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Alex here. (...) Ron, I really enjoy all the help you have given me and the times we spent together. I hope that you will not be too depressed by our ...more

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I read somewhere... how important it is in life not necessarily to be strong, but to feel strong... to measure yourself at least once.

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Mr. Franz, I think careers are a 20th century invention and I don't want one.

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The sea's only gifts are harsh blows, and occasionally the chance to feel strong. Now I don't know much about the sea, but I do know that that's the w...more

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But [Everett] and McCandless, at least they tried to follow their dream. That’s what was great about them. They tried. Not many do.

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So many people live within unhappy circumstances and yet will not take the initiative to change their situation because they are conditioned to a life...more

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Happiness [is] only real when shared

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It is hardly unusual for a young man to be drawn to a pursuit considered reckless by his elders; engaging in risky behavior is a rite of passage in ou...more

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When Alex left for Alaska," Franz remembers, "I prayed. I asked God to keep his finger on the shoulder of that one; I told him that boy was special. B...more

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Because I was alone, however, even the mundane seemed charged with meaning. The ice looked colder and more mysterious, the sky a cleaner shade of blue...more