Light in the Heart of Darkness
February 24th, 2007 by Doug Schnitzspahn
The latest Kayak Session is on newsstands with a profile I wrote on kayaking doctor Jessie Stone. Jessie called me back in the fall and asked if I would write the piece on her for the magazine which is published by Philippe Doux in Lyons, France. It was an honor. Jessie is fighting malaria with mosquitoe nets in Uganda where she has built a medical clinic staffed by local Ugandans through her nonprofit Soft Power Health—this April inner city kids whom she teaches how to kayak will be traveling to Uganda to help her with the clinic. Just after I interviewed Jessie for the piece her father passed away while she was working in Uganda. It made the piece even more important to her. She told me it was the one bright light during a tough few months and I felt compelled to write something that would have made her dad proud. The pay was next to nothing, but it was one of the most satisfying and meaningful magazine pieces I have written. Sometimes it really isn’t about the money. Both Jessie and Philippe are fantastic people and I wish them continued success.
There is a preview of the story here.
Tom Shier wrote on 02/26/07 at 4:27 pm :
Old guys like me can really hurt our backs on those kayaks- it is fun tho!
Just keeping in touch.