Bøger af Woody Woodburn

One magical story across seven extraordinary generations--filled with love and faith and hope Twins born beneath an enchanted tree split by lightning--an enchanted door, enchanted table, enchanted bench A knife thrower, pistol duel, an heirloom opal ring---spectral soliloquies and premonitions that hit the mark An escaped circus tiger; a runaway slave and conductor--united as brothers on the Underground Railroad A house ablaze, spinal nerves burning from a football hit--a cross-country running race to never forget Dreams abandoned, a son abandoned, an abandoned shed--also, capitalized, Hope and Fayth and Love Seven extraordinary generations in one magical story--The Butterfly Tree

Strawberries in wintertime are something I cannot recall from my boyhood in Ohio. This changed when my family took a Christmas vacation to Ventura in Southern California in 1971. I had never before seen the ocean in person; explored tidal pools at low tide; or chased a "grunion run" under a full moon's high tide. And here is something else magical: fresh strawberries in wintertime! Driving from the farmer's market stand back to the beach house where we were staying, I ate crabapple-sized strawberries by the handful, by the big mouthful, sweet red nectar dripping down my chin. The following summer we moved from Columbus to Ventura and strawberries became a year-round fare. Still, in my mind they have always remained a special treat in wintertime. Hence the title of this collection of essays - each one, I hope, will lift your spirits, make you smile, and leave you wanting another. A note about the format of STRAWBERRIES IN WINTERTIME: originally, I arranged the essays in groupings of similar themes as is the general method in this genre. However, editing the pieces while listening to music one evening, I was inspired to rearrange the essays like an album where an artist purposely varies the tempo and lyrical style from one song to next in an effort to create an overarching flow. So have I tried to do. To be sure, some essays of similar theme simply begged to be placed together in pairings or small clusters, as with the handful about my travels to Ireland to learn more about my distant family roots. For the most part, however, I have strived to weave together groupings of four or five dissimilar essays that still flow from one to the next, and then three or four more, over and again. The end effect, I hope, is similar to a set of pleasant waves, much like those I enjoyed as an 11-year-old boy at play in the Pacific Ocean for the first time. Furthermore, these "Essays on Life, Love, and Laughter" - even the few about Loss - aim to warm your heart. Topics include: hellos and goodbyes; celebrating "lasts" as well as "firsts"; old, new and rekindled friendships; childhood and fatherhood (and motherhood, too); wedding anniversaries and graduations; the magic of a jar filled with marbles and the beauty of a messy garage; Batman from my boyhood and heroes from adulthood; and much more that will make you smile, think, laugh, and perhaps shed a few tears as well. This collection has been kindly compared to the bestseller "All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten."

As a longtime newspaper columnist Woody Woodburn is often asked to speak to civic groups - and the person audiences invariably want to hear more about during the Q&A afterward is Coach John Wooden. Listeners at these talks, as well as readers of Woodburn's national award-winning columns, over the years have encouraged him to write a book about his experiences with Coach. Now he has with the memoir WOODEN & ME: Life Lessons from My Two-Decade Friendship with the Legendary Coach and Humanitarian to Help "Make Each Day Your Masterpiece." It was in 1987 as a young sports writer and near-newlywed that Woody met Coach, who soon became a friend and mentor through the births of Woodburn's two children and their growth into young adulthood; the death of Woody's mother; career decisions; and more. As he writes in this memoir: "One did not have to play for Coach Wooden in order to be one of his students, and of this I am a privileged example. I was not one of his basketball players - except for one glorious week at his youth camp in 1975 - but make no mistake, I was his pupil. No coach or teacher or professor has taught me more, or taught me more important things." Just as Coach John Wooden was beloved and revered by people of all ages and all backgrounds, readers from teens to parents to grandparents, basketball fans and non-fans alike, will find WOODEN & ME enlightening and inspiring. Coach not only passed on priceless life lessons to Woodburn, but also to Woody's daughter Dallas (now 26) and her younger brother Greg (23), who were fortunate to meet Coach and are featured throughout the book from their young childhood to the present day. Dallas' Masters degree in Creative Writing at Purdue University (coincidentally Wooden's alma mater) and recent 2013-14 John Steinbeck Fellowship selection, and Greg's Pac-12 Leadership Award (from the athletic conference Wooden famously coached in) and Rhodes Scholar Finalist honors attest to the continued relevance and impact of Coach's teachings. In closing, here is Woodburn's dedication on the opening page of WOODEN & ME: For Coach - "The journey is better than the inn" you often reminded me, and in my life journey I feel extremely thankful and blessed to have had you walking ahead of me as a role model; walking beside me as a teacher, mentor and friend; and now walking behind me in spirit as a source of continued inspiration to myself - as well as to my daughter Dallas, son Greg, and wife Lisa - for pursuing true "success." Too, I am forever grateful for your frequent reminder and constant shining example that "love" is the most important word in the English language. Now, through the pages of WOODEN & ME, you too can join in on an inspiring journey with Coach John Wooden.