The temperature is cool, but the sun
Is shining and its bright light beams
Off of the inland sea. I was reading
Letters of John Steinbeck and was
Fascinated by his discipline. He had
His goal and did everything necessary
To achieve them. This was not easy
In the nineteen-twenties. He went
To Stanford but did not graduate
He wrote an amazing number of books
He liked to use a pencil on a legal pad
He would rework lines of his book
Until he felt he had it right. He was
More advanced than his teachers,
Very polite and respectful. He had
Some bad years; lived through the
Good years; dedicated to his work
He was a loner but managed to
Communicate with his friends
This was done by writing letters
He had compassion and was amazed
At the inner strength of people who
Through no fault of themselves were
Down on their luck. We should strive
To be of such character. Hemingway
Loved Michigan; Steinbeck, with
Apologies to all the other beautiful
States chose Montana as his favorite
I will go with Ernest Hemingway on this
Steinbeck exaggerated at times, but then
Don’t we all. Still, truth stands firmly
On its own. One thing for sure that we
Learn through reading, is that there is
Much we don’t know.
Stanski
October 10, 2022, ^
Steve Haarman 