Last week I got a phone call from a man I had worked with 15 years ago. At that time I was a field director in a wilderness rehab for adult recovering addicts and alcoholics. Mick was one of the newly hired guides. I helped in his training week out in the San Rafael desert. One of the parts of the training was for the new hires to learn to make fire with a bow drill fire set. I've taught hundreds of people to make fire with a bow drill, and I honestly don't remember the specifics of teaching Mick. He must have picked it up fairly normally, meaning he probably was making his first fire within minutes. But apparently it was a big deal to Mick. He called last week to tell me he was driving several hours to see me and that he had something he wanted to give me. When he arrived on the morning of the 4th of July, he told me that me teaching him to make fire with the bow drill set was extremely meaningful to him, that he had been going through a really rough time in his life, and being able to be successful at something that seems so impossible to do had given him reason to believe in himself again.

Then Mick gave me a present of a didgeridoo from Australia. I've seen didgeridoos before, but never one like this. It was made by a native craftsman from Iron wood, and had been hollowed out by termites. It was a concert quality didgeridoo. He also gave me a CD of instruction on how to learn to play it well. I'll post a picture of the doo so you can appreciate the beauty. It was far to incredible a gift for what I was able to give Mick, but I accepted it gratefully, because really all the gifts in my life are undeserved - like love, and children, and grandchildren, and health. They are gifts, and the best I can do is be grateful.

Michael Porter