Fellow Trad gang members,
Beth and Dave Windauer informed me that there is speculation and unanswered questions regarding the Paul Schafer biography. I’ll do my best to put your minds at rest.
I’m Bob Windauer, father of Dave and friend of Paul. Years after Paul’s death, when requests began to surface regarding a book about him, I asked Paul’s Mom and surviving siblings for permission to write his story. They granted that permission, and this undertaking began as an effort to provide Paul’s two children with a portrait of their fathers life.
After several attempts, I settled upon an approach that created an accurate and compelling story about Paul’s “good but hard” journey.
The reasons for the lengthy process are many. I have done hundreds of hours of recorded interviews with Paul’s family and his friends, and I have done several rewrites to accurately capture Paul’s spirit.
The book is tentatively titled
“The Wildness Within”
I am including here the prologue for Part 1.
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Paul Schafer did most things well. As a bow-hunter and custom bowyer, he was among the best. As a friend, he was unmatchable.
Thick muscled, rugged, and handsome, Paul stood five eleven with captivating blue eyes, a comforting smile and unruly brown hair. He preferred robust women and politely approached them with sincere interest. In response, they were almost irresistibly drawn to him. Untamable, unstoppable, and mysterious, he attracted kids in search of a hero. He was serene with a powerful presence, but, when challenged, a hidden wildness could surface with startling quickness. Confident and determined, Paul ignored injuries, inconveniences, and threat of death.
As an example, he risked his life many times while flying bush planes in northern British Columbia, and killed at close range -- with bow and arrow -- a lioness that was mauling his guide in Zimbabwe.
People are rarely complete when their life ends. Paul, at age 44, was no exception and knew it. While flying from Montana to a Brown bear hunt in Alaska he anticipated imminent death, so he wrote his Last Will and Testament and mailed it when the plane landed in Anchorage. He was dealing with major business and personal problems at that time and stated in the Will, "Things are a mess I leave you with -- but that’s kind of how my life has been -- good but hard.”
He died two months later. There is much to be learned from his legacy.
Please bear with me as I am pouring all my energies into the completion of this tribute to Paul.
Bob Windauer
Topic: Schafer Book? (Read 828 times)
