Book Review: Emeralds, A Passionate Guide by Ronald Ringsrud

by Richard W. WiseThe subtitle of Ronald Ringsrud's new book, A Passionate Guide, The Emeralds, The People, their Secrets has been well selected. The book is not just about emerald, most specifically Colombian emerald, it is about a country, its people and one man's love affair with it all.I first met Ron Ringsrud about a year and a half ago. I had never been to Colombia and as is my custom

Tucson 2009, The View From The Desert

by Richard W. Wise©2009The first Saguaro emerges from predawn darkness, looming above me like a giant being from another planet. The sun rises over Gates Pass. Last night we sat on the porch of our adobe, deep in the Sonoran Desert, with Orion twinkling overhead, listening to a coyote chorus. Today the show opens at the old Pueblo Inn, the traditional first day of jumpstart at the 2009