Adults are locked into car payments and divorces and work. They haven't got time to think fresh. Gary Paulsen More Quotes by Gary Paulsen More Quotes From Gary Paulsen My parents were brutal to each other, so I slept in the basement by an old coal-fired furnace. I became a street kid. Occasionally, I'd live with aunts or uncles, then I'd run away to live in the woods, trapping and hunting game to survive. The wilderness pulled at me; still does. Gary Paulsen streetparentsgameme Yes, I've been in an igloo. They're surprisingly cozy and warm - small, though, you can't really stand up in some. Gary Paulsen stand-upstandsmallyou I ran the Iditarod twice. I finished once. I came in 42nd or 43rd place out of 70 plus teams the first time, and I scratched 80 miles from Nome the second time. You can read about my experience in the race in my books 'Woodsong' and 'Winterdance.' Gary Paulsen placeyouexperiencetime You're never the same after you run the Iditarod, and I still lust to go out and run with dogs, even though I know that I shouldn't. But I'd give just about anything to be able to do it again. To see the horizon again from the back of a dog team would be wonderful. Gary Paulsen neveryouteamdog I think that what computers have done is just disastrous to the language. Gary Paulsen computersthinklanguagedone My folks were drunks, and I had a rough childhood - really rough - in fact, rougher than I thought about. Gary Paulsen aboutthoughtroughchildhood I have a pickup truck. And I prefer to be with dogs or on my sailboat than in a car - actually, more than any other place on Earth. Gary Paulsen placetruckcarearth Years ago, when I was writing westerns, other writers who were friends of mine wanted me to collaborate with them. And it just didn't work. Gary Paulsen mefriendsworkwriting In our family, we've always been owned by border collies, or dogs of one kind or another, and have rescued many dogs. We've lived in the woods and sometimes have had as many as 70 sled dogs. Or had six or seven dogs living in the house. Dogs have saved my life on more than one occasion - and I mean that literally. Gary Paulsen my-lifefamilysometimeslife A border collie saved me once when I was pinned under a horse in Colorado. And once when I went through the ice, one of my sled dogs saw me go under, and she got the rest of the team, and they pulled me out of 12 feet of water. I think that dogs offer the only form of unconditional love that's available to humans. Gary Paulsen meteamlovewater I was raised on farms by people who didn't have Wal-Mart. They had to make their own sleds, harnesses, clothing, etc. Gary Paulsen i-was-raisedclothingownpeople The maximum expression of running dogs is the Iditarod. You enter a state of primitive exaltation, and you never return. You're never normal again. Gary Paulsen dogsneveryouexpression
