Hard as it might seem to imagine, there was no television in Walden when I was a child, so we read. My entire family has always been voracious readers, and we started out with my dad’s westerns and detective stories and my mom’s “confession” magazines. My sisters and I read pretty much anything we could get our hands on. We still do, although my personal favorites are mysteries and biographies. I was fortunate to have two inspiring teachers—Jenny Abbot in grade school and Bil

The last safe place on the planet. That’s my home town, Walden, Colorado. I’m not the only one who feels that way. Some of those who were raised here and moved away are gradually moving back. Recently, a woman who lived less than a mile from where Jessica Ridgeway was murdered brought her family back to Walden. She felt her seven-year-old daughter would have a better chance up here. I moved back fourteen years ago, not because of the dangers of big city living but because it