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The Timberline Letter

Produced by Ed Chinn, Narrated by Kara Lea Kennedy

Think Clearer, See Further, Hear Deeper. timberlineletter.substack.com

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3:57

In Over Our Heads

The Timberline Letter ·

2026/03/12

Written and Narrated by Kara Lea Kennedy This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit timberlineletter.substack.com/subscribe

4:40

Remembering the Juggernaut in a Skirt

The Timberline Letter ·

2026/03/11

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit timberlineletter.substack.com/subscribe

4:40

Remembering the Juggernaut in a Skirt

The Timberline Letter ·

2026/03/04

I don’t spend a lot of time stumbling around in my past. Land mines lie scattered just below the surface, threatening to blow up my psyche if triggered.But I’m smart enough to know I wouldn’t be here had I not first been there. The giants who helped shape, mold, sand, and color my being over the past three quarters of a century include characters whose stamp left an indelible imprint. One of those was a force of nature who taught my high school English classes.Mary Robel liked her Camels unfiltered,

4:22

Hymns in the Night

The Timberline Letter ·

2026/02/05

John Goldsberry, my maternal grandfather, expected little from life and received less. But he did all he could to feed his wife and their seven children in southwest Missouri during the Great Depression. He farmed, worked odd jobs, and made moonshine—a long path of futility that marked much of his life.In 1936, he worked as part of a road gang blacktopping roads around Buffalo, Missouri. He was paid fifteen cents per hour. One hot evening, he stood with the other workers at the end of a long, hard

5:02

Views From a Train

The Timberline Letter ·

2026/01/21

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit timberlineletter.substack.com/subscribe

3:33

To Enjoy Each Moment

The Timberline Letter ·

2026/01/01

Written By: Marianne PaulusNarrated By: Kara Lea KennedyAs I do every year, I recently decorated our home for Christmas. I’ve always done so with great anticipation of our lovely house after I am finished. But this year, nostalgia and sadness also came over me in the process.In years past, Christmas decorating was a family affair. My husband, Bob, would help me get the tree set up and untangle the web of Christmas lights (as he still does). But then the three boys and I would decorate the tree while

4:22

When the Unthinkable Knocks

The Timberline Letter ·

2025/12/18

The phone call came at 7:00 am on a Thursday morning. Mom had gone to be with my dad, who had fallen ill on the road. We would stay with our aunt and uncle till our parents returned. We were eating breakfast at the kitchen table, heading to school. Routine, everyday occurrence for me, a 7th grader, and my three younger siblings. My aunt answered the phone, hesitated, and announced with a quivering voice, “Children, your daddy is dead.” My mind froze for a few seconds before I stood up and walked

5:38

Storm Fronts

The Timberline Letter ·

2025/12/11

Written By: Ed ChinnNarrated By: Kara Lea KennedyMy friends, Glen and Roberta Roachelle, once sat in a beachside restaurant as a storm moved in. Just as they took their first sip of coffee, a wave crashed over the seawall and against the windows. As diners laughed nervously, Glen told Roberta, “Let’s leave right now.” When they stepped outside, a larger wave blew out the windows. Water and shattered glass filled the area where they had been sitting.Storms are essential; they drag oceans across

5:08

Knocking on Doors

The Timberline Letter ·

2025/12/04

“For shelter is gone when the night is o’er,And bread lasts only a day,But the touch of the hand and the sound of the voiceSing on in the soul alway.”The Human Touch, Spencer Michael Free [i]I spent my entire childhood in the same school district. I didn’t have to seek friends—they were built in by common bus routes and classroom seating arrangements. I was popular because I had always been there. A staple, like the baking soda in the back of your fridge.Now I stood in a cold apartment hallway, my

4:15

Concealed

The Timberline Letter ·

2025/11/20

By the time the revelers picked themselves up from the sidewalk, we had already taken inventory. The bar at the end of our tiny dead-end street had scored again. Each Saturday night, its patrons made it just far enough to collapse in front of our house—a weekend ritual we came to expect.By Sunday morning, the evidence of revelry was gone. In its place, a different crowd flowed onto the sidewalk—a procession of Spazierengehen—families strolling along the Rhine River embankment while barges churned

3:43

Wisdom From Above

The Timberline Letter ·

2025/10/30

A friend of mine swears he once got so lost on back roads that his GPS announced, “You have arrived at a point beyond all knowledge.”I often think of that line when I consider the eruption of disasters around the world. I sometimes wonder if we’re losing the ability to solve, navigate, or even understand crises. Have we arrived at that place beyond knowledge? Is that why anger and warfare seem to just hang in the air like smoke in a saloon?Maybe we need to pause, take a deep breath, and rethink the

5:08

Fitting In

The Timberline Letter ·

2025/10/23

I am not like my mother—she prayed for everything. She prayed for friends, for waiters, and for the food they brought us. For refrigerators. For roadkill.She even prayed for parking places. When a car finally budged from its space as we circled like vultures seeking carrion, she would beam, “See? He cares!”My prayers are more modest. I might seek divine intervention for a missing sock, a cell phone, or a shopping list gone astray in the grocery store. When I was young, I prayed for my pets—right up

5:09

Home Makers

The Timberline Letter ·

2025/10/16

My husband, David, and I had just finished dinner when he mentioned he was driving to the train station in Hachinohe that night, a one-hour trip from our base in Misawa, Japan. He was the sponsor of a new family.The color drained from my face.As a sponsor, it was our responsibility to make sure incoming families had their immediate needs taken care of as they faced the fog of jetlag. Throwing this on me within hours of their arrival was impossible—the commissary was closed. I frantically packed a

5:47

Things That Hide in Plain Sight

The Timberline Letter ·

2025/10/09

In June 1944, US Navy pilot Dale Dieterich flew his Grumman Hellcat F6F fighter over plowed fields in France. As he headed back to his aircraft carrier in the Mediterranean, those fields whispered to his own Kansas farm roots.Scanning one field, he “noticed there were trees planted in the center of it. His Kansas background told him there was something wrong with the picture because the plow lines went right through the trees and not, as in Kansas, around them. When he dipped down and gave the trees

6:01

Curtain Call

The Timberline Letter ·

2025/10/02

In sleep, Dad might wander a path, inhaling the fragrance of pine trees, or he might revisit familiar, cozy places he held dear. But now he was aging, and naps brought confusion instead of release. His body faltered, and he grew irritable. A uniformed nurse at the assisted-living facility stepped in to give him medication, easing his agitation. As his mind relaxed, so did his muscles. Soon, his lungs would forget to expand; finally, his heart would forget to beat.We were still on our way to see him

3:09

Ascend

The Timberline Letter ·

2025/09/18

Written By: John SommersNarrated By: Kara Lea KennedySeveral years ago, while working in Dallas, I had to fly down to Austin to meet with a customer. Since Southwest Airlines had a BOGO (buying one ticket would get a companion flight for free), I decided to take Jared, my five-year-old son.We drove to DFW airport under a nasty, rainy, and very dark sky. Traffic was backed up, and all drivers seemed to be hunched over their steering wheel, muttering and snarling at the surrounding drivers. We

5:01

Eyes of the Heart

The Timberline Letter ·

2025/09/11

In Eyes of the Heart, a book about “contemplative photography,” author Christine Paintner calls readers to take the time to really see their world. As she writes, “I take my camera out into the world, and it invites me to slow down and linger over these moments of beauty. It opens me to wonder and delight.“Slow down enough to see what is around you, notice the details of things—the many shades of flowers, the texture of tree bark, architectural details on houses, and even the patterns on manhole

4:23

Things Change

The Timberline Letter ·

2025/08/28

Several years ago, while attending flight school in the Air Force, my husband, David, was taught to “deal with the big rocks first.” If it’s big, close, and urgent, it needs to be addressed before considering the pebbles on the beach. This makes sense when you’re traveling at Mach speeds, but living an everyday life that way induces whack-a-mole anxiety. A solid vision and coherent plans sustain us in the ever-changing landscape of life. We can set our sights on something permanent—a faraway

4:23

Things Change

The Timberline Letter ·

2025/08/28

Get full access to The Timberline Letter at timberlineletter.substack.com/subscribe

4:41

Letting Tiger Go

The Timberline Letter ·

2025/08/21

Our white cat, Tiger, came to us in 2006 when his previous owner dropped him at our house. Joanne and I instantly saw that the man was abusive. When he opened the cage, Tiger ran fast and far. We later found him crouched and trembling behind the dryer.It took a long time to win his heart; he was so fearful. But over time, he gradually warmed to us. I think he finally realized we would not injure him. In time, he became more vocal, and his personality opened like a flower. He learned to express his

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