Date: 2007-08-26
From: .2 miles north of Sherman Brook Campsite, Mass

To: .2 miles north of Sherman Brook Campsite, Mass
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: broken clouds

I woke up the next day and had the rainy day blues; singing, "oh, rainy day woman; couldnt wait to see ya for the good times. OHHH rainy day woman: youve been a friend of mine"(Waylon Jennings). Anyway, Ill take this time to get a little more into my desire(obsession) to finish the AT. OK, so I have already told you about my 1990 & 2000 attempt; now I will get us up to my 2006 attempt. It is basically filler about my life after divorce and the loss of alot of power as the director of that boys OTP(outdoor therapeutic program). After my 2000 attempt with both ankles just twisted to hell from trying to do this new speed walking thing with hiking poles; I went down to the beach on Perdido Key, Fla. It is a national seashore on a gulf island. It was pretty cool just swimming(which was great for my ankles), sun bathing, learning to speak basic Russian(after learning the Cyrillic alphabet), listening to alot of conservative political talk radio, getting rid of my "hiker goggles", and camping on the beach. If you have not ever camped on an ocean beach, do it! The constant waves are very soothing and of course the tan. Clothing is totally optional. Nothing like a full body tan. After my ankles healed, I did a little steel work to see how it felt to work with my hands everyday versus a "stuffed shirt". I remember asking an old steel worker, who was in the best shape of any man that I had ever seen, "hey, 'old timer'(jokingly); what would you tell a young 'whiper-snapper' like myself?" He looked at me, up and down, with eyes like an old cowboy(called chinese eyes in Texas) and said, "get the hell out of here and take your fancy degree and work indoors. You know how you go home tired now? Well, add 30 years to that." He was right, I would go home dead tired and wake up dead tired; but, I was in the best total shape of my life. When I started working there; I would work out 6 days a week. After working there for 2 weeks, I only needed to go to the gym once a week; just to work certain muscle groups. What had me quit was when I was day dreaming one day and nearly fell 3 stories onto a concrete slap. I had to save myself by planting my bad left knee right into a steel beam and holding on for dear life till my shift leader, "Dan Pa", came and saved me with a "cherry picker". If you have ever seen the movie URBAN COWBOY: it was like when John Travolta's character, "Bud", was just hanging by his leg on the side of a building(watched that movie this year at the B&B in Montebello, VA). Anyway, that was it for me and I was soon in Kiev Ukraine chasing an Opera Singer and a Ballerina. I then ended up back in Dallas and tried the corporate world at Xerox and GE. Talk about a fish out of water . Each month the manager would come in with a higher goal and say, "we have a crisis!" I would say, "yes we do. Everyone is totally stressed out; overweight; and calling in sick. Yes, we have a crisis!" A stressed out, busy employee; is not always a productive employee. During this time, I fell in love 2 or 3 times. Dallas is alot faster than Nashville and I was finding out the hard way. Then my Granny died, then my step-grandfather died. I got mixed up in a pretty tough crowd and I was a complete mess. And guess what, all I had on my mind was The AT! So, I took my inheritence and hit the AT to get my mind, body, and spirit right. Summer 2004: I drove to Newfoundland, Can.(NFLD) and became an honorary "Newfie" Fall 2004: Drove back from NFLD and parked my jeep at The Kincora Hostel and walked from there south; to Amicalola Falls, Ga and then Back to Clingman's Dome, TN where I got snowed out(Already told this story). Also went through 4 hurricanes(Frances, Ivan, Jean, Matthew?). Summer 2005: parked my jeep at Fontana Dam, NC and hiked the soutern Smokies; then the AT to The Overmountain Shelter(Roan Highlands), TN.; then back to Fontana Dam, NC; then hiked the southern AT with Joe Green, "The Green Machine"; so he could finish his 30 year trek of the AT. Fall 2005: Hung out in Gatlinburg, Tn; had my jeep stolen on my birthday; and then walked from G-Burg to Amicalola Falls, Ga. March 9-Aug 8 2006 Amicalola Falls, Ga to Duncannon, PA: story coming at a later date.******Thanks for letting me get that out *************************