Walking Spirit in a Native Way

  Are you making a difference? It is not who you were!   It is who you are! Who remembers a star football player thirty years after his game?   Do you remember Rolland Lawrence?   I didn't, until I met him.   Mr. Bay, as he is called affectionately by the kids at VisionQuest Big Lodge Camp, was a 1975 NFC ALL-PRO for the Atlanta Falcons.   Rolland was NFC's 2nd leading interceptor in 1975.   A deadly tackler, he gained over 4,000 yards at Tabor. But this is not about a retired football player.   I want to tell you about an extraordinary human being.   One day recently I was doing a project with VisionQuest Academies in Pennsylvania.   They were short on Child Care Workers and asked Ed, my partner, and myself to help out.   Since we are cleared for Child Care Work with VisionQuest, we were happy to help.   We were asked to monitor classes as we have done many times. Walking down the hall to the c...

 IAN Interview ~ Author James B. Beard aka Noodin Independent Author Network ~ Author Review ( This review has been updated to relate to the updated version and publisher October 12,2025 )   Author Bio: ) James Beard aka Noodin, Cultural Storyteller, Educator, Speaker, Author     Jim Beard is a speaker on topics such as traditional living and natural spirit teachings.  His topics address many concerns to do with wellness and balance in life.  He is a student of native teachings from Ojibwe Elders, Algonquin language based people, living throughout the Great Lakes Region of the US and Canada.  The audiences for his presentations vary from youth to elderly. Please tell us about your latest book: Some things in life happen that one could never foresee. The story you are about to read is about one of those things. Like most people, my life was pretty well laid out for me. Growing up in a small town in western New York, going to school, servi...