Loren Steffy


		Loren Steffy
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My latest book, The Man Who Thought Like a Ship, was released in April, 2012. This is a very personal story for me, but also one I think you'll find interesting. In some ways, it's a book I wrote a little more each time someone asked me the seemingly simple question: "What does your father do?"

Book Signing in Bermuda


The latest issue of the INA Quarterly, the official publication of the Institute of Nautical Archaeology, has pictures from a book signing I did at the institute's board of directors meeting in Bermuda. The three-day event included lectures, updates on INA's field projects and a fascinating tour of the National Museum of Bermuda.
INA asked me to attend the event and give a talk on The Man Who Thought Like a Ship. Many in attendance knew my father, of course, but they didn't know the full story of how he came to rebuild ancient ships.
It was a chance for me to see some good friends and relive some fond memories. And did I mention it was in Bermuda? Link: http://nauticalarch.org/blogs/ina-today/2013/05/new-ina-quarterly-available-online/ (Page 5)

View the video below the see the reconstruction of the Kyrenia Ship.

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		Loren Steffy, the business columnist at the Houston Chronicle, says goodbye to his readers after nine years writing the column. Click here to read more:
			Upcoming Speaking Engagements
		Coming in July! A discussion of the recent BP trial Galveston Bay Area Sierra Club Bay Area Community Center 5002 NASA Road 1 Seabrook, Tx. More info: http://www.houston.sierraclub.org/

The Gift of Curiosity

"Dickie" Steffy, in the third grade, when he was building boats from paper and homemade paste.

I recently returned to my hometown of Denver, Pennsylvania, to speak to graduates of my father's high school. The school closed in the 1950s, and because some of the graduating classes were so small – my father's class had nine students – they do one combined reunion every year.

During dinner, the discussion at our table turned to Helen Crouse, who had been my father's third-grade teacher. In The Man Who Thought Like a Ship, I write that my father credited her with encouraging his interest in ships.

He was still building model boats out of paper and homemade paste then, yet she fed his interest by tracking down books on ships and seafaring even though Denver and the surrounding towns didn't have a library at the time. When I told this story at the dinner table, everyone smiled and nodded their heads.

Mrs. Crouse, it seems, didn't just serve as an inspiration to my father, but to most of her students. After my talk, one member of the audience asked for a show of hands from others who had been inspired by her. Half the hands in the room went up.

As the husband of a third-grade teacher, I found myself wondering how Mrs. Crouse would fare in today's era of standardized testing and one-size-fits all education. She understood that unlocking a child's intellectual curiosity is the key to a lifetime of learning. That's not a skill that can be measured with a test, it's a gift. In my father's case, it was the gift that enabled him to chase his dreams and to learn, ultimately, to think like a ship.

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