Since his boyhood days watching test pilots roar through the sky over his Long Island, NY, home, Robert Bryan was fascinated with flight. Add to that his love of a good story and his vocation as an Episcopal priest and you have the three great themes of his life. After his graduation from Yale Divinity School-where he met Marshall Dodge and the two created the immensely popular storytelling duo "Bert and I"-Bryan became a minister to the remote settlements of Quebec's North Shore. In the mid-20th century, the best way to reach parishioners was by bush plane, so Robert rose to the task. He went on to spend 50 years as a bush pilot and minister, logging more than 12,000 hours at the controls. This endearing memoir traces his life and adventures during that time and weaves in his experiences performing and recording with Dodge.

Marshall Dodge and Bob Bryan began swapping funny Down East stories when they were students at Yale in the 1950s. Their fascination and appreciation for Maine and its people triggered the production of several "Bert and I" records, from which 14 stories were selected for the first edition of this book. Now, eleven more have been added for this expanded second edition. Dodge and Bryan were groundbreaking in their appreciation of the oral tradition and paved the way for contemporary storytelling icons like Garrison Keillor, Tim Sample, and Tom Bodett.

Collects many of the classic Down East stories told by "Bert and I," as performed by Marshall Dodge and Robert Bryan, in print. Dodge recorded five humor albums as "Bert and I" or as himself and starred in a regional television show that aired on public television in the early 1970s.

Robert S. Bryan, Professor Emeritus of Philosophy at North Carolina State University, shares his personalized take on the elements of a life worth living.