August Musings

On Wednesday, August 3, I attended the memorial service of a mighty, gentle woman -- Nina Leopold Bradley -- the eldest daughter of the conservationist family Aldo and Estella Leopold.

This was not a religious service and yet the spiritual underpinnings were evident in all the short speeches about Nina -- her deep respect for the relationships of people to each other and people to the land, which were her passions, like those of her father (and many members of the Leopold clan). A recurring theme was how Nina listened to you with such intensity and delight that she made you feel like you were her very closest companion and she believed you could do anything you dreamed -- and then you found out that she did that for everyone, and it was true every time she listened.

Like Aunt Mary, she was a great woman of the woods and the prairies -- and of people. The people gathered to remember and celebrate and mourn the loss of Nina did not pray together, but there was a deep reverence and companionship of spirit and a sense of the mystical present and presence there among us. She certainly left the world better for her life. She gave us a model for good living. And good science. And good politics. And a good laugh along the way. Thank you, Nina.