Dear NWSSA,

There's something about coming into an area of the country that envelops one with its whole environment: the moisture, the sounds. The first person we came across when our feet touched the ground at Camp B was Vic Picou; his embrace was as rich and full as the environment we were just about to enter.

Our uncertainties about what to expect immediately melted away, and we were there! The true spirit of sharing and the creative energy surpassed anything I have ever experienced and I couldn't help but be moved by it. In fact, I'm not sure who got more out of my workshops, the participants or me! The only drawback to my experience there was that I was not carving stone. However, that need, that desire, was reawakened inside of me and I am looking forward to carving again in the near future.

After the diagnosis of a bizarre health problem in 1994, my physical health did not allow me to carve, as my doctors me not to lift anything heavier than 15 pounds. As my condition was resolving, it was so important for me to get better, that I simply put carving "away". After Camp B, I now believe I can return to it. Advances in tools, and their much smaller sizes, the spirit of the carvers and the stone all let me know that the time is now. I am in the process of designing a space where I can carve stone again and hope to have a "stone room" by spring.

As we go through life, we come across different experiences which touch our lives forever. Camp Brotherhood was one of those moments for me. I will always cherish the days I spent with all of you, and how it has reawakened and redirected my life in its own way, and I thank all of you for that!

Michael Naranjo