Dear Editor:
Chuck Fager’s “Unfamiliar Arid Country” in the Nov/Dec 2021 issue of Western Friend rekindled for me fertile memories of Jim Corbett. The reprinting of Corbett’s book Goatwalking is authentic Good News, i.e. Gospel for our times
Fager’s discussion of Corbett’s book was especially fitting for that issue of the magazine “On Words.” Clearly words matter. How we use them influences not only our way of thinking, but also our way of be-ing.
In this light, I’m led to reflect on Mr. Fager’s statement that Jim Corbett worked with “desperate war refugees.” It is critical to distinguish desperate people from desperate circumstances. Those coming north in the 1980’s were animated by hope, Exodus-style hope. Their witness nurtured Jim Corbett’s spirituality decades ago and echoes in his words freshly reprinted today, even as the Exodus continues. ~~~
– john heid, Pima Friends Meeting, Tucson, AZ (IMYM)