"No, I am not afraid. I am 75(72?) years old...I would rather go out in a blaze, defending the world I love. I am more afraid that my grandchildren will think I did not try hard enough to leave them a legacy of peace, and a world worth living in. I don't want them to know the beauty of trees by looking at a book. I want them to be able to walk among 800-year-old trees and know that is our destiny. That is where we have to get back to."

- Joan Norman, 75(72?), arrested March 14 for the second time in a week protesting industrial logging of ancient, old-growth forest reserves in the Siskiyou Wild Rivers Area of Oregon. (Taken from the Siskyou Defense website.)

People may try to act, dress or look like a bad ass, but Joan was the real thing. The more I learn about her life, the more she inspires me.

It sounds like she was beginning to have health problems, and for that reason, I am thankful that she was able to "go out in a blaze," rather than live passively in a world she dearly loved.

Thank you for your many gifts to us, Joan.