Love Thoreau? Bid now to preserve his legacy.
Say you love Henry David Thoreau as much as I do and that you would like to join me in lending his legacy a hand? Outstanding. Here's how.
Stop what you're doing (after you finish reading this, of course) and beat the March 18 deadline for bidding on a wide variety of Thoreauviana. The Thoreau Society and Thoreau Farm Trust Auction runs until 2 p.m. Friday. All you have to do is go to The Thoreau Society's home page, click on the link to the auction, register to bid, and you're off to the races.
Thoreau himself was not a big fan of the cliche but the auction is truly a win-win for everyone. You get to bid on really great items that range from art and books to a special tour of Walden Pond followed by lunch at Thoreau's birthplace. One of the neatest items up for grabs in the book section is an autographed copy of the novel "Woodsburner" by John Pipken that includes a Skype chat or conference call with the author. The book is a good one and I very much enjoyed interviewing Pipkin for a Fine Books piece last year. You'd enjoy talking to him, too.
You might also opt for a Thoreau DVD, tour of historic Concord, Thoreau t-shirts, a lifetime membership to The Thoreau Society, or a trip to Mexico. You can even step back in time to 1854 and visit "Thoreau" in the form of an actor reading some of his great works.
If you're not experienced with online auctions, it's very easy to participate. Bidding for Good is a great host for online charity auctions and I've won all kinds of things through different auctions it has sponsored. I was particularly thrilled with what I won at the Thoreau Society auction last year and have bids in on a number of items this year. Me sharing this great auction with you decreases my chances of winning big again but that's OK. I'm a nice guy and am happy to see your money go to preserving Thoreau's legacy as much as mine. (Fortunately, I can console myself with my first-edition "A Week on the Concord and Merrimack Rivers" that I also bought at an online auction. I'm Tweeting about it @chrislancette if you care to join me.)
I'll even throw in another free tip for you, an essay I wrote about my first trip to Walden Pond entitled "Crying on Thoreau's Cabin". I'd be honored if you gave it a read and doubly excited if you joined me and bidding often and high at The Thoreau Society and Thoreau Farm Trust Auction.
