Oregon Author

“What really knocks me out is a book that, when you’re all done reading it, you wish the author that wrote it was a terrific friend of yours, and you could call him up on the phone whenever you felt like it. That doesn’t happen often, though.” Holden Caufield, The Catcher In the Rye.

I had a near experience yesterday at the holiday book sale at the Oregon Historical Society when I was seated next to one of my favorite Oregon writers, John Daniel. We chatted a lot, especially about my favorite book of his, “Rogue River Journal,” a Thoreau-like memoir of his spending 4 1/2 months alone in a cabin, no electricity, in the Rogue River mountains in southern Oregon. Such a great guy, like I had been his long lost friend. Lucky me. A fun afternoon.