For whatever reason, perhaps from my isolated childhood, I have a tendency to talk to people in my head. The problem is, when I imagine conversations with people I know, that leads to assumptions, which is against one of the Four Agreements. So I talk to God in my head. I also talk to Robert Louis Balfour Stevenson.
I fell in love with him when I was a tween. While others were falling for Jason Priestly and Marky Mark, I was reading a RLS biography and losing track of all time as I gazed at black and white photos of a man that has been dead for almost a century.
Nearly two decades later, I had the opportunity to visit his hometown of Edinburgh, Scotland. As I stood in the small museum dedicated to RLS and a few other great Scottish authors that escape my memory (how could I even notice them when himself was presented in various pictures, documents, and books, (Oh Robert, I only have eyes for you)) those old feelings came flooding back. I bought a bookmark with his photo and quote, still a prized possession, and still find myself gazing at his photo.
Treasure Island, I reread at least once a year (also gave a copy to my nephew for his second birthday). Kidnapped, The Black Arrow, and A Child's Garden of Verses were also favorites of the time, and still are.
So when I need someone to talk to fast quick and in a hurry, I turn to my first crush, Robert Louis Balfour Stevenson.
