Two Coots in a CanoeTwo Coots in a Canoe
SUPERANNO When retired CEO Ramsay Peard, 61, called his old friend David Morine, 59, and asked the longtime conservationist if he wanted to canoe the Connecticut River, Morine said he’d do it under one condition: no camping. “We’ll rely on the kindness of strangers.” And that’s what they did. Mooching their way down the river and staying with strangers every night, Morine and Peard got an inside look at such issues as the demise of farming, the loss of manufacturing, gay rights, and Wal-Mart versus Main Street, and they were able to delve deep into the lives of complete strangers. But Morine soon realized the one life he never dug into was Peard’s. After spending a month with him in a canoe, he had no idea that his friend’s innermost thoughts had taken a fateful course. Original.
This book recounts the journey of conservationist David Morine and his friend retired CEO Ramsay Peard, who traveled by canoe down the Connecticut River in 2003. Rather than camping, they stayed with strangers every night, and heard about many of the issues they face, including the demise of farming, the growth of the health care industry, the loss of manufacturing, the boom in higher education, gay rights, Native American rights, Wal-Mart versus Main Street, and the river and conservation efforts. Peard didn't tell Morine that he was planning on leaving his wife and killing himself, which forms a sad end to the tale. Morine, a conservationist and author, was formerly the head of land acquisition for The Nature Conservancy. Annotation ©2010 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)
A journey of whim, humor, and self-discovery along the Connecticut River
When retired CEO Ramsay Peard, 61, called his old friend David Morine, 59, and asked the longtime conservationist if he wanted to canoe the Connecticut River, Morine said he’d do it under one condition: no camping. “We’ll rely on the kindness of strangers.”
And that’s what they did. Mooching their way down the river and staying with strangers every night, Morine and Peard got an inside look at such issues as the demise of farming, the loss of manufacturing, gay rights, and Wal-Mart versus Main Street, and they were able to delve deep into the lives of complete strangers. But Morine soon realized the one life he never dug into was Peard’s. After spending a month with him in a canoe, he had no idea that his friend’s innermost thoughts had taken a fateful course.
Written in the tradition of Bill Bryson’s A Walk in the Woods, this book will be treasured by conservationists, canoeists, and old friends still seeking a thrill. Everyone else will be delightfully entertained.
Title availability
About
Subject and genre
Details
- Guilford, CT : Globe, [2009], ©2009
From the community