Legacy

"No legacy is so rich as honesty." Shakespeare

This sultry summer morning as I was walking my Alaskan Malamutes for mine I saw a concrete slab that held up the park's ice machines. On it was etched the words, "Mary Koop 2005". Mary like the rest of us wants to be remembered, wants people to know she was there that day.

Since the summer of of 1984 I have written over 20 books. Mary and I want the same thing. Some of you reading this have this in common with Mary and I. You have your children, creative endeavors, projects, patents and portraits. We all want to be remembered for something, for being here, for having given something to the world that gave so much of itself to us.

Since my heart attack I've discovered that my real legacy lies in the hearts and memories of those who love me and theirs' reside in me. How people "feel" about me is rapidly becoming the true measure and meaning of my time here on the planet. While I wouldn't take anything for the books that got published I won't spend the rest of what time I have left putting publications over people at least not on good days.

Question: Who besides your immediate family will carry your legacy in their heart?