Marin [antikvár]

WW I r'Vil'V 'Il, '.111 'iI, m I-', 1.1 I '.i' 'l.-b Hi FOREWORD . V'' v. ' , < This book originated in the mind's eye—and camera lens—of Hal Lauritzen, who has been photographing Marin County for years and who got the impassioned idea that something must be done to preserve its natural glories. He decided to create this book, as a vehicle for showing off Marin's great beauty, and as a rallying point for those who would keep it unspoiled. Hal and I met in the spring of 1991 on a press tour of the Russian Far East.Hementionedthathisbook was well under way and I was immediately mournful. "Oh, I wish we had met sooner," I said. "I would have loved to write that book." I had been writing about Marin County for seventeen years as a reporter for the Marin Independent Journal. I have lived here since the 1940s, and my love for the county goes deep. A few months later, Hal phoned to ask if I were still interested, and together we began this memorable project. For Hal, much of the work was already done: he had thousands of slides, taken over a period of years. He sorted throughfor favorites, and looked for blank spots in his collection .Then out he went, Nikon in hand, to grab yet one more evocative, affectionate shot. For me, writing the book meant exploring Marin from one end to the other by car, on foot, and in the stacks of the California Room of the county library. When I needed help, I got it from a raft of willing Marin residents, who met me in bistros and coffee shops for breakfast, lunch, and dinner or welcomed me into their homes. Don Deane and I sat on bar stools at Smiley's saloon in Bolinas. Peter Behr and I walked the gardens of his Inverness home. Phil Frank met me for early morning coffee at Sausalito's Gaffe Trieste. I pestered dozens of people by phone—for population statistics, information on wildflowers, the latest word on development plans for Hamilton Air Force Base—and quizzed the rangers at the Headlands, Point Reyes National Seashore, and Angel Island to the point of mutual exhaustion. My data filled dozens of notebooks, hundreds of scraps of paper. The entire project was a joy. More than once I found myself smiling in sheer pleasure over what I was writing about.Though I groaned at the inadequacy of my words, the finished manuscript brought great satisfaction. It is a small love offering to the county that has given me so much—wonderful people, indelible beauty, a lasting home. I am forever grateful to Hal Lauritzen. —Beth Ashley