Tall Tales

[InLove]

"And, in the end, the Love you take is equal to the Love you make" (Or maybe the other way around...or both....)

Sometimes we get down to the end and start all over again--from the beginning.

Just Write.

InPeace,
InLove

[wil]

So you've heard of Ulysses, aka Odysseus and his Odyssey and maybe his role in the Illiad, of Homer.

Maybe you've even caught the modern version of the story as My Brother Where Art Thou...

Oh it is all good stuff. The metaphor and metaphysics wrapped in the Sirens, his trials his tribulations of his travels. And the big one, Scylla and Charybdis, what were these and why were they added and what choice did our hero make and at what cost?

As tall tales go, Homer ranks with the best for telling them, and even including tall tales within his tall tale. Once you begin that hundred yards, like Lay's Potato Chips, betcha can't just have one...you build tale upon tale. And then like a story from comedia del'arte we weave around and around till we get back from whence we came.

So who was this six headed monster, a dragon that leapt from its cave, flew and could either eat its prey or with the horns from its tail wipe out your ship. And why did our hero choose to watch for the whirlpool instead? He's already proved himself an admirable sailor, could he not fight the flush of Charybis, keep upright and fly back out as the water was disgorged? I think he could of, but Homer chose him to go otherwise, and I think it was just so as Scylla flew away, he was able to include yet another tall tail in the book of tall tales...but that is only conjecture and a stretch on my part and also hokier than my other two attempts, the rest of you must step up to the plate or I will continue after my nap.

[17th Angel]

Originally Posted by Thomas

"Walk with a real man one hundred yards and he'll tell you at least seven lies." Hagakure. Chapter 11.


Thomas

Females are a lying creature too... Not just males... Just males lie to make themselves look good.

[wil]

True Tall Tales...

Hitchhiking in the US...

Fastest trip ever...7/77. from leaving my door in Carson City NV to walking into my parents house in Maryland...17 rides, 70-1/2 hours

Longest single ride....5/80 Breezewood PA to Boulder, Colo to Carson City to Mt. St Helens to Atlantic City, NJ to Carson City, NV over three weeks long, and it could have gone on to Baja California, Mexico...but I got out of the car (ps he only told me he was headed as far as Ohio...we ended up picking up a trunkload of volcanic ash and then selling it on the boardwalk in AC and then he drove me back to my original destination...)

Longest time w/o using sleeping bag...6/92 5 weeks on the road all over the states East Coast to West Coast, until I was with friends in Eureka California where we decided to go steelhead fishing and camping in the Trinity Alps, I was 5 weeks and never untied my sleeping bag from my pack, invited into homes, sleeping on couches with blankets and pillows or in warm comfy beds...

I've been back and forth across the US on my thumb, the grace of G-d and the mercy of strangers more times than I have fingers and toes, up and down both coasts and across every major interstate... I can testify that 99.999 percent of the people I've met are wonderful, caring, considerate folks and I believe it is only .001% that make the papers and news.

I always stood on the side of the road knowing that there wasn't one person driving by me that had a reason they had to pick me up. And if they watched the news or read the paper they may have a thousand reasons why not to. I can't tell you how often I heard, "I haven't picked up a hitch-hiker for years, I don't know why I picked up you.", or "I've never picked up a hitch-hiker before".

Now the funny thing that I've never understood...is the number of people, and it is significant, that drive by and flip me off as I'm standing there. I think it is because they are on their way to work, or they've had a bad day, and they assume that I am out footloose and fancy free and they are stuck in the rat race and resent what I represent...a freedom that they didn't have.

Funny thing is I often hitched to work...often over 30 miles one way.

Last time hitchin... I've had my car troubles or misplaced keys three times in the past year and been out on the road with my thumb out to either get home, get to work or get back to my car. A policeman pulled over and our conversation went like this....

"What are you doin?"
"Hitchin to get my car, I left it at work last night"
"Hitch hiking is illegal"
"Is not"
"Is too"
"Is not, if it was you'd be rattlin me off chapter and verse, it is illegal on the interstate but not on this highway"
"Its dangerous"
"Is not"
"Is too"
"How old are you?"
"24"
"Well I've been hitchin longer than you've been alive and probably have more miles on this thumb than you've got on your car. Now what I call dangerous is strapping a gun to your hip for money for a career and being a target for bad guys, now don't get me wrong, I'm thankful for your service but what you do eight hours a day is more dangerous than what I am doing right now. Now the real question is, are you going to give me a ride to work or are you going to get your car out of the way so someone can do it for you?"

He gave me a ride to work. I've been picked up by dozens of officers over the years, on duty and off duty...twice had to jump out as he got a call, and they took off sirens blazin with me illegally in the middle of a Interstate...miles between exits...

Now I wouldn't recommend hitch hiking to anyone...but sure look forward to my next cross country trip....

[sara[h]ng]

Originally Posted by InLove

Blue Fuzzy Wuzzy

lol that's great.

[flowperson]

InLove...Wil...really great...thanks.

flow....

[InLove]

Thanks, sara & flow

Did someone mention hitchhiking???

(Awwh, ratz! It's at home in hard copy, and I'm not there! I'll get back to ya on that, though. By the way--that was a good one.)

Making mental note....must get one of those fax thingies.

InPeace,
InLove