Sticks and Stones

When a (male) reporter asked the famed freestyle skier Eileen Gu whether her silvers were “two silvers gained or two golds lost,” her response was iconic. After straight-up laughing at his question, the American-born skier, who was competing for China, said: “I’m the most decorated female freeskier in history. I think that’s an answer in and of itself. How do I say this? Winning a medal at the Olympics is a life-changing experience for every athlete.

I grew up in Woodbury, Minnesota, 20 miles east of Minneapolis. Woodbury’s a cushy suburb, with miles of bike paths, cookie-cutter houses, and “safe” neighborhoods with a playground within walking distance of basically every home. It’s comfortably boring in the very best way. This week, ICE unjustly detained a realtor in Woodbury. Ryan Ecklund was headed back from dropping his son off at school when he spotted ICE near a grocery store.

Last week, I went to LA to report on a story for work: Will Smith is coming out with a new docuseries for NatGeo in which he travels to the seven continents over 100 days, going on various adventures. He ice climbs; he bungee jumps; he rappels deep into a cave in the Amazon in search of venomous creatures. Honestly, it’s a good watch. But the most interesting part to me was how candidly he spoke about grappling with the last few years following the 2022 Oscars when he slapped Chris Rock.

I have a vivid memory from my early years of elementary school when I first remember seeing the northern lights. My childhood best friend and I were at her cabin for the weekend, about three hours north of the Twin Cities in Minnesota, where I grew up. We were lying on our backs on a frozen lake, bundled up from head to toe, and it was cold. The kind of cold you really only know if you live way up north—where the snot freezes in your nostrils with every breath you take.

Happy Halloween! I’m keeping this one short and sweet, as it’s the spookiest day of the year, and we’ve got costumes to create and candy to eat. If you only have time to read one story today, let it be the breath-holding profile below by Sean Williams, edited by yours truly. <3 Šobat surfacing with a nose clip visible after a dive in Blue Hole, Dahab, in 2020. Freedivers use nose clips to maintain air pressure in the nasal passage and prevent water from entering the nose.

This week, we said goodbye to the queen, Stella Luna, who picked me at the local shelter more than a decade ago. She was 15, give or take, and tough as nails, the alpha of our little pack, but also silly and sweet, until the very end. When I first brought her home, everyone was afraid of her. She snarled at dogs at the dog park and nipped at anyone who tried to pick her up the wrong way. But I knew, deep down, she was just misunderstood.

It’s pumpkin season. For some people, this means they’ll head to the pumpkin patch this weekend or next, carve a jack-o’-lantern, and call it good until they hand out candy on the 31st. At my house, we’ve had our 12-foot skeleton and other Halloween decor up since Labor Day, and I seriously considered purchasing a season pass to our local pumpkin patch. I love spooky season (and am delighted that my three-year-old does, too).

It’s my favorite time of year. The leaves are changing, the air is chilly at night, and here in Santa Fe, it smells like roasting chiles. This is the best time to camp and soak it all in, which we did as a family last weekend. Michelle Vanek Vanished on a Hike 19 Years Ago. This Is How We Finally Found Her Remains. She was the only hiker ever to die while seeking the summit of central Colorado’s most famous 14er.

Over the last nine (!!!) years that I’ve written Sticks and Stones, I’ve taken several breaks from creating it. I’ve gotten new jobs, moved, had babies, gotten married, and just generally had to prioritize other parts of my life from time to time. This last break was longer than the others have been. My husband and I spent the last 18+ months renovating a historic adobe in our neighborhood.

A mom in Georgia was recently arrested and charged with reckless conduct after her ten-year-old son was found walking less than a mile from her home. I can’t stop thinking about it. Many of us grew up riding our bikes around the neighborhood and walking with friends to the lake down the bike path. Even now, with a two-year-old, I wonder how much freedom is good for him: Is it OK if he wanders around the upper area of our farm, where I can mostly see him and hear him when the window’s cracked?