low tech sort of guy. He lives on an old Chris Craft Cruiser and most of the time ties up in a marina on the Mississippi River just below Rock Island, Illinois. He tracks the bad guys with leading edge computers and satellites but he can live off the land when the need arises. He talks to the animals both in the forest and in streets. He's got high standards and a code of ethics that guides his encounters with the forces of good and evil. And, of course, he is true to the one and only woman in his life, much to the dismay of the ladies he meets along the way.

It's fun to create a character like Grady, even if at a certain point he seems to have life and direction of his own. And, to be honest, Grady just might reflect the leanings and yearnings, and secret ambitions of his creator.

We have some things in common, Grady and I: We may spend hours to days, maybe a week or two in front of a computer screen, and then we are liable to slip away for equal time in the mountains and woods or on the water for balance and renewal. People talk to us, animals come to us. We are true to ourselves and true to our women.

Grady Harrison is my hero, my creation. On the other hand there are heroes who helped to create me and I'd like to introduce some of them.

Peter Danner was my college economics professor who told me the truth. I believed him then. I believe him today, many years later.

Karl Christiansen, a friend and teacher taught me to make stoneware pottery on a wheel. Karl showed me how to give earth and water to fire and then to receive from the fire earthenware vessels sturdy enough to last millions of years. From Karl I learned a thing or two about form and function. From Karl I learned about living a life true to ones convictions.

For years I have been watching, reading, and following George Leonard. George, is a educator, a writer, an Aikido master. I'd say George's mission in life is to push human potential beyond the limits. One of my favorite books by George is a little volume called Mastery, but a more recent book The Life We Are Given, coauthored with Michael Murphy (one of the founders of the Esalen Institute) is the one that really caught my attention and sent me packing off to Esalen to attend a workshop lead by George Leonard and Michael Murphy. From the book, from these two characters I learned to take better care of my self, to operate, more often and for longer periods of time, from center. And I learned a bit more about meditation.

And the bonus when I got to Esalen . . . Michael Murphy, one of the founders of the Esalen Institute, a man who went to India to learn about meditation, and on the way met up with a character called Shivas Irons on golf course he calls Burningbush, in Scotland. They played 18 holes together and had a second go at the devilish 13th hole in the middle of a wild whiskey night--a mythic round that profoundly altered Murphy's game and his vision. Now that's a pretty wild tale. Do I believe it? Yup! I believe it. What did I learn from Murphy? I learned a thing or two about meditation, and a whole lot of about friendliness and personal connections

Max Collins liked Dick Tracy from the time he was a little kid. When he grew up he found a way to step in and follow in the footsteps of Chester Gould the original author of the Dick Tracy comic strip. I met Max in Iowa and attended a couple of his workshops. Check out Max at a web site created and maintained by his son. Max is the author several novelizations of movies including the Dick Tracy movie and the movie, Air Force One. Max gave me hope that I too might see my books on the racks in the airport.

And let's add those Yahoo kids Jerry Yang and David Filo to our list of heroes. Jerry and David are the creators of one of the first popular search engines, Yahoo. Web search engines now make it possible to access information, ideas, graphics, inspirations from all over the planet, almost instantly. And although Google now dominates the scene, Yang and Filo will remain on my hero list for a long, long time.