In 1988 I drove by myself across Canada and spent about three weeks in Banff National Park. Because I was alone, everybody was really nice to me, everywhere I went. I picked up a hitchhiker from New Zealand and he was with me for almost a week. It was really neat to spend time with him. It's really nice out there. I like being isolated away from all man-made things. Though I enjoy company, I like more scenes from the natural world. I have lots of memories of seeing a moose, a bear. I just remember lying down and kind of being in awe of that place.

I don't believe or disbelieve in God. I believe in a naturalistic world, where I'm a part of the mountains. I feel very calm when I'm there. It's like looking over the ocean. You can see real far. There's a saying that people in a small room think small things. I kind of feel like that.

I was kind of a typical kid. I played a lot of frisbee on the beach. I went back there just this winter. And when I got there I realized I couldn't see the ocean because the seawall, a cement wall, was in the way, and there was a big snow bank. I didn't let that really stop me; we got a shovel and spent twenty minutes shovelling. (Sometimes) just a step up is enough to prevent you from going somewhere.

I can't say I regret what has happened to me. It has shaped the way I think and made me more appreciative of things that are really important, and to see through things that are not important to me. All my friends, all the people I've met...I just think I would have gone down a different route and they wouldn't have been on that road. It's extremely hard to live a life like this. But if I had to trade all my friends, I guess I wouldn't trade those for a healthy body.