Date: 2008-03-01
To: Trail Names
Miles today: 0.0

I heard on the radio recently that over 50% of new license plates issued in the state of North Carolina are vanity plates. We all see them on the highways with names like 'ILuvMe','Beemer','TarHeel', and on and on. I call them "LookAtMe" plates. "Look at me, look at me, look at me," they shout. We are a nation of very needy people. We need attention. We crave a singular identity. Have you read my blog yet?It reminds me of those clumsy highschool years when you yearned to be noticed. To be invited to join that special group. To get a real cool nickname like "Speedy", or "ChaCha", or "Guido". That is what I recall. Alas, I was just Jerry.Evidently, you are not permitted to do a long-distance hike these days unless you have a trailname such as 'StickKicker', 'SwampCrawler', or 'HillClimber'. If you begin your hike without such a name, then quite likely ol' StickKicker will size you up one day on the trail and give you one. Unfortunately, if you're having a bad day you might be called ol' YellowStain for a very very long time. Most people, therefore, choose their own trailname. I'm Ten88. To find out why you must click on the 'TrailName' icon to the left and read that page.I was puzzled by the need for a trailname when I first started planning this hike. Can't I just be good ol' Jerry? Then I read the lead story in the local newspaper one day in January. Recall that I live in Northern New Jersey. Tony Soprano lives next door. The news story contained a picture of a dozen men with names, John "Jackie the Nose" D'Amico, Danny "The Lion" Leo, and their friends "Marbles", "One Eye", "Fat Richie", and others. The photo caption mentioned that they were all members of the same family from Sicily. Then it hit me. It's about family. We all have these trailnames so people know that we are all members of the same family. A hiking family.In a prior post you learned that my son, Michael, and I shared a deep affection for the Detroit Tigers baseball team. George "Sparky" Anderson had coached the Cincinnati Reds to a World Championship and later, when he was in his 70s, led the Tigers to another. A well-known news columnist, I think it might have been George Will of the Chicago Tribune, I don't have perfect recall, wrote an article about those 1984 Tigers and said he refused to call a 70-year-old man "Sparky". Clearly, Mr. Will is not family, is he?The picture above is my family as they appeared at least 15 years ago. We were all riding bicycles 500 miles across Iowa with about 10,000 other family members. Pictured is me in the back row to the left, Ten88. Next to me is Max "LegalEagle" Rieper, my brothers eldest. He's a lawyer now. Next to him is his father, my baby brother Byron "Barefoot" Rieper. He runs all his marathons without shoes. Seated in the chair is Thelma "Mom" Rieper. She's an 87 year old computer geek now. On her lap is one of Byron's twins. That's either Jessie "I was born First" Rieper or Emma "Flipside" Rieper. Forgive my confusion. Barely visible is my older brother Larry "OkayMan" Rieper with his young son Matthew "BigMan" Rieper on his lap. Larry said "okay man" a lot and his son is now huge; I mean HUGE. In the front row is Ol' Barefoot's eldest daughter Julie. We just call her "Princess". She's gonna be a lawyer, too. I hope to get off the trail briefly in May to see her graduate in Washington DC. Next to her is the other twin or perhaps it's the other twin. Lastly is my little man, Michael "Rieps" Rieper. Everybody say hello.