The Joy Trip Project

A Joy Trip Flashback: Remembering Todd Skinner

I got an email from an old friend, Amy Skinner.We hadn’t connected in a while so it really good to hear from her. Her message read, “Thought you might get a kick out of my son's third grade writing assignment. We're going to have to have a little talk about plagiarism, but it's apparent that he has listened to your podcast many times.  I have it on my ipod and he loves to listen to it.” In the body of the message Amy included a scanned image of her son Jake’s writing assignment. Written in pencil on wide ruled paper, the little boy liberally quoted without attribution from a story I produced in 2006. I have to say I didn’t mind at all. In fact I was touched to point where I was almost brought to tears, because Jake’s writing assignment quoted from the story I produced on his father’s memorial service. They say that imitation is the sincerest from of flattery. Jake’s use of my words from this story let me know that in a small way I’ve helped him to remember his father. Todd Skinner was a good friend and three years after his death many people still remember him and what he meant to the outdoor community. And just so we don’t forget in this special edition of the podcast I’m bringing you a Joy Trip flashback, a celebration of a life well lived.