Killing Time at Borders

I.
Just the thought
Makes me slink in shame;
Thinking of what Thoreau said
In his condescending way:
“As if you could kill time without injuring eternity.”
This while he sat nights
Under the lamplight
Scribbling in his ledger,
Accounting for each penny
Spent remodeling his shack.
He thought it was idyllic.
I might prefer the Irish wit:
“When God made time, he made plenty of it.”
I think my ancestors would have
Been charmed by Thoreau;
Spending their meager shillings
Buying one another pints.

II.
The sharp young man wore a tie
To make a good impression.
He answers the man's questions,
Taking pains to mention
All his worthy points
As if by accident.
He has an easy manner for his age;
With only a trace of stagecraft.
He is enthusiastic
And full of youthful energy
While still sounding almost professional;
And almost experienced.
He will almost get the job, I realize
As the interviewer feigns interest.
Maybe tomorrow
He will wear his tie again.

III.
How are these ladies connected?
One in her 40’s and the other barely 20.
Aunt and niece perhaps?
Or co-workers maybe,
Which often makes strange bedfellows—
Or their female equivalents.
The younger talks about herself.
The older gives advice.
They speak in a synchronous flow
Reciting a litany of crises and dilemmas—
Matched by solemn admonitions
With no room for debate.
They pretend to listen politely
While each awaits her turn.
It is a practiced art; a quiet opera
Over coffee and rolls in the afternoon.


IV.
So there we sit.
The five of us together,
Yet comfortably separate;
Me looking rapt
At my book on Templar Knights
Picked frivolously from the shelf:
Warrior monks protecting pilgrims
As they journeyed to Jerusalem.
But the Knights don't interest me
As much as the conversations,
So I alternate my attention,
Giving each equal time
While picking at my muffin;
No better or worse than Thoreau,
Who lived so well he felt
The need to write a book about it.

Twitter Birth

We kept abreast of the developments of Merritt and Stacie's home birth last night via Twitter, which was pretty cool. Here are the transcripts and approximate times of Merritt's Tweets:

8:42 p.m. Email: Good chance Stacie will give birth sometime tonight. If you want updates, follow us on twitter: @alphanumerritt @StacieJo
~8:50 p.m. I think MJ will be the only one sleeping at our house tonight
~9:00 p.m. Had some friends over for dinner. Stacie was amazingly composed despite contractions every 5-10 min. As soon as they left, it intensified.
~9:00 p.m. ..kind of like her body responded to the demands of her environment, very darwinian
~9:20 p.m. contractions less than 4 min apart
~9:30 p.m. midwife says she's coming over, though stacie seems to be doing fine and progressing normally (to me, anyway)
~9:35 p.m. we're betting on a 1:30am birth
~9:40 p.m. she seems to be progressing fairly quickly, well under 3 minutes in between contractions
~9:45 p.m. smooth music going, dim lighting, hot tub filled with warm water: we should have more dates with this kind of ambiance!
~9:50 p.m. this is actually pretty cool - very low stress and coke zeros just a fridge door away
~10:00 p.m. looks like there's going to be a healthy dose of back labor involved, means I'll be working the massage and pressure to the lower back
~10:45 p.m. no midwife yet, she should be here any minute, though now I kind of wish she wouldn't show up for a while
~11:29 p.m. water broke - I was peeing at the time but stacie decided she needed the toilet more, I agreed
~11:30 p.m. (too much detail?)
~11:45 p.m. no fun and games now, birthing ball (aka exercise ball) comes to the rescue again!
~12:15 a.m. things are pretty intense at the moment
~12:30 a.m. lots of moaning like a banshee, not to transition yet, but things are movin
~12:40 a.m. updates expected to be less frequent from here on out
12:50 a.m. "I'm doing whatever feels good...I think I'm pushing." -Stacie
1:08 a.m. time of birth 1:01 am, she's big and beautiful, came out singing to the music
1:08 a.m. five min of pushing
1:17 a.m. that was pretty surreal
1:17 a.m. mom and baby look and feel great!
1:20 a.m. minimal mess
1:30 a.m. we're fans of homebirth, so much more relaxing before, during, and after

Photo Scavenger Hunt

I put together a photo scavenger hunt for Sam and his friends yesterday as a prom day activity. There were two teams of four, each in one car. The items are listed below, which they photographed with their cell phones. Both teams did really well. The winning team (Sam's) got 22 of the 25 items in about 90 minutes. A good time was had by all.

1. Red-headed adult woman.
2. Horse
3. Elevator
4. Goldfish
5. Manhole Cover
6. Gravestone
7. A mailbox with the number 2359 on it
8. Utah state flag
9. Mini-Cooper
10. Straw hat
11. California license plate
12. Bright red door
13. Bowling ball
14. A man with a mustache
15. A missionary
16. Glass Coke bottle
17. Movie theatre screen
18. Fire(big enough to roast a hot dog)
19. Trombone
20. Airplane
21. A dentist
22. City bus
23. Book about rocks
24. Kitten
25. Blue uniform

A Grand Time

I returned late Monday night from a marvelous four days at the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. I was invited by Steve Ramras, aka Ram, and this was billed as a "Ramfest." There were quite a few people who came and went, some just to drop by and visit as they ventured into nearby canyons, others to stay a day, and still others, such as Ram, had been there a week already and were planning on another nine days after the fest. That's some serious outdoors time! Here's a brief summary of my trips:

Day One: Down 29-Mile Canyon with multiple rappels into very cold pools with floating disconnects and short swims. Beautiful canyon that empties into the Colorado River, where we blew up our one-man rafts and paddled upstream to exit from the next canyon. Then an arduous hike up a good trail ascending 3000 feet with a full pack, including wetsuit and raft. Long day--up at 4:30a and back to camp at 8:30p.

Day Two: Coolest logistics I've ever seen on a canyon trip. Five of us descended Badger Canyon, leaving fixed ropes in place at the five rappels. Gorgeous. The other six descended the non-technical Jackass Canyon, which empties into the Colorado on the other side from Badger. Once each group was on the river (on opposite sides) we switched places, using the three rafts the other group had carried. Three over, three back, three more over, two back. It was a little dicey crossing with the current, and given the rapids 50 yards below not a lot of room for error. But all got in safely and we carried the rafts back up Jackass Canyon--a beautiful bouldering gem, and the other group cleaned and carried the ropes. Two canyons in one day. Lots of fun.

Day Three: Down the top half of Ryder Canyon, which was first descended a few months ago. I was actually the fifth person to descend this canyon. One big rappel and a lot of wonderful hiking. Halfway down there is the exit, which three of our group opted to take. The other three headed down Lower Rider to the Colorado--a really gorgeous and fun hike. But we were running out of daylight so high-tailed it back, moving very quickly--actually covering the same ground in 45 minutes going upcanyon that took us an hour going down. We managed to hit the foreboding exit with a little daylight left: a steep and exposed 1000-foot climb over about 1/4 of a mile with constant exposure and scree/loose talus footing. I would not want to do that in the dark, although we had headlamps in case of emergency. Great day.

Day Four: The group was thinning and most went to hike Cathedral Wash, which has a glowing reputation. I decided to take on Seven-Mile Canyon and was joined by Sonny L., a recently retired prison psychiatrist, which gave us all sorts of interesting things to talk about. This turned out to be another very nice canyon down to the Colorado River, then hiking up and along the treacherous rockfall bank to the next canyon to exit, where we saw a mountain goat hopping gracefully above us. Just enough exposure and elevation to keep your attention. But a great trip, followed by a long drive home.

The weather was cooperative--it got down to 21 degrees one night, but no rain or snow the entire four days and I was warm and cozy in my tent. I had to pound down thousands of calories to keep my body warm during the day (in the water especially) and energized enough to make the climbs out. Met some fun and interesting people, shared a campfire and stories at night and was enraptured by the beauty of the area.

Also, some pictures from other folks--much better than mine:
GC Day 1
Badger/Jackass Loop
Ryder Canyon
Seven-Mile Draw
Rider Canyon
Badger/Jackass Canyons
Rider Canyon
Badger/Jackass Canyon Loop (from Ram)

Random Thoughts

Today in the grocery store the girl at the checkout asked me: "Did you find everything?" I immediately replied: "I wasn't looking for everything." There's a little devil in me, I know, that has been finding language absurdities everywhere I look lately. For instance, take a look at the photo of a sign I saw in Trolley Square which conjured up all sorts of interesting ideas and imagery. That Harold has one twisted sense of humor.

On a more serious note, Rebecca and I were both struck by something we heard in church last week. Someone told a story of a poor young island boy who gave his schoolteacher a gift of a beautiful seashell. "Thank you so much," she said. "It's so lovely. Where did you get it?" "On the other side of the island," the boy replied. The teacher, realizing what a long journey on foot that must have been for him, said: "You didn't have to go all that way to get me a seashell." The boy replied simply: "Long walk part of gift."

Cereal News

Three interesting things I learned tonight while eating a bowl of organic flax flakes with almond milk and reading the New York Times:

1. The "crack baby" scare proved unfounded. Turns out that pregnant women smoking crack doesn't really do permanent damage to the kids. Resilient devils, I've always said. While crack babies tend to be born smaller, they catch up in a few years. But research results on permanent effects are inconclusive. It should be noted that despite the lack of hard evidence against crack smoking while pregnant, no one appears to be recommending the practice, with the possible exception of crack dealers.

2. Although teen pregnancies have increased in recent years, teen sex is actually on the decline. According to the National Youth Risk Behavior Study, 48% of high school students have had sex, compared with 54% in 1991. And the improvement gets more pronounced with younger teens, although the data is not regularly updated. This is in sharp contrast to public perceptions, sensationalized by popular media, that there is a teen sex epidemic raging out of control. Now 48% is still a pretty high number, but the trend is certainly worth noting. And now I'm very curious as to why.

3. Babies instinctively put stuff in their mouths because it's good for them. It turns out that one of the best things for kids is to eat a little dirt, which strengthens the immune system and decreases the chances of future diseases. Dirt contains millions of organism and, most important, tiny worms. I know it sounds crazy, but scientists are attributing the elimination of intestinal worms in developed countries to increases in diabetes, asthma, allergies, Crohn's disease and multiple sclerosis. Three small fixes: Encourage your kids to play in the dirt, don't scold them when they stick yukky stuff in their mouths, and don't make them wash their hands before they eat.

Actually, I learned a few other things as well, but they didn't seem as profound. For instance, four-legged animals walk left rear foot first, then left front, right rear and right front, but about half the illustrations in books, manuals, etc. show this incorrectly. Not really sure what to do with that. Or this one: Tanzania's government recently banned traditional healers (witch doctors) in an attempt to stop the killing of albinos for medicine. To help combat common myths and prejudices, the prime minister has nominated an albino woman for parliament and adopted an albino child.

All the news that's fit to print.

Mind Games

I just read about a new game from Mattel that requires you to move a foam ball with your mind waves, by concentrating upon it. This is very, very cool. And suprisingly affordable at $80. It will be out next September.

The Mattel game is powered by concentration. I am very eager to play it, but dreadful at the same time. Intense concentration has never been my strong suit. Even in chess, which at one time I played passably, my talent was to be able to very rapidly visualize a sequence of moves. I fear that I will not be able to hold my concentration for long, and any ruse of intelligence that I have been perpetuating over the course of my life will be immediately exposed as my foam ball rests motionless.

I recently reread Ender's Game, one of the few science fiction novels I've read and the only one I've really liked. Written almost 25 years ago, it describes the battlegrounds of the future, led by adolescent (or, in Ender's case, pre-adolescent) commanders. And it strikes me, as I read about the Mattel game, that conflicts may well become mind games of sorts, and in that situation, youth would likely prove more adaptable.

But that's a diversion. The idea that you can move stuff with your mind was a parlor trick made famous by Israeli entertainer Uri Geller in the 70's. He did it on television, and lacking the skepticism of adulthood I thought it was mystifying and magical. (Years later I saw Uri Geller perform live at a corporate gathering and was embarassed by his silly and transparent "mentalist" tricks.)

That may well be another diversion. I'm not sure. You see, I'm having a hard time concentrating. Game on.

Life is like Music

Cool thought for the day.

Very good career advice.

Creative Grandparenting

I just ran across this exchange from an old Calvin and Hobbes cartoon and it inspired all sorts of grandparenting ideas:

Calvin: Dad, how come old photographs are always black and white? Didn’t they have color film back then?

Dad: Sure they did. In fact, those old photographs are in color. It’s just the world was black and white then.

Calvin: Really?

Dad: Yep. The world didn’t turn color until sometime in the 1930s, and it was pretty grainy color for a while, too.

Calvin: But then why are old PAINTINGS in color?! If the world was black and white, wouldn’t artists have painted it that way?

Dad: Not necessarily. A lot of great artists were insane.

Freezefest 2009

Last year I had planned to join a group of like-minded intrepid canyoneers in Freezefest 2008, but sprained an ankle in an Arizona canyon just after Christmas AND caught the flu, so sickly and hobbling on New Years Eve, I unfortunately had to pass. This year I was determined to go.

Freezefest is an annual canyoneering event (seventh year) held in North Wash and attended by a group of diehard canyoneers who are willing to brave the cold to enjoy the rigors of winter canyoneering. We all stayed in the unofficial Sandthrax campground, which has no services, although there is an outdoor toilet five miles down the road.

The centerpiece of the event is always a descent of The Black Hole on New Years Day. The Black Hole is one of the wettest canyons around and involves nearly constant wading, numerous long swims and, during this time of the year, the need to manage a couple of inches of ice atop many of the channels. (There are a few ways to manage this--try to walk the ice and hope it doesn't break, belly crawl the ice, or let the lead canyoneer serve as an ice-breaker, busting off huge floating sheets that the followers must push around the force their way through.)

I undertook the venture with some trepidation, concerned that I would be uncomfortably cold spending hours in icewater. Of the thirteen in our group that did the trip, about half had dry suits, and the rest of us neoprene wet suits. And as it turned out, it wasn't bad at all. In fact, it was a blast.

We did other canyons as well: Woody and Woodsie on Dec. 31st. And on Jan. 2nd we descended Cheesebox, another notoriously wet canyon which was also snow-covered. It was often a challenge climbing down these ice-covered canyon walls, swimming and wading through icy channels and hiking through snow, but these added degrees of difficulty actually enhanced the pleasure of the experience.

All in all, I had a terrific time. The group was great, sharing food and gathering around a fire every night. (One of the fun parts about being in the cold is that you must consume an extraordinary amount of calories to stay warm. Everyone ate a lot.) I made a number of new friends that I expect to join in canyons again. During the three days I descended four new canyons and was grateful for the opportunity to see southern Utah wilderness in conditions not often experienced.

I realize that most people would never do something like this because it sounds crazy and uncomfortable. After all, it is called Freezefest. Despite this, if they conquered their fears and tried it, I think most folks would be pleasantly surprised at how much fun it is, despite the cold. I think many things in life are like that.

"Fools rush in where angels fear to tread.
The angels are all in heaven, but few of the fools are dead."
---James Thurber

Randi's Photos

Cell Phone Risks

This just in: Looks like cell phone usage significantly increases the risk of brain cancer, based on results from the largest-ever study of the subject. This issue has been floating around for some time, part of the larger concern about electromagnetic radiation from all manner of electronics, from power lines to microwaves, computer monitors and electric blankets.

Scientists continue to debate exactly how electrical low frequencies (EMF) affect our systems. Kurzweil has warned against these for years, and recommended an airtube attachment for cell phones that moves the phone further from your brain. It doesn't look any more geeky to me than any other wired earpieces.

Just one more thing to think about. Or, if your brain fries, to not think about it.

Randy Cooke 1957 - 2008

My friend Randy died this week. We were inseparable growing up. As a ten-year-old I moved down the street from him and we both knew immediately we'd found kindred spirits. We were bright and adventurous and together we rollicked our way through adolescence. As kids we played ball together, wrestled, made up games, watched TV and had countless sleepovers. In junior high we listened to the same music, developed the same taste in girls and together discovered a great love for the outdoors.

We loved to go camping--never at campgrounds, but out in the country and away from people and civilization. I couldn't count the number of nights we slept in our little pup tent, cooking our food over a fire and talking about all the things that seemed so profoundly deep and important in our blossoming youth. We remained close in high school, although we both found other friends. But we grew our hair long, did crazy things and read the same books--everything we could find by Carlos Castaneda, Kurt Vonnegut, Herman Hesse and others.

After graduation our lives diverged and over time we lost touch, I think partly because it was so painful to recognize we'd grown apart--that we no longer had common ground, the terra firma of our friendship that had made growing up tolerable. So for many years we rarely spoke, which I now regret deeply. But he came to the funerals of of both my parents, which I greatly appreciated, although in the bustle we hardly had time to talk.

Then, the last time I was in Duluth, I felt inspired to look him up. We got on the phone and immediately it was like no time had passed, no signs of the awkwardness I had feared. We quickly made plans to see each other and one Saturday morning I sat down to one of his delicious omelettes and delightful conversation with him and Mary Jo. In showing me a short cut back to Duluth Heights we were close enough to my destination that I invited him to come meet my family, which he did. I was as pleased to show them off to Randy as I have ever been in my life. We all chatted a while, but were headed out of town and had to leave. We hugged, and that's the last time I saw him.

Randy didn't have a computer (or a cell phone!) but I wrote him a few times in the past year--real letters that arrive with a stamp from a uniformed mailman. Then I heard from Mary Jo that he was sick with cancer and things weren't looking good. So I called and we spoke, and for the past few weeks I have called while he was home alone during the day and we've relived the bittersweet memories of our youth.

Randy was a unique spirit. He had a style of walking and talking that was distinctive and memorable--like a throwback to our hippie days, but embedded with a bemused kindness. I used to kid him that he had what Vonnegut once described as echolalia--as he would often repeat the last word of the sentence you had just spoken. It seemed to me a pleasant affirmation and a charming quirk.

I always admired the fact that he followed his moral compass with a navigator's precision. We may not have agreed on many things but it would never occur to me to question his personal integrity. He did what he thought was right in a matter-of-fact and unassuming way, a rare example of discipline and fortitude. He kept the same job for 27 years, and moved so he could walk to work. After his diagnosis, but when he was still able, he fixed up everything in the house, replacing appliances and putting things in shape for Mary Jo.

Like me, Randy never lost his love for the outdoors, and had developed a passion for kayaking. (He told me that one of the hardest things was putting up the kayaks, knowing it was for the last time.) Randy had also become a fine cook and a talented gardener and landscaper. He was a great companion to Mary Jo, his life-long love. He was a steady and reliable brother to his siblings. And he was, in the beginning and the end, my friend.

The world has lost someone that made it a better place. He will be missed.

Too Many Shoes

I've never considered myself much of a clothes hog. And especially as I've gotten older I've become less and less concerned with what I wear. But my Christmas present this year (which I chose and ordered before telling Rebecca what she was getting me) was a new pair of Columbia winter boots--great for hiking, snowshoeing and even standing around in the snow. They are waterproof, with Goretex and Thinsulate, and claim to be able to keep your feet warm in temperatures as cold as -40 degrees Fahrenheit. I was very excited to receive them.

That is, until I went to put them on my shoe shelf. There was hardly space, and I was immediately embarrassed at how many pairs of shoes I have accumulated over the years. Many are functional shoes--my 5.10 Canyoneers, a rugged pair of hiking boots, a light pair of hikers, climbing shoes, cross-trainers, two pairs of running shoes, a pair of trail runners, soccer cleats (worn about once a year at the Turkey Bowl, two pairs of water shoes (one new, one very old), basketball shoes and a couple of pair of beater tennis shoes (both at least 10 years old).

I also have nine pairs of dress shoes, some over 15 years old (which have been resoled at least twice), cowboy boots, two pairs of dressy casual shoes and four pairs of very casuals, one of which is totally beat up but work great when slippers don't quite do the trick. And speaking of slippers, I also have two pairs of those. And one pair of hand-me-down Adidas sandals, of unknown origin, which I almost never wear.

If my math is correct, and I haven't missed any, that's 34 pairs of footwear. However, I am pleased to report that I do not own any moccasins (except that pair I use for costumes--oops, 35). OK, but I don't have golf shoes (yet, as I haven't gotten old enough to switch to golf). And I refuse to count my snowboarding or ski boots, so the count holds at 35.

Anyway, upon reflection, I am aghast at my podalic indulgence, and hereby relinquish all rights to criticize anyone for their excessive wardrobes.

World Wide Web

Even though I got no feedback on my always excellent and universally acclaimed movie recommendations ;-), I will nevertheless proceed with websites that have intrigued, amused or otherwise titillated me in the past week. I hope you have the time to kill, because be warned, you're jumping down a wormhole.

Movie Cliches: These are so true, they're hilarious.

Planetbook: Free downloads of a wide selection of classic literature. How cool is that, I mean for the price?

Squashed Philosophers: For those of us that no longer want to devote the time to read Descartes' Meditations again, or Plato's Republic--the Squashed (condensed) and even the "Very Squashed" versions. Handy.

Collected Quotes of Albert Einstein: If I need to explain this site, you won't appreciate the content. And if that doesn't give you your fill of Einstein, read this excellent essay by the big-brained one.

Prince Randian: Moving to the weird, twisted and bizarre. Click on this the next time you find yourself whining. Then click on the Futility Closet home page and read until you marvel that you could waste so much time on such useless stuff.

A Class Divided: This is a fascinating and frightening Frontline special on a discrimination experiment. Written about in Blink, as I recall.

The Ancient World: If you like this kind of stuff (and I totally do) you can really kick it on this site and still feel remarkably good about your use of time.

Wonders and Marvels: Curious history in a well-done, academic blog. I subscribe to the RSS. Check out these fascinating entries on midwifery and childbirth, then dig around the topics on your own.

Playdough Cookies: For some inexplicable reason, I really want to make these.

Sidewalk Chalk: If you haven't seen this sidewalk chalk, you absolutely must check it out. Amazing!

The 100 Best Novels: Can't help myself--I love these lists. They always inspire me to want to read them all. (Which is easier and less challenging than actually reading all of them. Do the squashed versions count?)

Human World: I am a total junkie for fascinating but useless information, the sum of which is absolutely no greater than its parts. In fact, perhaps it is less, which would be a mathematical oddity, I think.

White Christmas: Tell me this doesn't remind you of Mixed Nuts!

Stumbleupon: The source of much of my entertainment. No one needs another toolbar. But the pay-off in unusual repositories of information and other oddities is worth the real estate on your screen, at least for a week or two. But beware--download this app and you're in the matrix too.

Recommendations

I've had a bit of insomnia lately so have been spending idle time late at night watching movies and cruising the web. And consequently, I've generated a few recommendations that are definitely not for everyone, but have kept me pleasantly entertained.

Mongol--I've mentioned this before, but if you haven't picked it up on DVD, you should. The story of a young Ghengis Khan, with a very authentic feel to it. In Mongolian, by a Russian director.

Himalaya--In the same vein, although without the battle scenes, Himalaya is a 1999 film shot in Nepal that tells a touching story about a nomadic people and the clash between the ancient religious traditions and the skepticism of the young. The film is absolutely gorgeous, just beautifully shot. Further, director Eric Valli used only local tribespeople instead of actors, who do a very credible job and add to the powerful realism of the experience. If you've got a big HD screen this is a must-see. If not, you'll still likely be enthralled by the authentic view of the culture and a vanishing people.

Film noir classics, both from 1950--The Asphalt Jungle, a classic John Huston film with a terrific crew of talented actors, including James Whitmore, Sterling Hayden, Jean Hagen, Sam Jaffe and even a young Marilyn Monroe in a bit part. Also, The Third Man, a Graham Greene screenplay starring Orson Welles. Both well done black & white film noir from the end of a great movie era.

Going way back--Again, these aren't for everyone, but if you want to try something different, watch Buster Keaton in The Cameraman. Really unbelievably good physical comedy. The General is also a tale well-told with some great Keaton stunts. I also watched Steamboat Bill Jr., but didn't like that as much. All silent films from the '20's. An early talkie is German director Fritz Lang's M,a 1931 classic starring Peter Lorre that has aged exceptionally well. This movie is way ahead of its time and features extraordinary camerawork and creativity by Lang, along with an intense story and biting social commentary. Really a powerful film, if you like old movies.

Enough for now. By the way, I've been getting most of these from my local public library, just a few blocks from home. They have an eclectic collection of DVD's. Also CD's, with some decent jazz, blues, gospel, folk, classical, obscure R&B, weird pop and even acid rock. Oh, and they have a lot of books, too.

Funky website recommendations to come later.

Hadephobia

As far as anxiety disorders go, is this a bad one? A good one?

Would you avoid going to church to keep from developing it? If you did get it, would you go to church more often to overcome it?

Would it be a mistake to treat this with medication?

So many things for me to wonder.

My Friend Randy

I spoke to my childhood best friend the other day. His wife sent me a letter and said he had been trying to get in touch with me. (He only had my ClearPlay business card.) So I called him right away, only to find out he is dying of stomach cancer. Already bedridden, and with an evacuation tube, daily hospice care and morphine shots to ease the pain. Not good.

We spoke for a long time, reminiscing about our adventures growing up. We both spent a lot of time outdoors and we tried to remember many of our trips. We used to love to go downtown and visit the Army-Navy store, where we would gaze longingly at the cool camping supplies. We bought a lot of our own equipment, saving our money for sleeping bags, backpacks, mess kits and some very manly Rambo-like knives. And on weekends we would load up and camp, sometimes on islands in Minnesota lakes, sometimes out near his brother's place in Wrenshall, and once in -30 degree weather when we snow-shoed out to some beaver dams, and spent the night doing push-ups in our sleeping bags to keep from freezing to death. We have both maintained our love for the outdoors, and in that regard I guess my friendship with Randy was one of the more influential relationships of my life.

When I was last in Duluth I visited him and Mary Jo, his companion of 25 years (they were finally married last August). Randy made me a wonderful breakfast and we visited for a couple of hours before driving over to Tim's, where he met the family. My kids were immediately struck by his distinctive style in speech and movement, something that had changed little since we were in high school.

I asked him on the phone about insights from this experience. I suppose it was a stupid question, but I was genuinely curious about his perspective. His response was classic: "Well, except for the dying part, it's been great." What he meant was that he'd experienced a great outpouring of love, some from unexpected sources. He's been touched by that.

It was good to talk to him, and I'll call him again tomorrow. I sense there isn't much time left and I have a few things that I'd like to say. Plus a little surprise for him, which I have been working on this weekend. I've been fiddling with a screenplay for the past few years. I had named the lead character Randy, after my old friend, although I had never shared it with him. So I am going to finish the latest draft tonight and send it to him. It's a small thing, but I think he'll enjoy it.

One just never knows what is around the bend on life's road.

More Canyons

I had a great couple of days canyoneering this weekend. North Wash is terrific in November, when it is dry, and we were blessed with almost perfect weather. I was joined by Dave Jarvi, Russ Nelson and a new friend, Craig Crow. None of us had met Craig before, and his presence was a little unusual. He had read a post of mine in a canyoneering forum asking about North Wash conditions and mentioning that I was heading there. He asked if he could go along. In some circles this might be considered a faux pas, or at least socially awkward. It is less so in the canyoneering community, and after talking to him on the phone, I invited him to join in. And yes, he had a very different background than the rest of the group. But he was an able canyoneer, an intelligent and thoughtful conversationalist and a great team member. We all enjoyed getting to know him and having him along.

We drove down very early Friday morning and squeezed and shimmied through West Leprechaun, which is even skinnier than East Lep. After some shredded clothes and a few canyoneering lessons for Russ, we finished in good time and headed to Merry Piglet, a recently "discovered" canyon that proved to be a fun and interesting way to top off our day. For dinner I made a teriyaki noodle and tuna dish with fresh vegetables and we gorged ourselves and sat around the fire talking mostly politics, which was surprisingly stimulating and not vituperative in the least.

We got an early start Saturday morning and descended Constrychnine, which I had done a year ago with Angelica and Lanee. But I had forgotten what a beautiful canyon it is, and we all marveled at the magnificent rappels, although a few hearts beat rapidly staring down the 190 foot drop. Still, we made good time through the canyon, grabbed an early dinner at Stan's in Hanksville and were back home before 8:00 o'clock Saturday night.

I really can't think of a better way to spend a couple of days.

Tracking the Flu

How cool is www.google.com/flutrends? OK, maybe it's not the most robust site you've run across. But gee, the innovative principles behind it just grab me. Here's the deal: Google tracks flu-related search requests by geography. Based on the empirically-supported theory that there is a high correlation between these requests and actual cases of flu, the site then reports which states are having the highest incidences at any given time.

Now I'm guessing that back in the early days of search no one would have anticipated this application. It's certainly not mainstream. But it is part of this inexorable march of data, tying together various sources, making us better informed, often in real time. Cool, but getting kind of scary.

Identity Thieves in Action

In the past few weeks I have been receiving cryptic calls from an organization going by NRC for a Wayne Aho, first asking me to call, then telling me it was for a bad debt. Finally I called them back, but only got a voice mail. I left the message that I was not aware of any bad debt and if they wanted they could mail me the information. I left my address. (Probably a dumb idea, but it's all in the phone book and seemed innocuous.)

The calls kept coming. Now saying there was a "huge claim." I called again, and spoke to "Jesse." I explained that my name was not Wayne Aho. Jesse then asked for the last four digits of my social security number "for confirmation." I refused to give the information. She hung up on me.

So I called back and asked why she hung up. She replied very brusquely that "We are doing a background check. Are you ready to cooperate?" I said that no, I wasn't going to give any information until I found out what this was all about. She said: "Fine, I've got another call." Then she hung up again.

Identity thieves. I was angry, so reported them to the Consumer Protection Agency, the FTC and the Utah Attorney General. They confirmed my suspicions--that this was a common scam. So common that unless they get a bunch of complaints about the same outfit they don't bother to follow-up.

The world's a dangerous place when thieves can prowl about so openly. I'd rather take my chances with Ali Babba.