Look and Listen

Biography

The Seagull Who Was Afraid To Fly is Mr. Wickstrom's first published work. He is an active duty Chief Warrant Officer in the U.S. Coast Guard and is currently stationed in Virginia. His years of sea duty have allowed him to observe many various sea birds and animals in their natural habitat. Many of those creatures have become characters in this book. He's pretty sure that he has saltwater flowing through his veins and sand in what's left of his hair. He was born in Indiana, and has lived in Illinois, Alaska, Montana, Michigan, California, North Carolina, Puerto Rico, Hawaii, and Virginia. Due to the military lifestyle which causes him to up-root and move every three to four years, he considers himself to be a professional nomad. His hobbies include writing, woodworking, and O gauge model railroading.

Inspiration

The idea for this book came while I was up on top of a ship's mast working on an antenna. I was about 140 feet above the water. A seagull floated past at head level and then circled around me several times. It was almost like it was wondering what a human was doing so high up off the ground. I thought about telling the gull that I was not afraid of heights, but I figured that the bird would not understand a single word, so I kept silent. I absent-mindedly wondered what would happen if a bird was afraid of heights. The light bulb came on and a story was born.