tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25274875567183901922024-03-05T19:37:21.047-08:00AnguslandAn airborne buffet of funness.Angushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01900358348070248251noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2527487556718390192.post-54297503214301055552018-02-19T17:45:00.000-08:002018-02-19T18:55:06.674-08:00Read this First!<div class="s1utahl7-0 dmXaGo" data-tag="post-content" style="background-color: white; color: #052d49; font-family: america, sans-serif; line-height: 1.5; white-space: pre-line;">
<div class="s1utahl7-0 dmXaGo" data-tag="post-content" style="font-size: 1rem !important; line-height: 1.5; white-space: pre-line;">
<span style="font-size: 1rem;">This Blog has moooooved! </span><span style="font-size: 1rem;">Please follow your fellow Advanced </span><span style="font-size: 1rem;">Humans to </span><a href="https://www.patreon.com/AngusMcMahan" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: 1rem;"><span style="font-size: 1rem;">Angus’</span> </span><span style="font-size: 1rem;">Patreon page!</span></a><span style="font-size: 1rem;"><a href="https://www.patreon.com/AngusMcMahan" target="_blank"> </a> </span><span style="font-size: 1rem;">There is a LOT to look through there, so let’s get you </span><span style="font-size: 1rem;">situated. </span><span style="font-size: 1rem;">There are 6 levels of patronage, plus a bunch of Open (Free) </span><span style="font-size: 1rem;">Posts. Take a look at some of those first, and see if you and I will get along. </span><br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQQf2frEgSxYLYfWEpg05-38gMMoATmloTIzSdcp6RveqnZAIaXR989Dg75JEXyXjnixQA424KAfDN_Fs-Ld9m6vdIaitTIrkNYrumg1s4GkPQDy88PipUyJJ6ir2YCMiCxpy78GHbcwQ/s1600/Livesimply.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQQf2frEgSxYLYfWEpg05-38gMMoATmloTIzSdcp6RveqnZAIaXR989Dg75JEXyXjnixQA424KAfDN_Fs-Ld9m6vdIaitTIrkNYrumg1s4GkPQDy88PipUyJJ6ir2YCMiCxpy78GHbcwQ/s400/Livesimply.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i style="color: #052d49; text-align: start; white-space: pre-line;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">(The McMansion was short on furniture and long on Irony.)</span></i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-size: 1rem;">Here are the </span><span style="font-size: 1rem;"><a href="https://www.patreon.com/AngusMcMahan/posts?tag=Open%20Post">Open Posts</a> </span><span style="font-size: 1rem;">right now. Check ‘em out: </span><span style="font-size: 1rem;">Here is a video of me </span><span style="font-size: 1rem;"><a href="https://www.patreon.com/posts/video-writer-at-16546979" style="font-size: 1rem;">WRITING.</a> </span><span style="font-size: 1rem;">Here are my top 20 </span><span style="font-size: 1rem;"><a href="https://www.patreon.com/posts/christmas-music-15819248" style="font-size: 1rem;">CHRISTMAS SONGS.</a> </span><span style="font-size: 1rem;">Here is a dream I had starring </span><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration-line: none;"><a href="https://www.patreon.com/posts/dream-frankie-in-15295351" target="_blank">Annette Funicello</a></span><span style="font-size: 1rem;">. (No, not that kind of dream.) </span><span style="font-size: 1rem;">And this is what happened when I took a </span><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration-line: none;"><a href="https://www.patreon.com/posts/things-we-did-13932963" target="_blank">CPR Class</a></span><span style="font-size: 1rem;">. </span><span style="font-size: 1rem;">And here are a couple of posts that used to be up in the 1 </span><span style="font-size: 1rem;">dollar section, but then I freed up: </span><span style="font-size: 1rem;">Witness the fascinating carnage of a weekend spent in a </span><span style="font-size: 1rem;"><a href="https://www.patreon.com/posts/mcmansion-15927749" style="font-size: 1rem;">McMansion</a>. </span><span style="font-size: 1rem;">And here is the background, script and tons of photos from my epic </span><a href="https://www.patreon.com/posts/samhain-our-with-15091510" style="font-size: 1rem;"><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration-line: none;">Samhain ritual</span></a><span style="font-size: 1rem;"> last year. </span><span style="font-size: 1rem;">And as a special treat - here is the most popular column I ever wrote, turned into a </span><span style="font-size: 1rem;"><a href="https://www.patreon.com/posts/podcast-1-with-15388730">Podcast</a> </span><span style="font-size: 1rem;">(With photos!). <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1ZTEQv3SkH4CK-mBlZ8ekGUon-x2SVV7v7KYH8-ujzISwot4gB7ICwydCgGqKeuczHPDMiSeuYPCnq0MK4q5lsYvGiDOIDor82iMizHBU2SsEq7VyR2XAE-myCGz0VyjVRV_8W4kJeOQ/s1600/DSCN0058.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="686" data-original-width="1280" height="171" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1ZTEQv3SkH4CK-mBlZ8ekGUon-x2SVV7v7KYH8-ujzISwot4gB7ICwydCgGqKeuczHPDMiSeuYPCnq0MK4q5lsYvGiDOIDor82iMizHBU2SsEq7VyR2XAE-myCGz0VyjVRV_8W4kJeOQ/s320/DSCN0058.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Yep, rode that sucker twice. Sober.</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">The first level is $1.00 a month, which is hardly anything, </span><span style="font-size: small;">right? Folks who sign on at this level get the newest big, unique, stand-alone story that I’ve just finished. </span><span style="font-size: 1rem;">Here are some the recent “Hot off the griddle” stories: </span><span style="font-size: 1rem;">My Dinner Party with History, in which I choose 10 people (+ </span><span style="font-size: 1rem;">two chefs!) from all points of human history and we all meet at Stonehenge for a </span><a href="https://www.patreon.com/posts/dinner-party-15539266" style="font-size: 1rem;"><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration-line: none;">lovely supper</span></a><span style="font-size: 1rem;">. </span><span style="font-size: 1rem;">A <a href="https://www.patreon.com/posts/14140149" target="_blank">Weekend in 1927</a>, in which I use my time machine to visit every </span><span style="font-size: 1rem;">single cool thing in the world that happened in one </span><a href="https://www.patreon.com/posts/weekend-in-1927-14140149" style="font-size: 1rem;"><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration-line: none;">wild weekend</span></a><span style="font-size: 1rem;">. </span><span style="font-size: 1rem;">And the history of my life-long obsession of playing with </span><span style="font-size: 1rem;"><a href="https://www.patreon.com/posts/lego-my-life-13932884" style="font-size: 1rem;">Lego.</a> </span><span style="font-size: 1rem;">Next is the $3.00 level, and those folks get the latest </span><span style="font-size: 1rem;">chapter in whatever book I am writing that month. Plus, folks at this level </span><span style="font-size: 1rem;">also get everything at the $1.00 level, which applies to all the other levels. </span><span style="font-size: 1rem;">(If, for example, you pledge at $10, you’ll get that PLUS the $5, $3 and $1 </span><span style="font-size: 1rem;">posts.) </span><span style="font-size: 1rem;">Recent chapters include m</span><span style="font-size: 1rem;">y love affair with </span><span style="font-size: 1rem;"><a href="https://www.patreon.com/posts/disneyland-16010549" style="font-size: 1rem;">Disneyland.</a> </span><span style="font-size: 1rem;">The wacky adventures of teenaged me and my </span><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration-line: none;"><a href="https://www.patreon.com/posts/15563456" target="_blank">First Car</a></span><span style="font-size: 1rem;">. </span><span style="font-size: 1rem;">And the wild, wild, 5 weeks I spent in the hospital for a </span><span style="font-size: 1rem;">simple </span><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration-line: none;"><a href="https://www.patreon.com/posts/15179305" target="_blank">tonsillectomy</a></span><span style="font-size: 1rem;">. </span><span style="font-size: 1rem;">Up at the 5 dollar level you’ll find the “Blast From the </span><span style="font-size: 1rem;">Past” posts, featuring post from various </span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhM37ChHg830H5AosDgOD8zPlz3tC5MyRrgphgAi8avJysgXSXq1h8uBiF4vK3iSdYOXl6UqzH_gFcHpO4BJDRf9sZwfAJGy4epd-2KflSPeVVZrmeTfl92SGRVqTwIE0zCpv2qMWwMVXI/s1600/LegoDouble.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="686" data-original-width="1600" height="137" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhM37ChHg830H5AosDgOD8zPlz3tC5MyRrgphgAi8avJysgXSXq1h8uBiF4vK3iSdYOXl6UqzH_gFcHpO4BJDRf9sZwfAJGy4epd-2KflSPeVVZrmeTfl92SGRVqTwIE0zCpv2qMWwMVXI/s320/LegoDouble.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
columns I’ve written for publications <span style="font-size: 1rem;">who went down in sudden and fiery flames. Each one features a new introduction. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: 1rem;">Climbing up to the 10 dollar level one is confronted with </span><span style="font-size: 1rem;">“It Came From the Filing Cabinet” - I’ve done LOTS of different types of </span><span style="font-size: 1rem;">writing over my life, from search-a-word puzzles to Sports Reporting. Here is </span><span style="font-size: 1rem;">where the experiments are revealed. </span><span style="font-size: 1rem;">At the summit you will rewarded with my monthly “Gentleman </span><span style="font-size: 1rem;">of Leisure” reports, detailing every weird thing I’ve done the previous month, </span><span style="font-size: 1rem;">with lots of photos! </span><span style="font-size: 1rem;">And for you heady slices of glorious deity, there is the </span><span style="font-size: 1rem;">$50.00 pledge, will net you all of the PODCASTS, plus everything else listed </span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-0vtIHlEyT1iru8MbBViVbghKbLq0CsSDqdHuHBjsgMm62z6sdqkrbnHX0IOFYJig6p4VikbLbSDIavkZC7am9DpOMXaxu9dlWynXvfkgVW4N2CzTgIKe-85PzT6yLRjnsv1n_v3vs6I/s1600/anghairtreelookleft.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="336" data-original-width="640" height="168" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-0vtIHlEyT1iru8MbBViVbghKbLq0CsSDqdHuHBjsgMm62z6sdqkrbnHX0IOFYJig6p4VikbLbSDIavkZC7am9DpOMXaxu9dlWynXvfkgVW4N2CzTgIKe-85PzT6yLRjnsv1n_v3vs6I/s320/anghairtreelookleft.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
above. The whole kaboodle and kit. And my love. And my thanks. And my firstborn.<br />
<span style="font-size: 1rem;">That’s a lot of stuff, right? I think so. But I’ve never </span><span style="font-size: 1rem;">been happier (or more productive) as a writer. </span><span style="font-size: 1rem;">Join me, won’t you? Let us journey through this strange and </span><span style="font-size: 1rem;">lovely land together. </span><span style="font-size: 1rem;">Thanks for reading, welcome aboard, enjoy the Patreon site, and </span><span style="font-size: 1rem;">please comment on anything you enjoyed! </span><span style="font-size: 1rem;">Comments are second only to ‘shares’ as the lifeblood that </span><span style="font-size: 1rem;">keeps us creative-types in the saddle. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: 1rem;">Angus McMahan </span><br />
<span style="font-size: 1rem;">AngusMcMahan@gmail.com </span><br />
<span style="font-size: 1rem;"><a href="https://www.patreon.com/AngusMcMahan">https://www.patreon.com/AngusMcMahan</a></span><span style="font-size: 1rem;"> </span></div>
<div class="s1utahl7-0 dmXaGo" data-tag="post-content" style="line-height: 1.5; white-space: pre-line;">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: 1rem;">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: 1rem;">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: 1rem;">
<o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
</div>
Angushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01900358348070248251noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2527487556718390192.post-90406187590055706002014-08-16T11:35:00.008-07:002021-07-26T16:23:35.062-07:00Bicycling through Glenwood Canyon<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_qknzGQZLRWZGVMRRNKGG8lru20pPizt_FHezja9hjkQ5VYkh2mW3DoX7lFrWk_2f8CvD5xZr6ftvFvA3OLoHkDAHKLOTWdbB9azZXuzVB85ZDB4zjSgLs30pWG37jdpnPr4KE9qVWkE/s1600/glenmonostraight.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_qknzGQZLRWZGVMRRNKGG8lru20pPizt_FHezja9hjkQ5VYkh2mW3DoX7lFrWk_2f8CvD5xZr6ftvFvA3OLoHkDAHKLOTWdbB9azZXuzVB85ZDB4zjSgLs30pWG37jdpnPr4KE9qVWkE/s1600/glenmonostraight.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="p1">
<span style="font-size: large;">I grew up in the 1970’s, the time of NIXON, Ford and </span>carter<span style="font-size: large;">. It was a time of polyester, smoking, wide neckties and shame at our perceived strategic reassignment of our objectives in Vietnam. </span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span style="font-size: large;">“International” was on the back burner for America, and when my stupid older brother wanted to quit the Air Force after 18 months, they shrugged and said: “Sure. Okay. Thanks for stopping by.”</span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span style="font-size: large;">Domestic Achievements were the order of the day, and the crown<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNdZ5N2i1bJWLA9v7uVEAVWMJL6SXjeA-WC6s2xTHrfxQAKclE9jXGxtvwJEq7xmJXNqoMu-Ig7VgIluAXcQXyZ4IK7S08la6jD4sqdLqood8rGr5Cq21n9CUSRxxx63ld5fgSsKoJmeU/s1600/glenwoodcanyon1903.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNdZ5N2i1bJWLA9v7uVEAVWMJL6SXjeA-WC6s2xTHrfxQAKclE9jXGxtvwJEq7xmJXNqoMu-Ig7VgIluAXcQXyZ4IK7S08la6jD4sqdLqood8rGr5Cq21n9CUSRxxx63ld5fgSsKoJmeU/s1600/glenwoodcanyon1903.jpg" width="211" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">First road thru the canyon, 1903</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
jewel of our vast nation was our Interstate Highway System. We had been diligently linking up all of our nations regions since 1956 and it was all done by the late 70’s! Yay!</span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span style="font-size: large;">Well, <i>almost done</i>. There was one teeny, tiny 16 mile stretch of road that stubbornly defied all attempts at fourlanedom. 16 lousy miles out of 47,714. And <b>that’s</b> where my family vacationed every year.</span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
<a name='more'></a></div>
<div class="p1">
<span style="font-size: large;">My cousins moved to a little town outside of Glenwood Springs, Colorado in the early 70’s. And almost every year my Mother would take me and my friend Richard on a two week camping trip. </span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2tI8Yn9HCSwuUTIzAd8yI4blvRX-xlDfECvMWHghTI5oJn2kTkzy3B3eZb3CRZC9mAKx944Z62NCHhuAsYfjNV8LxDCIEXMUO2rVaawP9H8UJ7k2gq6wsaFBqomjC0oTkr3bdhdNvHuk/s1600/glenwoodcanyon1969.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2tI8Yn9HCSwuUTIzAd8yI4blvRX-xlDfECvMWHghTI5oJn2kTkzy3B3eZb3CRZC9mAKx944Z62NCHhuAsYfjNV8LxDCIEXMUO2rVaawP9H8UJ7k2gq6wsaFBqomjC0oTkr3bdhdNvHuk/s1600/glenwoodcanyon1969.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The old, two lane State Highway 6, in 1969. The turnout here was about<br />
the only 'feature' of this road. Now picture it filled with cars and trucks.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="p1">
<span style="font-size: large;">Our first destination was always the Kellers outside of Glenwood, and from there we would spread out for various adventures. Going West from Glenwood was no problem; I-70 was smooth and wide. But going East was a dangerous, beautiful slog, because you had to drive the old two lane road through <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glenwood_Canyon" target="_blank">Glenwood Canyon</a>.</span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span style="font-size: large;">The canyon itself was gorgeous, and you always had plenty of time to admire it, because the two-lane traffic would always slow to a crawl, or just stop for hours as the road was cleared of falling rock or another big-rig pile-up. <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAhSbqPKxLPQ0Ah9AaztoTIUxiCRkfv-LSDrAL4rEf8ZIiO9TvBv6uMRZv78EUAHGtpIHL_OY-QgbS5x8pOi5UAitWNvjWl7UHNLJjcuqqw6zMO97T7RCugVs_HmAkm8Gfz-MoIU_Dz6g/s1600/denver.cbslocal.com.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="162" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAhSbqPKxLPQ0Ah9AaztoTIUxiCRkfv-LSDrAL4rEf8ZIiO9TvBv6uMRZv78EUAHGtpIHL_OY-QgbS5x8pOi5UAitWNvjWl7UHNLJjcuqqw6zMO97T7RCugVs_HmAkm8Gfz-MoIU_Dz6g/s1600/denver.cbslocal.com.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is a graphic is from the<br />
pre-interstate Canyon, and the carnage<br />
indicated was not a rare occurrence.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span style="font-size: large;">As a tweener I remember the canyon as being kinda unreal, like the dioramas on the train ride at Disneyland. The Canyon was untouchable, unvisitable, because besides from a couple of shallow turnouts, there was no way to interact with the place. No visitors center, no nature trails, no Historical Markers! It was maddening. </span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-UQWzYDgx1YbN4VbSXjej0WzGbpcQ_13iEaqOr64PXncBD5ACJAsihi_Y5NKWKgHu__AcgYYI7BZrpZ2Cj_IXIcP5EBjudzCSYFuT2-NC2qNdAqVSMYIMzPFrg4X3Taur56U8TD7V_W4/s1600/ar15.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-UQWzYDgx1YbN4VbSXjej0WzGbpcQ_13iEaqOr64PXncBD5ACJAsihi_Y5NKWKgHu__AcgYYI7BZrpZ2Cj_IXIcP5EBjudzCSYFuT2-NC2qNdAqVSMYIMzPFrg4X3Taur56U8TD7V_W4/s1600/ar15.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Those "Watch for Falling Rock" signs? Yeah, this is<br />
what they mean. From the old state highway.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="p1">
<span style="font-size: large;">Various schemes had been floated over the decades as how to ‘solve’ Glenwood Canyon, but most of them involved blasting the walls of the canyon to smithereens in order to widen it enough. But then in the early 80’s a revolutionary approach was considered that would test the limits of Engineering while being Environmentally conscious. </span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span style="font-size: large;">But this radical plan would have to be sold, to Congress, the President and the American Public. And for THAT, you need Artists Renderings.
</span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFP62q6WTns0MCxPrGcA0RW0JCOfceEaVDcsLmTGfGCSh1fzFPNyFkNdw_yUxkoV7nB-s89HldUq4zVoCY99ity_hzR9PAb9GCa_Djp95GAiPsdHpVB7btmaD1e8F0UH4GoTWTuuwIQps/s1600/glenfruitabike.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="279" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFP62q6WTns0MCxPrGcA0RW0JCOfceEaVDcsLmTGfGCSh1fzFPNyFkNdw_yUxkoV7nB-s89HldUq4zVoCY99ity_hzR9PAb9GCa_Djp95GAiPsdHpVB7btmaD1e8F0UH4GoTWTuuwIQps/s1600/glenfruitabike.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Not this kind of art.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-size: large;">And my Uncle, Durlin Keller, was just such an artist. So he did several “portraits” of</span><span style="font-size: large;"> the Department of Transportation’s vision, and that meant </span><span style="font-size: large;">he had the blueprints, and that meant that me, as a terminally curious young man, I got to see the plan before </span><i style="font-size: x-large;">anybody else</i><span style="font-size: large;">. </span><span style="font-size: large;">Oh, Man.</span><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span style="font-size: large;">The cantilevered roadways, flying viaducts and high-tech twin 4,000 foot tunnels were all very fascinating, but what really caught my attention, and my slowly tracing finger was the accompanying <i>Bike Trail</i>, that would wind in and out of the new roadways and would run the entire length of the canyon right next to the Colorado River.</span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<b><span style="font-size: large;">Oh, Maaaaan……
</span></b></div>
<div class="p2">
<span style="font-size: large;"><b></b><br /></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="clear: right; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9_kRurb_IO9Ql-aEnktyWuMmsiGV9bVPkQLmP2LBiSdYwMOWL1CGr2PR8jYS3fj9NgR1Uxu_lGk5HtIXbZaKQijw3Nno0zd2ArrOXwDcOxcyY0hom6-iIQf2821aDXWL9Gmim4QkBme0/s1600/glengarfield.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9_kRurb_IO9Ql-aEnktyWuMmsiGV9bVPkQLmP2LBiSdYwMOWL1CGr2PR8jYS3fj9NgR1Uxu_lGk5HtIXbZaKQijw3Nno0zd2ArrOXwDcOxcyY0hom6-iIQf2821aDXWL9Gmim4QkBme0/s1600/glengarfield.jpg" width="269" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mt. Garfield, as I left Grand Junction. Your time<br />
would come, mighty mountain. And soon....</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-size: large;">By the early 80’s I was driving, but also working, and so the treasured family vacations came to an end. The Glenwood Canyon project was completed in 1992, 5 months ahead of schedule. I didn’t get a chance to visit until the Oughts, and as I drove through the elevated super slalom I was duly impressed. But my eye kept straining to catch a glimpse or two of the bike trail down below, and I vowed, that one day……</span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span style="font-size: large;">Fast forward to August of 2014, when my dear little Mother was
laid up in the hospital in Grand Junction. It was time for me to “come on out”, as they gravely say in these situations. Well, Mom came through her operation fine but would be laid up a few days in ICU until she was strong enough. I would have to extend my stay a bit.<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIxZQ91XLu_FJnqisGxTDk8OF8iK-WaxxEyvb2-ac3ORHftWyLKsPR5gRjyK2uArXZaJ4-dwHjqPfMqezm0Mh02AoETFWFu-XCVgOfi-iq1GCgmboX7vhnuV5zqkcyrgjSafDjzCR3Auo/s1600/glendrive.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="221" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIxZQ91XLu_FJnqisGxTDk8OF8iK-WaxxEyvb2-ac3ORHftWyLKsPR5gRjyK2uArXZaJ4-dwHjqPfMqezm0Mh02AoETFWFu-XCVgOfi-iq1GCgmboX7vhnuV5zqkcyrgjSafDjzCR3Auo/s1600/glendrive.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">More scenery on the way to the scenery.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span style="font-size: large;">Oh, DARN.</span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span style="font-size: large;">Bang! As soon as she was more-or-less stable I nabbed her car and high-tailed it across the state to Glenwood Springs. This was my big chance to live a childhood dream.</span></div>
<div class="p2">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFP5v9QD8lH74t6n_O-xyM_MV_hGVBQRZZPkMV9a5ZcsmY-BAofM3RZ_fSXeKkVJLsFTmGfFTYm88t4r1Ye5Yv3iUnpyT6U9uRkXnwRNLq9t0khyphenhyphenTmqppG849etOQcn5ZArKsx91jCUTI/s1600/glenhandles.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="204" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFP5v9QD8lH74t6n_O-xyM_MV_hGVBQRZZPkMV9a5ZcsmY-BAofM3RZ_fSXeKkVJLsFTmGfFTYm88t4r1Ye5Yv3iUnpyT6U9uRkXnwRNLq9t0khyphenhyphenTmqppG849etOQcn5ZArKsx91jCUTI/s1600/glenhandles.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hey! Grip shifters too. I love those things!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span style="font-size: large;">Not having brought my bike with me on the <a href="http://www.angus-land.com/2014/08/amtrak-aboard-california-zephyr.html" target="_blank">train</a> out here, I opted for a package deal that supplied you with everything you needed: Helmet, gear bag, lock, the same model of hybrid bicycle that I had previously owned, and, very important, a ride in a van <b>upstream</b> to the Eastern end of the Canyon.</span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span style="font-size: large;">Yep, boys and girls, totally cheating and getting a ride to the top of the hill. Bwa-ha-ha!<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEbracShLUrQarGAMnWxmygnQyeQerTmLRWWwA5jmYoyEbVGd5wcdNbtwj6INaMsnUOW8IxU8JuJwGHZZzMIvG3iYzwHPT7AXeWOS9CmY9s5s9xhJ46AS7C2r2xWJeX49h0zaWTj3Ybi8/s1600/glenoverhang.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEbracShLUrQarGAMnWxmygnQyeQerTmLRWWwA5jmYoyEbVGd5wcdNbtwj6INaMsnUOW8IxU8JuJwGHZZzMIvG3iYzwHPT7AXeWOS9CmY9s5s9xhJ46AS7C2r2xWJeX49h0zaWTj3Ybi8/s1600/glenoverhang.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">It's a tight fit sometimes. That's part of the slow lane<br />
(East Bound), right above me.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span style="font-size: large;">Our van operator was a dead ringer for Andy Roddick (the tennis player), and I quizzed him about the history of the canyon, the Interstate system and his deadly first serve. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Andy didn’t know much about any of that, but he DID know about the river. Specifically how it loves to demolish parts of the bike trail every year. In fact the tour I was on had just opened for the year (because of repairs), and it was already August.</span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEht8Eesdjhg7BjzuIs9UueKFSzm5Z3sB-ncO_En277GOpEU-8P2VA2wX6-3z5i0Ep_zKqoAWdYVhRtc9pSrM30u_hTvWX8M3yIlz0lep3tPu9QGs6y0qGn7w_Qt5BQoyWDu8r2NHn7xdH4/s1600/glenmonocurve.JPG" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEht8Eesdjhg7BjzuIs9UueKFSzm5Z3sB-ncO_En277GOpEU-8P2VA2wX6-3z5i0Ep_zKqoAWdYVhRtc9pSrM30u_hTvWX8M3yIlz0lep3tPu9QGs6y0qGn7w_Qt5BQoyWDu8r2NHn7xdH4/s1600/glenmonocurve.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Other times I would be down on the original roadbed,<br />
and BOTH viaducts would be flying above me.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-size: large;">At the Eastern end of the Canyon, 16 miles up, Andy dumped out our group of 12 adventurers and unloaded the bike trailer. I leaped on mine, asked “Can we go now?!” and at his shrug I was <b>gone.</b> First one of the group away, and I never saw any of my tour mates again.</span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span style="font-size: large;">Sorry everybody, but I need to go be 13 years old again.</span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiW43P8e-maqSLTF0qpm5P99dm3Lwc0BBKDYZkIz52L7pjZAfUI4L0EEk0P8kecDxSQziRm8a7rSrWIQgIbnkiIxjNRmD_2Fl7QP-xAIKxWkGfiil-4-A0BVAT6CTE4DIJ9vcs4f5By1O4/s1600/glendoubledeck.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiW43P8e-maqSLTF0qpm5P99dm3Lwc0BBKDYZkIz52L7pjZAfUI4L0EEk0P8kecDxSQziRm8a7rSrWIQgIbnkiIxjNRmD_2Fl7QP-xAIKxWkGfiil-4-A0BVAT6CTE4DIJ9vcs4f5By1O4/s1600/glendoubledeck.jpg" width="261" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My path, East bound lanes, and up there<br />
the West bound lanes. Incredible.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-size: large;">And it was……GLORIOUS. The Canyon is world-class gorgeous, but that was only one part of the giddy sensory overload that so wonderfully assaulted me.</span></div>
<div class="p2">
</div>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-size: large;">The River is a mighty dragon in this region, and is quite angry at being confined to this narrow slot on its journey. You are a brave rafter indeed if you attempt Upper Glenwood Canyon.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: large;">The Railroad is always on the far side of the river, darting in and out of tiny tunnels, negotiating its own way through the maze of rocky turns.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: large;">The Interstate is an architectural marvel, as the East and West bound lanes dance up, over and around each other. There were times when I just stopped my bike and laughed as I looked up and thought: “Somebody actually had the insane idea to put the West bound lanes waaaay up there, and not have them touch the canyon walls. Bwa-ha-ha!”</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: large;">And the bike trail was a concrete remora, tightly hugging the side of the East bound lane, and then diving and swooping under and around both lanes.</span></li>
</ul>
<br />
<div class="p1">
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiv2FqNndJjAQBz6xKUV_lX3waRL2O-047uQKh0cnH2DHpd6cGo_gPmyeUgwpp9QkemDIaXX34PwxanXm8pX6CIBzPgomNAtnkDJBnXjz6L-cIeOyHBnnr_h5O_8LY6sqmUlitJw3NwuX4/s1600/glenfeedercurve.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiv2FqNndJjAQBz6xKUV_lX3waRL2O-047uQKh0cnH2DHpd6cGo_gPmyeUgwpp9QkemDIaXX34PwxanXm8pX6CIBzPgomNAtnkDJBnXjz6L-cIeOyHBnnr_h5O_8LY6sqmUlitJw3NwuX4/s1600/glenfeedercurve.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Here's the interstate with an off ramp crossing the river.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-size: large;">The rest of the facilities have also been upgraded: Several visitors centers now operate, along with picnic areas, nature trails, historical markers - even wide, concrete ramps for putting in the river rafts. From underneath it looked like the on and off ramps for these exits would be quite a thrill ride unto themselves.</span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span style="font-size: large;">And I duly noted the signs and slowed down for the picnickers and families who seemed to enjoy stopping and congregating <i>right in the middle of the bike path</i>. Ah, too much time in the car. Been there - done that.</span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhh81OG0kRqXYttd2e0uXFluBXiG8g8Ybx35bk9pnIWbknOw0r5DZptP1rj66pEL9wpQNGkcEd1quUwWjTwZclBd-UOUqaSqJyvDo_UDjcTkOxmk4Ps6xuThWB0KWOmJd9xoFCP7MGgwc/s1600/glenrivertree.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhh81OG0kRqXYttd2e0uXFluBXiG8g8Ybx35bk9pnIWbknOw0r5DZptP1rj66pEL9wpQNGkcEd1quUwWjTwZclBd-UOUqaSqJyvDo_UDjcTkOxmk4Ps6xuThWB0KWOmJd9xoFCP7MGgwc/s1600/glenrivertree.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Canyon, river and bike lane without the Interstate for a bit.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-size: large;">But not THIS day! </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">In the middle of the canyon the Interstate gets all fancy pants and ducks into the mountain for some serious tunnel action, crossing the top of the ‘U’ that the river seems to like to make right there. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">The bike trail, beholden to no one, chooses to follow the river at this point, and so for a couple of miles you are away from the roaring, honking trucker route, and suddenly you are taking a quiet, leisurely ride in the canyon country. Aaaahh…….</span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirJagVQjW9_ilbBpqrBXpp7pwjZbHmY298tbEBXedG-pVTHSKQGJFVWm7LqIM4gfnx5BdW3WiirFGJm42Gd1B09WhiebO0XWLoD4XpqhbXv-BbVBsc71HPmvM5a8yDAExtfViqWd1RgFg/s1600/glenhangingstream.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirJagVQjW9_ilbBpqrBXpp7pwjZbHmY298tbEBXedG-pVTHSKQGJFVWm7LqIM4gfnx5BdW3WiirFGJm42Gd1B09WhiebO0XWLoD4XpqhbXv-BbVBsc71HPmvM5a8yDAExtfViqWd1RgFg/s1600/glenhangingstream.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The creek coming down from Hanging Lake.<br />
Photo taken from the bike trail.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-size: large;">It's a delightful interlude. And this is where the Hanging Lake trail begins. So in my sudden tweener optimism, I jumped off the bike, locked it up, and charged up the steeeeep trail to the scenic spot. I made it about 1/4 of the way up before I realized that I was only wearing slick, old Birkenstock sandals, and that these were colossally inappropriate for the terrain represented.</span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span style="font-size: large;">I quietly made a ‘U’ of my own, returned to my rent-a-bike, and continued on downhill.</span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span style="font-size: large;">Downhill. <b>All downhill</b>. I can’t explain how gloriously silly it felt to be barreling through this countryside without having earned all of this coasting. I was cheating. Totally cheating. And giddily so.</span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span style="font-size: large;">I bombed the 16 mile canyon in just over an hour, even allowing<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjN4MjBU4a0FQocRa4Ty8a18lo64r4n2DcFVfnui-242rbv2NPX9lMUl0ox-M6ZSmLzJfRO9pOS1b7-OlHFCTSZnu7VMZsJ5fGvXPBkUSNbUXpFE7PvSFXv8ZydVjQSJo-IkZywUKp_Dr4/s1600/coloradoguy.com.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjN4MjBU4a0FQocRa4Ty8a18lo64r4n2DcFVfnui-242rbv2NPX9lMUl0ox-M6ZSmLzJfRO9pOS1b7-OlHFCTSZnu7VMZsJ5fGvXPBkUSNbUXpFE7PvSFXv8ZydVjQSJo-IkZywUKp_Dr4/s1600/coloradoguy.com.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Trucks on the left, Cyclist below them,<br />
rafting, and the train. Ta-da!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
for my brief, failure-laden attempt at hiking up to Hanging Lake. So I was dive-bombing down this sinuous serpentine at about 20 miles an hour, on average. Yeeee-HAH!</span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span style="font-size: large;">All the while being continuously assaulted by the beauty of the Earth, the engineering feats up in the Air, the satisfying Fiery exertion of my body under an August sun, and the ancient energy of the fast body of Water beside me.</span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6-3dKikFNxzJ42kn7MHfUQy6iWPw7xQuOivwzNsubCNkhLBLKjRTEq1jlXOIjJxIgK6RrEagBUbRFpkce9RztVhQps2Z282cvyZ9ooFXBsNPWcLzPdklhXtmtv66bIddvhMaGP0XnWbI/s1600/glenwood-canyon-map.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="188" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6-3dKikFNxzJ42kn7MHfUQy6iWPw7xQuOivwzNsubCNkhLBLKjRTEq1jlXOIjJxIgK6RrEagBUbRFpkce9RztVhQps2Z282cvyZ9ooFXBsNPWcLzPdklhXtmtv66bIddvhMaGP0XnWbI/s1600/glenwood-canyon-map.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Click for larger size. Here's a basic map of the route.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-size: large;">Hmmm…..Earth, Air, Fire and Water. No wonder my Spirit felt so complete.</span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span style="font-size: large;">I took a selfie at the end of the Canyon, on the bike overpass that takes you across I-70 and puts you on the proper side of the (now calm) Interstate, for the final small stretch back into Glenwood Springs.</span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJdROua_FStXS0eyvKs5TpoWpb_gWa9DHPmmUuWxRQS-wyQm3X8OVSiUN1NKqndJhDCm2ByhXCCH7dTusJSwdsW8o6JophHry0xR4S-zFOgvjXm6-Eu_wNsWn6MkmlaqEuRZFyq9LcxDU/s1600/glenselfie.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJdROua_FStXS0eyvKs5TpoWpb_gWa9DHPmmUuWxRQS-wyQm3X8OVSiUN1NKqndJhDCm2ByhXCCH7dTusJSwdsW8o6JophHry0xR4S-zFOgvjXm6-Eu_wNsWn6MkmlaqEuRZFyq9LcxDU/s1600/glenselfie.jpg" width="352" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Happy.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-size: large;">And it was a 49 year old man who took that picture - of the 13 year old boy who just completed a lifelong dream.</span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span style="font-size: large;">Angus McMahan</span></div>
<div class="p1">
angusmcmahan@gmail.com</div>
<div class="p1">
<span style="font-size: large;">@AngusMcMahan</span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span style="font-size: large;">P.S. Thank yous to the nice folks at <a href="http://canyonbikes.com/" target="_blank">Canyon Bikes</a> who did all this for me for only $40.00.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">P.P.S. What brought me out to this part of the world in the first place? Read all about it <a href="http://www.angus-land.com/2014/08/grand-junction-colorado-part-1.html" target="_blank">HERE</a>, and then <a href="http://www.angus-land.com/2014/08/grand-junction-colorado-part-2.html" target="_blank">HERE</a>.</span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span style="font-size: large;">P.P.P.S. How weird and wild was the engineering of Glenwood Canyon? Check out <a href="https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/publications/publicroads/04mar/04.cfm" target="_blank">THIS</a> fun article from 2004. It's a good little read about the technical, environmental, traffic and wildlife factors - and their effects through the first 12 years. <i>Spoiler Alert</i>: Cars are much safer when you let them go really fast.</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwfrVtUmnzXjF05xsyYiG-jRV3MEjJlWqCZkRlfISSMcLw_cfJSA11pzs-eJ3Zp39JuV3Ue4xz-ZusxkY9yaWraDrL7sJZJRp5pD6yuxAfXbGzyOZz-uiZ8FUCeVKz5Yyx9zy2vs51dBM/s1600/glenriverramps.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="318" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwfrVtUmnzXjF05xsyYiG-jRV3MEjJlWqCZkRlfISSMcLw_cfJSA11pzs-eJ3Zp39JuV3Ue4xz-ZusxkY9yaWraDrL7sJZJRp5pD6yuxAfXbGzyOZz-uiZ8FUCeVKz5Yyx9zy2vs51dBM/s1600/glenriverramps.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Shoshone Dam, and the Interstate diving into the side of the canyon.<br />
Lots goin' on in a narrow canyon!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Photos: The 1903 and 1969 photos are from the article linked above, so I guess I need to the thank the<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"> <span style="background-color: white; text-align: -webkit-center;">United States Department of Transportation - Federal Highway Administration.</span></span><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif" style="background-color: white; text-align: -webkit-center;"> </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; text-align: -webkit-center;">T</span>he 'multiple crash' graphic is from denver.cbslocal.com.<br />
The '4 modes of transport' pic is from coloradoguy.com.<br />
All other pics are mine, most taken at speed!</div>
<div class="p1">
<br /></div>
Angushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01900358348070248251noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2527487556718390192.post-55247488622626420982014-02-23T07:14:00.002-08:002020-09-10T20:04:16.207-07:00 “Round and Round She Goes…..”<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<o:DocumentProperties>
<o:Revision>0</o:Revision>
<o:TotalTime>0</o:TotalTime>
<o:Pages>1</o:Pages>
<o:Words>2563</o:Words>
<o:Characters>14615</o:Characters>
<o:Company>Cabrillo College</o:Company>
<o:Lines>121</o:Lines>
<o:Paragraphs>34</o:Paragraphs>
<o:CharactersWithSpaces>17144</o:CharactersWithSpaces>
<o:Version>14.0</o:Version>
</o:DocumentProperties>
<o:OfficeDocumentSettings>
<o:AllowPNG/>
</o:OfficeDocumentSettings>
</xml><![endif]-->
<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:WordDocument>
<w:View>Normal</w:View>
<w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom>
<w:TrackMoves/>
<w:TrackFormatting/>
<w:PunctuationKerning/>
<w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/>
<w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>
<w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent>
<w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>
<w:DoNotPromoteQF/>
<w:LidThemeOther>EN-US</w:LidThemeOther>
<w:LidThemeAsian>JA</w:LidThemeAsian>
<w:LidThemeComplexScript>X-NONE</w:LidThemeComplexScript>
<w:Compatibility>
<w:BreakWrappedTables/>
<w:SnapToGridInCell/>
<w:WrapTextWithPunct/>
<w:UseAsianBreakRules/>
<w:DontGrowAutofit/>
<w:SplitPgBreakAndParaMark/>
<w:EnableOpenTypeKerning/>
<w:DontFlipMirrorIndents/>
<w:OverrideTableStyleHps/>
<w:UseFELayout/>
</w:Compatibility>
<m:mathPr>
<m:mathFont m:val="Cambria Math"/>
<m:brkBin m:val="before"/>
<m:brkBinSub m:val="--"/>
<m:smallFrac m:val="off"/>
<m:dispDef/>
<m:lMargin m:val="0"/>
<m:rMargin m:val="0"/>
<m:defJc m:val="centerGroup"/>
<m:wrapIndent m:val="1440"/>
<m:intLim m:val="subSup"/>
<m:naryLim m:val="undOvr"/>
</m:mathPr></w:WordDocument>
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" DefUnhideWhenUsed="true"
DefSemiHidden="true" DefQFormat="false" DefPriority="99"
LatentStyleCount="276">
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="0" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Normal"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="heading 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 9"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 9"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="35" QFormat="true" Name="caption"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="10" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" Name="Default Paragraph Font"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="11" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtitle"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="22" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Strong"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="20" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="59" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Table Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Placeholder Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="No Spacing"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Revision"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="34" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="List Paragraph"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="29" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="30" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="19" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtle Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="21" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="31" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtle Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="32" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="33" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Book Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="37" Name="Bibliography"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" QFormat="true" Name="TOC Heading"/>
</w:LatentStyles>
</xml><![endif]-->
<!--[if gte mso 10]>
<style>
/* Style Definitions */
table.MsoNormalTable
{mso-style-name:"Table Normal";
mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0;
mso-tstyle-colband-size:0;
mso-style-noshow:yes;
mso-style-priority:99;
mso-style-parent:"";
mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
mso-para-margin:0in;
mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-fareast-language:JA;}
</style>
<![endif]-->
<!--StartFragment-->
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5iXCbtWyXXh4jhT56YucmI_dHiviYu7-AT7n_62Bi5MaxDVR6n2XJ6KzuhKF2jw9BB-u7ms16PcJ4j0O8bkr1NxJDwDbsVdgJerjYRiBATRncMrYf2t6mhyFJAKYzYOm7pDaYpphTXZE/s1600/1986GPMage20.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5iXCbtWyXXh4jhT56YucmI_dHiviYu7-AT7n_62Bi5MaxDVR6n2XJ6KzuhKF2jw9BB-u7ms16PcJ4j0O8bkr1NxJDwDbsVdgJerjYRiBATRncMrYf2t6mhyFJAKYzYOm7pDaYpphTXZE/s1600/1986GPMage20.jpg" width="241" /></a></div>
June 13<sup>th</sup>,
1986. 4 miles west of Ogallala, Nebraska.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: 28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 3.5in 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: 28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 3.5in 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Times; mso-fareast-language: JA;">A crappy place to have a rest day. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: 28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 3.5in 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: 28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 3.5in 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Times; mso-fareast-language: JA;">An average week on the Great Peace March, the
rhythm that had been established on the West Coast and would be maintained all
the way to Chicago, New York City and then down to Washington, D.C., was for
each marcher to walk 4 days, work at their camp job for two, and we all rested
for one. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: 28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 3.5in 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: 28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 3.5in 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Times; mso-fareast-language: JA;">That’s the way it was <i>supposed</i> to happen, at any
rate. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: 28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 3.5in 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: 28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 3.5in 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Times; mso-fareast-language: JA;">What actually happened was that we were delayed
almost 3 weeks in Barstow, California, as the original, <i>legal</i> peace
march fell apart. This put us considerably behind schedule. Utah helped this
situation by unceremoniously busing us across their state and throwing us
across their border with Colorado. Fortuitous intolerance. But we were still a
week behind schedule and had a big date in Omaha on July 4<sup>th</sup>. So the
schedule was changed and we upped our daily mileage from 18 to anywhere between
20 to 25 miles. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: 28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 3.5in 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: 28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 3.5in 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Times; mso-fareast-language: JA;">And now we only rested every <b>10<sup>th</sup></b>
day. Our last rest day had come in Denver, our reward for making it across the
Rockies and the 12,000 foot Continental Divide. But now, 10 days and 214 miles
of marching later, we were camped alongside Interstate 80 in the panhandle of
Nebraska. Well, the locals called it the panhandle. I, for one, know the shape
of the state, and where we were could only be described as the asshole.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: 28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 3.5in 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt; text-autospace: none;">
<br />
<a name='more'></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: 28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 3.5in 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt; text-autospace: none;">
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNinDadG7RU8aLensjz0wvWs6XrHxOZZD2OtKP57c-uJ5MPkQMSPFoZ0JyfbTt0BQ9mq6VVYmx5Q8_HTUmhFnKwz6oLjTad8p5OaD6D3dPgU8IZdZfXK_0aMqATB7OdPN7cwHoGnDcOKs/s1600/1986GPMmarinocolo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNinDadG7RU8aLensjz0wvWs6XrHxOZZD2OtKP57c-uJ5MPkQMSPFoZ0JyfbTt0BQ9mq6VVYmx5Q8_HTUmhFnKwz6oLjTad8p5OaD6D3dPgU8IZdZfXK_0aMqATB7OdPN7cwHoGnDcOKs/s1600/1986GPMmarinocolo.jpg" width="281" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Richard and I, Eastern Colorado.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Times; mso-fareast-language: JA;">Locals were nowhere to be seen on this date, as
we were camped outside of town.
Midwest towns seemed to like us that way. But
needs were needs and so early in the morning on this rest day, Richard, my tent
partner and I had grudgingly hiked the 4 miles into Ogallala with duffle bags
of laundry and some quarters. </span><br />
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Times; mso-fareast-language: JA;"><br /></span>
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Times; mso-fareast-language: JA;">And here’s what you need to know about this
prairie town of 5,000: At the Laundromat we had to get change for a quarter to
use the machines. Wash was 10 cents, driers were a nickel. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: 28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 3.5in 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: 28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 3.5in 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Times; mso-fareast-language: JA;">While we waited, dressed in our plastic
raingear, we read the local newspaper (that we liberated from someone's
driveway). Farm news and weather warnings on page 1. Death of Benny Goodman on
page 2. Pics of radiation victims from Chernobyl, 7 weeks earlier. The Space
Shuttle explosion in January was still being investigated. Buried in the back
was the news that the SALT II treaty was finally making progress, thanks to some
new guy in the Kremlin with a splotchy forehead. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: 28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 3.5in 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: 28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 3.5in 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Times; mso-fareast-language: JA;">I remember trying to remember that today was a
Friday – for there were no calendars out there on the road, and certainly no
workweeks. Everything was either rest day + 2, or rest day – 3. Progress was measured
in statelines. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: 28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 3.5in 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: 28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 3.5in 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt; text-autospace: none;">
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwzsIKEjfJvAebw47oYRnczmSE9uaFEdtJStnjBWhfK13wtb5P9fWygI18TxG4UY_vN0Rh1ULzzIBJSEuA5FXFpKNPK3_uDTy1JrBQ6CF7srNwFooXXdLpgNl1JfpyQhvy0IeD9B16v1Y/s1600/1986GPMvicville.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="140" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwzsIKEjfJvAebw47oYRnczmSE9uaFEdtJStnjBWhfK13wtb5P9fWygI18TxG4UY_vN0Rh1ULzzIBJSEuA5FXFpKNPK3_uDTy1JrBQ6CF7srNwFooXXdLpgNl1JfpyQhvy0IeD9B16v1Y/s1600/1986GPMvicville.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Peace City, outside of Victorville, California.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Times; mso-fareast-language: JA;">Back in Peace City we spread the word about the
cheap laundry. We could hear the news travel from the gear trucks to the
kitchen trailer to the mail bus and all across the 250 brightly colored tents
that housed the 500 marchers. We smiled to each other as we laid out on top of
our sleeping bags for a well-deserved nap.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: 28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 3.5in 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Times; mso-fareast-language: JA;"><br /></span>
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Times; mso-fareast-language: JA;">And really, there was nothing else to do that
day.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: 28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 3.5in 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: 28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 3.5in 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Times; mso-fareast-language: JA;">The land stretched away from us in all
directions. A few buildings of the distant town could be discerned far to the
East, and an overpass from the Interstate was visible to the West. Other than
that the horizon continued uninterrupted until it curved slightly. It was like
being on top of the world - if the world was flat.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Times; mso-fareast-language: JA;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: 28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 3.5in 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt; text-autospace: none;">
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNoTlo8bgcOUIEMXA44xg7EQsh_1X0DmFG47fGGBscJYaOgWpg38-KZfuCWamPTT3dnHugXyoDN-egSELHEoJBz-LBMr3ZL8ZqJ7HzS__7r-EpUPor3lhytkc02OPvQcuG74cHv5OEgv4/s1600/robert.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="272" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNoTlo8bgcOUIEMXA44xg7EQsh_1X0DmFG47fGGBscJYaOgWpg38-KZfuCWamPTT3dnHugXyoDN-egSELHEoJBz-LBMr3ZL8ZqJ7HzS__7r-EpUPor3lhytkc02OPvQcuG74cHv5OEgv4/s1600/robert.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Age 20, outside Las Vegas. Remember that this was 1986,<br />
and tube socks and short shorts were all the fashion.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Times; mso-fareast-language: JA;">I laid there on my sleeping bag, eyes closed,
smelling the clean laundry that was my pillow, and hearing, well, nothing. Not
even any insects, which was odd. The afternoon was hot certainly, but
tolerable. Clear skies had taken the edge off the humidity, and the air was
perfectly still. I slept.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: 28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 3.5in 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: 28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 3.5in 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Times; mso-fareast-language: JA;">I awoke at twilight to the sound of someone
singing. And it was not the melody that woke me, or the words, or even the
singer. Indeed, the singer I quickly identified as Biddy, a friend of mine (and
soon to be girlfriend). No, what brought me out of sleep was her tone. </span><br />
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Times; mso-fareast-language: JA;"></span><br />
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Times; mso-fareast-language: JA;"></span>
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Times; mso-fareast-language: JA;">Something deep inside we humans can detect even the slightest trace of panic.
And what Biddy was doing was singing very sweetly with the intention of
alerting all of us without panicking us, even though she herself was freaked. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Times; mso-fareast-language: JA;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: 28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 3.5in 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Times; mso-fareast-language: JA;">Here are the words she was singing as she weaved
in and out of the tents:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: 28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 3.5in 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt; text-autospace: none;">
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRGXiocu3HTdUgZPTiDztPy7DpC9GRHzpqFbtODME36VtFvRxhdZeVjS4BZ26yPfbYP-DxaAYm4uZ_O9eG-HojPRaalj509u7t5jCtEoA1i4HHaTAKrAoran2-ZUImrPBNgJHtoX5-XoI/s1600/011-6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="216" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRGXiocu3HTdUgZPTiDztPy7DpC9GRHzpqFbtODME36VtFvRxhdZeVjS4BZ26yPfbYP-DxaAYm4uZ_O9eG-HojPRaalj509u7t5jCtEoA1i4HHaTAKrAoran2-ZUImrPBNgJHtoX5-XoI/s1600/011-6.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Across the desert. Photo by Dan Coogan.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Times; mso-fareast-language: JA;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“Don’t
know why<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: 28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 3.5in 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Times; mso-fareast-language: JA;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>There’s
no sun up in the sky<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: 28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 3.5in 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Times; mso-fareast-language: JA;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Tornado
warning<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: 28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 3.5in 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Times; mso-fareast-language: JA;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>There
might be funnels forming<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: 28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 3.5in 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Times; mso-fareast-language: JA;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>I
hope we all don’t die…..”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: 28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 3.5in 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Times; mso-fareast-language: JA;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: 28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 3.5in 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Times; mso-fareast-language: JA;">I looked over at Rich and saw nothing but wide
eyes and gaping mouth. We scrambled
out of our tent and joined hundreds of
other marchers who were standing up and looking around. Something else deep
inside me told me that I had the time wrong. Not enough time had elapsed for it
to be twilight. </span><br />
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Times; mso-fareast-language: JA;"></span><br />
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Times; mso-fareast-language: JA;"></span>
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Times; mso-fareast-language: JA;">What time it was I can’t say for certain – we lived in a
primitive subculture with no calendars except for distance and no time except
for the March leaving in the morning and it’s arrival in the evening. But
something was wrong. The light had gone flat as if the sun was coming from everywhere
and nowhere. My skin was crawling with tingles and my hairs were starting to
stand up. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: 28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 3.5in 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: 28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 3.5in 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt; text-autospace: none;">
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0p5NCkt7Ud2cIfvDtwPpmn-19zLXF4ajhYZ3KeBGI5CPutD8pv7gy1HJuyDQC9nWeQjv3bwZn4N-r8LIG8nLhNstacYvo7P4QcM_Td8zGFEjYh8hEm6oAVlfxVn2M0SUp_szqiD0cbUE/s1600/1986GPMdivide.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="285" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0p5NCkt7Ud2cIfvDtwPpmn-19zLXF4ajhYZ3KeBGI5CPutD8pv7gy1HJuyDQC9nWeQjv3bwZn4N-r8LIG8nLhNstacYvo7P4QcM_Td8zGFEjYh8hEm6oAVlfxVn2M0SUp_szqiD0cbUE/s1600/1986GPMdivide.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">At the 12,000ft. Loveland Pass, Colorado.<br />
The Continental Divide. "Its all downhill from here."</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Times; mso-fareast-language: JA;">All of us grubby hippies looked at each other,
and then at our own arms, and then we all looked to the horizon. Every horizon,
in all directions. “Oh my god.” A woman stated, in a voice as dead as the
daylight and as flat as the landscape. We all looked at her and then followed
her pointing arm due South, towards Kansas, where a cloud was forming. It was a
little cloud, dark, and miles away. </span><br />
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Times; mso-fareast-language: JA;"></span><br />
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Times; mso-fareast-language: JA;"></span>
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Times; mso-fareast-language: JA;">But something was wrong. Every nerve told
me so. I tried desperately to remember if any of us Peace Marchers were from
this part of the country. But hey, red states and blue states – nobody came to
mind. The only person I could think of was my Mother who was born and raised in
this very part of this very state. And I remembered every word she said about
tornadoes, and none of them were good.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: 28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 3.5in 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: 28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 3.5in 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Times; mso-fareast-language: JA;">And then the breeze started.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Not a wind, nothing to be too concerned with
in its own right, but a steady breeze, that was heading straight towards that
rapidly growing black cloud. ("Why is Nebraska so Windy? Because Kansas
SUCKS.") </span><br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTB6IRyx1l0E-AApwy-9Wa8TIwUHwIpCLgTZTsQr2UkAXorlfrVDcKi8rJP1Rp4kiezBV68jCgZiQ3CyhDYLwUuoT05olcNqefK-NF9UD8mUkEJzacE4Srj3khM1Fl6LUY_JAb4qyHHEg/s1600/1986gpmdenver.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTB6IRyx1l0E-AApwy-9Wa8TIwUHwIpCLgTZTsQr2UkAXorlfrVDcKi8rJP1Rp4kiezBV68jCgZiQ3CyhDYLwUuoT05olcNqefK-NF9UD8mUkEJzacE4Srj3khM1Fl6LUY_JAb4qyHHEg/s1600/1986gpmdenver.jpg" width="293" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Prom Night" Denver, Colorado. Me and Rebecca <br />
Warren. I'm wearing her Cheryl Tiegs tie.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Times; mso-fareast-language: JA;"></span><br />
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Times; mso-fareast-language: JA;"></span>
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Times; mso-fareast-language: JA;">We all shifted our feet, adjusting for this air current. Whilst
doing so, we also glanced around at each other. I looked at my fellow Peace
Marchers, all those young, sunburned, hairy faces, and I searched their
features for a sign: An application, something to do against this foe which had
quickly eaten up one-quarter of the sky. What I saw instead was pity, terror,
resignation, and love. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: 28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 3.5in 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: 28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 3.5in 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Times; mso-fareast-language: JA;">Not a word was spoken. Indeed, the only sound I
could hear over the freshening breeze was of someone hammering. But really,
what was there to say? The facts were right there on that enormous prairie sky:
We were miles from the nearest storm cellar, and even if we had one handy, it
certainly wouldn’t have been built for 500 people. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: 28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 3.5in 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: 28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 3.5in 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Times; mso-fareast-language: JA;">We could run, but where? Which direction? Even
me, in my profound suburban naiveté </span>knew that tornadoes were notoriously
unpredictable. Drive? Well, the few vehicles of the march were designed mostly
to haul our tents and trailers. There certainly wasn’t enough room for
everyone, and again, where to go?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: 28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 3.5in 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: 28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 3.5in 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt; text-autospace: none;">
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisG9JK4Nr0K8RXkO7GBkqrqfJV3xbJl_s61gAC_rZtsQcm0CKcdOTfIA6oTJ5pXDbcd90ag9nQdc7BuAr0KP2SVVe0_jmjEdN7X33gOLLT7PTKdqyYHo5ZVMk5KkRmVyAKmk6gJUDmKAk/s1600/1986GPMstuff.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="292" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisG9JK4Nr0K8RXkO7GBkqrqfJV3xbJl_s61gAC_rZtsQcm0CKcdOTfIA6oTJ5pXDbcd90ag9nQdc7BuAr0KP2SVVe0_jmjEdN7X33gOLLT7PTKdqyYHo5ZVMk5KkRmVyAKmk6gJUDmKAk/s1600/1986GPMstuff.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">4 crates, 2 duffels. This was everything Rich and I had for 9 months.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Times; mso-fareast-language: JA;">All this information was flashed from
face-to-face-to-face in a moment. Consensus was reached: There was nothing we
could do. Our gazes swung back to the black, roiling mass which had now
devoured 1/3 of the sky. </span><br />
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Times; mso-fareast-language: JA;"></span><br />
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Times; mso-fareast-language: JA;"></span>
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Times; mso-fareast-language: JA;">The breeze became a wind. A few stray buckets and the
rainfly from a tent were fed to the storm. I watched these items skitter across
the landscape and I wondered idly about our own meek possessions. </span><br />
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Times; mso-fareast-language: JA;"></span><br />
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Times; mso-fareast-language: JA;"></span>
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Times; mso-fareast-language: JA;">And then I
made the connection with the hammering sound. I sighed and looked behind me at
our tent. And sure enough, there came Richard from behind our tent, on his
knees, frantically hammering in our tent stakes deeper.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: 28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 3.5in 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: 28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 3.5in 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Times; mso-fareast-language: JA;">I called his name. He didn’t hear me over the
wind. I called again, louder. He glanced up momentarily, and the look on his
face was scarier than the thunderhead now pressing down on us. He went back to
work with the hammer, and I called his name a third time, softer. I extended my
hand. He looked up.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: 28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 3.5in 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: 28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 3.5in 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt; text-autospace: none;">
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhP2LB_t8vdQCxGJY82Unw5dzFryduNxZxSYWF-i-jmV9cu3-788mt3i86qxvYvFK8LMmFuFgtTypoP5Tx-RMahySyOFIstTj_CgwR0sUvAJlGg58cCXQ1yrVoyfjJ3D1w9XBFcTL_fpWM/s1600/1986GPMpenn.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="321" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhP2LB_t8vdQCxGJY82Unw5dzFryduNxZxSYWF-i-jmV9cu3-788mt3i86qxvYvFK8LMmFuFgtTypoP5Tx-RMahySyOFIstTj_CgwR0sUvAJlGg58cCXQ1yrVoyfjJ3D1w9XBFcTL_fpWM/s1600/1986GPMpenn.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rich and I repairing the roof of one of the gear trailers. Pennsylvania.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Times; mso-fareast-language: JA;">“Rich”, I said, in a steady voice that held no
irony. “It’s a tornado. That isn’t going to help.”<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Times; mso-fareast-language: JA;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: 28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 3.5in 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Times; mso-fareast-language: JA;">He looked down at the hammer, then over to the
tent, past me to the storm cloud, and then his gaze reluctantly returned to me.
His look was resignation. </span><br />
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Times; mso-fareast-language: JA;"><br /></span>
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Times; mso-fareast-language: JA;">He sighed, walked over to the front of the tent,
unzipped the rainfly, carefully placed the hammer inside, and zipped it back
up. And I loved him more in that moment than ever before. Rich came over to me
and took my hand and together we watched half the sky being eaten away.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: 28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 3.5in 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: 28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 3.5in 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Times; mso-fareast-language: JA;">And here’s the thing about tornadoes. The funnel
is only a small part of the show, and a late arrival at that. The main business
was this angry dragon of a cloud that had swept North across one hundred miles
of farmland in just a couple of minutes. And the cloud was dense, dark and
impenetrable. No light made it through the compressed air and water vapor that
swirled, and stretched and collided with itself. </span><br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8x-QZVTDI2jhEWsFAEc4VQ9zQ_iwmyE4PRUFGOwYY_T5kJZx81qqO6bmjEU-CqGeqzYpyzqeyqZhsJ0K1PJL0Ny__ngpCV2q1koYl9-Xzsgbaa7iT30Vy8FkYVPtMnQyCSRqIdwwBEKs/s1600/stormchase.com.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8x-QZVTDI2jhEWsFAEc4VQ9zQ_iwmyE4PRUFGOwYY_T5kJZx81qqO6bmjEU-CqGeqzYpyzqeyqZhsJ0K1PJL0Ny__ngpCV2q1koYl9-Xzsgbaa7iT30Vy8FkYVPtMnQyCSRqIdwwBEKs/s1600/stormchase.com.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Formation Cloud. Photo by Brian Barnes, stormchase.com</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Times; mso-fareast-language: JA;"></span><br />
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Times; mso-fareast-language: JA;"></span>
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Times; mso-fareast-language: JA;">We though, had an afternoon
sun in the West and this lit up the underside of the storm cloud perfectly.
Periodic lightning flashes within the cloud provided further illumination. I
saw black certainly, but also purples, dark reds, and even forest greens within
that chaotic mass. It was terrifyingly beautiful.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: 28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 3.5in 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: 28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 3.5in 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Times; mso-fareast-language: JA;">We watched; as the wind blew our long hair past
us, towards the monster. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: 28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 3.5in 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Times; mso-fareast-language: JA;">We waited; to see if this storm would indeed
touch down. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: 28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 3.5in 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Times; mso-fareast-language: JA;">We measured; the front of the cloud seemed to
have stopped just over our heads, and a swirling rain began to fall.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: 28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 3.5in 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Times; mso-fareast-language: JA;">And we wondered, if we were about to die. </span><br />
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Times; mso-fareast-language: JA;">And
me, the kid from the suburban malls thought “Hey, it looks just like that last
scene from ‘Raiders of the Lost Ark’!”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: 28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 3.5in 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: 28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 3.5in 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt; text-autospace: none;">
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgr4iKPN0h60V6WuivwgMxNrD0Hq83V7uG68cXvx_VX2x1nqXXtk5Nd67nFJumAJa4sp2_WQ7J7ok1hAR8kKxrikzmB1W3nc0Q2n4VabxOgOixLQAWUWslbNRgcxY5Q4F-UGdjCFXHOcpQ/s1600/mobyD.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgr4iKPN0h60V6WuivwgMxNrD0Hq83V7uG68cXvx_VX2x1nqXXtk5Nd67nFJumAJa4sp2_WQ7J7ok1hAR8kKxrikzmB1W3nc0Q2n4VabxOgOixLQAWUWslbNRgcxY5Q4F-UGdjCFXHOcpQ/s1600/mobyD.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Still photos never capture the awesomeness of a tornado cloud.<br />
Imagine every part of this moving & changing color. Photo by MobyD.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Times; mso-fareast-language: JA;">And then a funnel dropped from the sky and
reached for the ground. 500 marchers sighed as one. Then another funnel dropped
from another part of the cloud, and this surprised me. My tornado knowledge
consisted of my Mom’s grim aftermath tales and the ‘Wizard of Oz’. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: 28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 3.5in 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: 28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 3.5in 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Times; mso-fareast-language: JA;">I had no idea that multiple tornadoes were
possible. But there they were, three, four, half-a-dozen spinning vortices,
dancing awkwardly beneath the writhing mass of the mother cloud. Small,
compared to the overwhelming size of the cloud, but we knew where the business
end of this monster was located. And miles away, when one of the funnels touched
the ground in a small, silent explosion of wheat and dirt, we all sighed as one
again. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, it is now officially a tornado.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: 28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 3.5in 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: 28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 3.5in 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt; text-autospace: none;">
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsAvX1ltpqCDbYLF3OrwSXLqz0YTZ0JKlmTqfXcJHTPAj3-FD0G6-PVmZtDQgzuOxaQov2YdcXlztkpDy0OdrGA8xtZSzi8ilq-r5tJv3nMFQCc79bxwajeqniYWcLSQrOFke332Nv7_k/s1600/strangedangers.com.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsAvX1ltpqCDbYLF3OrwSXLqz0YTZ0JKlmTqfXcJHTPAj3-FD0G6-PVmZtDQgzuOxaQov2YdcXlztkpDy0OdrGA8xtZSzi8ilq-r5tJv3nMFQCc79bxwajeqniYWcLSQrOFke332Nv7_k/s1600/strangedangers.com.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We weren't anywhere near this close, but this pic is the closest <br />
approximation of what I saw that day. From strangedangers.com</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Times; mso-fareast-language: JA;">And I watched the dancing funnels and I thought:
“I just turned 21 a week ago. I don’t want to die.” My life flashed before my
eyes – yes, that really does happen – and it wasn’t a particularly long or
interesting show. I had always been a passive kid, a benign adolescent, a
go-with-the-flow kinda guy. A middling student, a ‘safe’ boyfriend, a fullback
on the soccer team – always the background. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: 28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 3.5in 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: 28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 3.5in 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Times; mso-fareast-language: JA;">Even this wild and crazy cross-country Peace
March: I had only been informed about it because my friends had come to me with
the news, knowing that as the sensible, rational member I would talk them out
of going on it. Instead here we were, halfway across, and things were not going
well at all.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: 28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 3.5in 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: 28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 3.5in 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Times; mso-fareast-language: JA;">Miles away the funnels danced. Some were pulled
back into the cloud, others dropped
down. Now and then one would touch the
Earth and send up a small, silent, debris cloud of death and destruction. And
it was plain that the funnels were getting bigger. Which meant, closer.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: 28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 3.5in 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: 28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 3.5in 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt; text-autospace: none;">
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikA4zXbPnbhnLFER54a33S3iX2VDpHHLGrZnL-MeoPE1TfDbdgDSI2GiK5nkkJ-R0rtjef6pBuUe5FBYkZTIIUt8EHyV8qjG7EBEM2NqRFtBXbwMPG6bTJiqk3QT_uNYvgRUWzNRp5TXg/s1600/gpmdrum.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikA4zXbPnbhnLFER54a33S3iX2VDpHHLGrZnL-MeoPE1TfDbdgDSI2GiK5nkkJ-R0rtjef6pBuUe5FBYkZTIIUt8EHyV8qjG7EBEM2NqRFtBXbwMPG6bTJiqk3QT_uNYvgRUWzNRp5TXg/s1600/gpmdrum.jpg" width="291" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cedar City, Utah. I am playing "Wipeout" on a<br />
long line of Marcher camping gear.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Times; mso-fareast-language: JA;">I thought back to my Mom’s tales of sleepless
nights spent watching the cellar doors rattle overhead, listening to the
tornadoes sweep back and forth. One year their neighbor’s house had been blown
to smithereens. She recalled with child-like wonder seeing stalks of wheat
sticking out from telephone poles, impaled there by unbelievable wind forces.
And she vividly remembered an unlucky cow that she passed on her way to school
that had been eviscerated over the course of 1/10<sup>th</sup> of a mile.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: 28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 3.5in 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: 28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 3.5in 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Times; mso-fareast-language: JA;">And yet the house next door, the adjoining
field, and the other cows were perfectly fine. Such is the capricious nature of
the tornado, which has indiscriminately killed more than 5,000 people - the
population of Ogallala -<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>in the last
half century alone.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: 28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 3.5in 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: 28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 3.5in 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Times; mso-fareast-language: JA;">The only sound was the steady wind. Electricity
was in the very air around us. The day darkened steadily but the light was
still as flat as the prairie. There was no conversation, no singing, no
last-minute speeches. Some of us held hands, as Richard and I were, but for the
most part all of us just stood and stared at the approaching cloud as it
finally passed over us and devoured the very day.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: 28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 3.5in 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: 28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 3.5in 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Times; mso-fareast-language: JA;">And a strange wave of calm washed over us as
well. A ripple of resignation resonated throughout the throng. A collective
shrug. And I thought “Ah, THIS is what they mean by Fatalism”. Fatalism is a
synonym for relaxation. And Death is placid.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: 28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 3.5in 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: 28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 3.5in 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt; text-autospace: none;">
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8gsi1Q2ADdUfajdLfZA30qoj-_UkHeQbgJqxKg5cceygAsrpcYzsscWQvL1-RCTXrXQY0H-4WJjkRwN7aqd12LQkSkV9esSBmBE8X___ebt4YEBFV_l57SP82-fIinv41DCt8ioCFi0k/s1600/037-26.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="272" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8gsi1Q2ADdUfajdLfZA30qoj-_UkHeQbgJqxKg5cceygAsrpcYzsscWQvL1-RCTXrXQY0H-4WJjkRwN7aqd12LQkSkV9esSBmBE8X___ebt4YEBFV_l57SP82-fIinv41DCt8ioCFi0k/s1600/037-26.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Gotta jump to take a dump in a Gump. Photo by Dan Coogan.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Times; mso-fareast-language: JA;">But, I had an errand to do before I went. If I
was going to go, as we all eventually will, sooner or later, it would be
prudent to go with a clear conscience, no loose ends, and with a sense of
accomplishment. This is what they mean by “making peace with your maker”. </span><br />
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Times; mso-fareast-language: JA;"></span><br />
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Times; mso-fareast-language: JA;"></span>
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Times; mso-fareast-language: JA;">And I
found that I was not at peace. I felt that I had not lived, and not just
because of my tender age. I was ashamed that I had not taken more initiative,
more chances, rebelled more, worked more, played more, loved more. The world
only advances when we color outside the lines, and I hadn’t even opened my
coloring book yet.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: 28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 3.5in 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: 28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 3.5in 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Times; mso-fareast-language: JA;">I was wasting my time, which is shameful,
because nobody can tell any of us how much time we have left. And that realization was all that I needed. It wasn’t a promise
as much as it was a wake-up call.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: 28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 3.5in 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: 28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 3.5in 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt; text-autospace: none;">
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLMIB34SCIjzGQKYhEulmj5L8zsF9cEcsqYXghT-e9mAEX-dfVkm5b8nqnTqIJrsElHRMnhrVDTNTj302N0cCoSQYcYjaH5ZwEbsWCPB22tmZXGGVn2zmb2PYhAm6WbbrPmN3rzWFJ59s/s1600/1986gpmNeb.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="261" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLMIB34SCIjzGQKYhEulmj5L8zsF9cEcsqYXghT-e9mAEX-dfVkm5b8nqnTqIJrsElHRMnhrVDTNTj302N0cCoSQYcYjaH5ZwEbsWCPB22tmZXGGVn2zmb2PYhAm6WbbrPmN3rzWFJ59s/s1600/1986gpmNeb.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sound asleep in a city park, somewhere in Nebraska.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: 28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 3.5in 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt; text-autospace: none;">
And I felt more than sensed that all of the
hands dropped. Because for all the protection and comfort of the Tribe, of the
collective, of the tradition, of the family, the Sisters of Fate do NOT play
chords on that ghastly loom, but only single notes. Death is a lone wolf in a
top hat, and it will come for each of us, alone. I stood my ground, waiting
patiently, wanting to finally live - and yet ready to die.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: 28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 3.5in 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: 28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 3.5in 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Times; mso-fareast-language: JA;">The angry, roiling cloud overwhelmed us, turning all the colors of a roller derby bruise and imploding here and there with internal lightning strikes. Below, the funnels and tornadoes seemed almost delicate as they bobbed and weaved and now and then, killed. The day grew suddenly darker as the sun was eclipsed, the wind began to howl, and the rain washed over us.</span><br />
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Times; mso-fareast-language: JA;"><br /></span>
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnpW9HOeKaXU2AJM1OT63RMste7OSXYiE0XkeGWNLUR674Sdz_NMExEnfsXVSkUElrqfv7WvMZx6_lXgrfC_bsK3FbXT7XzKhtRzJrvEXRztQsrouPzlpNg4lM_m3YY35iPWRCx8VADxY/s1600/1986GPMfeb.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="304" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnpW9HOeKaXU2AJM1OT63RMste7OSXYiE0XkeGWNLUR674Sdz_NMExEnfsXVSkUElrqfv7WvMZx6_lXgrfC_bsK3FbXT7XzKhtRzJrvEXRztQsrouPzlpNg4lM_m3YY35iPWRCx8VADxY/s1600/1986GPMfeb.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rich, Lisa and me. February, 1986. Cucamonga, Ca.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Times; mso-fareast-language: JA;">And the path of the tornadoes came STRAIGHT AT US......</span><br />
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Times; mso-fareast-language: JA;"><br /></span>
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Times; mso-fareast-language: JA;">......and then turned West and passed us by. </span><br />
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Times; mso-fareast-language: JA;"><br /></span>
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Times; mso-fareast-language: JA;">We watched the funnels dance away,
over by the Interstate overpass. We watched the cloud lessen, and lighten. The
rain stopped, the wind died steadily and we all breathed again. We saw the flat
light of the Furies turn into a beautiful summer sunset on the golden prairie. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: 28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 3.5in 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: 28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 3.5in 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Times; mso-fareast-language: JA;">The night was achingly clear, and a kajillion
stars joined one <u>hell of a party</u> on the Great Peace March. And the next
day we packed up and walked 21 miles down the road to Paxton. In this way we
slowly realized that the asshole part of Nebraska starts at the Western border
and ends at Omaha.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: 28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 3.5in 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: 28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 3.5in 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Times; mso-fareast-language: JA;">A week after the twister, on the Summer
Solstice, my friends and I were lying around under a truck, having an endless
round of “I don’t know – wadda you wanna do?” type conversations. And I suddenly
had had Enough. I stood up, adjusted my fanny pack, and announced to my
surprised friends: “Well I am off to find something to DO. Who is with me?” And
I marched off - made Biddy my girlfriend that night - and I have never looked
back.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: 28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 3.5in 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: 28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 3.5in 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt; text-autospace: none;">
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBG-Y-9HlixrxSS45Q-ORWwXPBi2GWv5d9wr0QHPAQtYeuTe7ZqHc-q-3ShN0YzXRNqA3Nq_e9qdWpE7Dfp8mP0SaVEe5HuY3RT-t7WVi5B3AnUFvNFY-TXCgdTl7pV0rQbj7fboZ91Bw/s1600/1986gpmoct.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="330" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBG-Y-9HlixrxSS45Q-ORWwXPBi2GWv5d9wr0QHPAQtYeuTe7ZqHc-q-3ShN0YzXRNqA3Nq_e9qdWpE7Dfp8mP0SaVEe5HuY3RT-t7WVi5B3AnUFvNFY-TXCgdTl7pV0rQbj7fboZ91Bw/s1600/1986gpmoct.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rich, Me and Lisa, October, 1986. Battery Park, NYC.<br />
9 months older and a whole lot wiser.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Times; mso-fareast-language: JA;">Because time is continuously accelerating but
life is short and making peace with your maker is not a surrender. It is a
challenge. And it’s not about living each day like it’s going to be your last.
That mindset is just an excuse for mindless excess and selfishness. The better
term is live your life like you're going to die – because you ARE - and the
only question is: What are you gonna DO about it?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: 28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 3.5in 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: 28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 3.5in 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Times; mso-fareast-language: JA;">Me, I’ve done <u>plenty</u> since that endless
day in the butt crack of Nebraska. And I am not done. Not by a long shot. In
fact, I never will be. But I know that when my note is struck and I beam away to give my report to the 3 Sisters in the Gypsy Wagon, I will do so
with a smile on my lips, a song in my heart, and a jaunty tilt of my top hat.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: 28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 3.5in 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: 28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 3.5in 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt; text-autospace: none;">
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEyHwTm4hxerAG8MSJRcbv4vLbPfW0M4xhEWfn2wVT0EvUIgpxy0h0Ubl0SSL-e0tTqrD68XeD8rWfyCl-OR8kVTtFrIT7UjESs-WIQRhpsWL6UJZDb1_S7gR4TfjnjHr4rE_romAgoy8/s1600/1987wbiddyAge22.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="325" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEyHwTm4hxerAG8MSJRcbv4vLbPfW0M4xhEWfn2wVT0EvUIgpxy0h0Ubl0SSL-e0tTqrD68XeD8rWfyCl-OR8kVTtFrIT7UjESs-WIQRhpsWL6UJZDb1_S7gR4TfjnjHr4rE_romAgoy8/s1600/1987wbiddyAge22.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Biddy and me in Disneyland, 1987.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Times; mso-fareast-language: JA;">And that, boys and girls, is the very best time
I almost died. (so far!) And it is the story of the best Friday the 13<sup>th</sup>
I ever had.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: 28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 3.5in 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Angus McMahan<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
angusmcmahan @gmail.com<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
@AngusMcMahan<o:p></o:p><br />
<br />
(Cloud photos individually attributed. All other photos from Authors Collection, except the good ones of the Great Peace March - those are from <a href="http://www.cooganphoto.com/">Dan Coogan</a>.)</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
P.S. For the super-condensed version of this lengthy tale, check out a spot I did for Mutual of Omaha. I blathered on for 10 minutes about the tornado, and they skillfully cut me down to 90 seconds and almost made it make sense. <a href="http://www.ahamoment.com/moments/21051" target="_blank">HERE 'TIS.</a></div>
<!--EndFragment-->Angushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01900358348070248251noreply@blogger.com0