Guest author rebecca hooper: "I remember his hands well... I could see them holding the steering wheel so loosely I was not sure there was any contact between his skin and the wheel."
Thank you, Holly and Rebecca. This post is another reminder that our shared humanity and intrinsic goodness are often found in the most unlikely places and circumstances. Rebecca, your writing drew me in from the first sentence.
I think I teared up at "You okay?" from the woman on the street. You and Rebecca make a good team, both of you so gifted at crafting the most evocative imagery in your storytelling. Gah! Beautiful!
An old caretaker's hands were a feature of a story I wrote some time back. "The size of a 4-egg omelet..." Yes, hands can be a most captivating feature.
Thank you Elizabeth! I'm so grateful to Holly for the chance to appear on her substack - she is such a talented writer! And I love that description - the size of a 4 egg omelette!
Bear's up well! one of my favorite places was a ranch in Wyoming named "Paws Up" where I was an indulged guest. (Why can't I send bear photo with comment?)
Ask the fishing guides who traverse the Blackfoot and Clearwater rivers where some good remote spots are. /the Ranch itself is amazing and very expensive; the folks who work there can give you directions to a couple of spectacular view spots
So good. I will be attributing animal traits to people for days now. Looking forward to the fun. I really enjoyed the story. Thank you Holly. Thank you Rebecca.
Oh my goodness, Rebecca! This story totally captivated me. I was in each car with you, in each conversation. The darkness at the edge of the Grizzly man's statement, your wild hair, clutching the back of the Ute, the half-closed eye of the window. SO GOOD! Gah. I'm going to swim in this one for a while. Thank you for sharing this, Holly!
Yay I'm so glad you enjoyed it Kendall! I absolutely love your writing - it is always so enthralling and I am of course captivated by the animal link in each 😍 so happy this grizzly story connected with you x
Right?! You, of course, picked out many of the details that swam in my belly with this one. Soooo. Good.
Do you two know each other's writing, by the way? If not, I'm delighted to make the introduction. I'm quite certain you'd much enjoy each other's work and wit and way of seeing the world.
We do! I mean, with a name like “between two seas” she was on my radar right away, and hot damn I fell in love with her way of seeing the world right away.
I love this story so much. I remember reading it when Rebecca first shared, feeling a bit down on the world, and this story, her words, brought me back to the surface. ❤️
What a gorgeous pairing of kindred souls! Holly and Rebecca thank you so much for this! I remember being tearful for the first reading and this second was no less poignant and certainly no less important. Can there ever be enough kindness in this world? I think not... 🙏🏼💛xx
❤️ so glad you enjoyed it Rona!
Awwww. That would be lovely. Sending you a virtual bear hug, my friend.
Absolutely love this -- we need to be reminded of the good in humanity over and over more than ever.
So glad you enjoyed it!!
I soooo agree with this, Jan. It's a yes/and moment for sure.
And rebecca's piece is wonderful.
Having hitchhiked from Zeballos to Victoria a few times in my long ago youth this story really appealed. We were always trying to get a ferry. Crazy.
Oh I bet you have some brilliant stories!
I have a few. cough cough I was a high-lead logger at that time. There weren’t many women doing that at the time.
That is impressive!
I'm with rebecca. I'd love to hear the tales of those days, Jan.
Thank you, Holly and Rebecca. This post is another reminder that our shared humanity and intrinsic goodness are often found in the most unlikely places and circumstances. Rebecca, your writing drew me in from the first sentence.
Thank you Paulette, I'm so glad you enjoyed it!
Isn't she good, Paulette? I'm not sure if you're new to her, but if so, I highly recommend checking out her stack. So many fabulous pieces to explore.
And thank you, dear friend, for reading and commenting. You're in my heart these days.
I am new to her and look forward to reading more.
Oh, thank you, my friend. I appreciate you.
I think I teared up at "You okay?" from the woman on the street. You and Rebecca make a good team, both of you so gifted at crafting the most evocative imagery in your storytelling. Gah! Beautiful!
An old caretaker's hands were a feature of a story I wrote some time back. "The size of a 4-egg omelet..." Yes, hands can be a most captivating feature.
Thank you Elizabeth! I'm so grateful to Holly for the chance to appear on her substack - she is such a talented writer! And I love that description - the size of a 4 egg omelette!
The size of a 4-egg omelet! Fantastic. Talk about evocative imagery.
Thank you, Elizabeth. And yes, I agree rebecca and I are a lovely team and that her writing is fantastic.
Bear's up well! one of my favorite places was a ranch in Wyoming named "Paws Up" where I was an indulged guest. (Why can't I send bear photo with comment?)
https://www.pawsup.com/groups?gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=18333899509&gclid=Cj0KCQjwiqbBBhCAARIsAJSfZkZUvpEldmDfDplqauaUbfZVM9b-L5bZVDsEYn97XHI6FVz5Ia7AGEIaAskrEALw_wcB
Oh wow this looks amazing!
I know! I wish photos were allowed in comments. Know that it's not you, my friend. It's a Substack thing. For whatever reason, no photos in comments.
At any rate, I'll check out "Paws Up."
Thank you for reading and being part of the discussion, my friend.
Ask the fishing guides who traverse the Blackfoot and Clearwater rivers where some good remote spots are. /the Ranch itself is amazing and very expensive; the folks who work there can give you directions to a couple of spectacular view spots
Wonderful! Glad you got to spend some time there.
So good. I will be attributing animal traits to people for days now. Looking forward to the fun. I really enjoyed the story. Thank you Holly. Thank you Rebecca.
Thank you for reading, Leslie, so glad you enjoyed it!
Attributing animal traits to people for days. Love it! Maybe some stories in it?
Thank you, Leslie, for reading and contributing. I so appreciate you.
Oh my goodness, Rebecca! This story totally captivated me. I was in each car with you, in each conversation. The darkness at the edge of the Grizzly man's statement, your wild hair, clutching the back of the Ute, the half-closed eye of the window. SO GOOD! Gah. I'm going to swim in this one for a while. Thank you for sharing this, Holly!
Yay I'm so glad you enjoyed it Kendall! I absolutely love your writing - it is always so enthralling and I am of course captivated by the animal link in each 😍 so happy this grizzly story connected with you x
Wow, thank you Rebecca! It absolutely connected with me- I’ve been thinking about it all day. Thank you for the kind words!
Oh, ha. I should have read your response first. Love to hear you love Kendall's writing too.
Right?! You, of course, picked out many of the details that swam in my belly with this one. Soooo. Good.
Do you two know each other's writing, by the way? If not, I'm delighted to make the introduction. I'm quite certain you'd much enjoy each other's work and wit and way of seeing the world.
We do! I mean, with a name like “between two seas” she was on my radar right away, and hot damn I fell in love with her way of seeing the world right away.
🥰🥰🥰
I love this story so much. I remember reading it when Rebecca first shared, feeling a bit down on the world, and this story, her words, brought me back to the surface. ❤️
Yes! Isn't that one of the most wonderful gifts of writing--that it can, indeed, help us surface.
Thank you, Kimberly. I'm always eager to read your wise comments.
Ah same! Kimberly (and your) comments are always such lovely, wise and inspiring things to read ❤️❤️
What a fantastic story!! Thanks to you for posting it, Holly, and to Rebecca for writing it! Loved it all.
Me too!
And thanks for reading it, Jeanine!
Thank you Jeanine!! So glad you enjoyed it!
What a story! A love the depiction of grizzly man. And I loved the closing thoughts about the detective and his kindness.
Great stuff :)
Right?! I could see you writing people as animals over on the Platypus, my friend.
Thank you for reading!
Hahaha I could see that too.
In fact, I often find myself thinking that certain people remind me of certain animals, maybe I should lean into this literary-wise 🤔
Thank you Michael!! Thrilled to hear you enjoyed it 🐻
What a gorgeous pairing of kindred souls! Holly and Rebecca thank you so much for this! I remember being tearful for the first reading and this second was no less poignant and certainly no less important. Can there ever be enough kindness in this world? I think not... 🙏🏼💛xx
Oh thank you Susie! I don't think so either. It's the most important thing in the world 🤍
“We sat in silence for a while then, all his unspoken words flocking around us.” this is one of those sentences i wish i’d written. beautiful story.
🥰 thank you Kate!