----- Original Message ----- From: "Steve James" <sljames3_at_home.com> > The man that I was talking with was friendly and polite as I explained > what my problem. I was just talking to him when I told him I used it > kayaking. He quickly ask if I had heard of paddlewise I said yes. This > is when my world got real small. The first person he asked if about was > Ralph D. He then asked if I had read post about radios for the marina. > He said that he helped Ralph with the radios. I have had this happen directly. I once ran into a guy with a double Klepper and I admired something on his boat. He then proceeded to say that Mr. Diaz recommended this or that and that he had added another thing over here based on what Mr. Diaz had written. I wasn't sure how to identify myself (not "Mr. Diaz"! :-)) and just said I was Ralph Diaz. The man was stunned as if he had run into some god. His reaction reminded me at time of something I had heard once. When in the early 1960s I joined the company that would employ me for over 20 years, it had just organized a major meeting of industrialists of multinational companies with the Soviet Union, the first ever of its kind. During one of the breaks from the joint sessions between government officials and capitalists, a group of the international company executives went to visit Lenin's home, at the time a museum shrine to the father of the country. The English speaking guide walked with the executives through various rooms of the home point out artifacts here and there. The group arrived at Lenin's study and the guide went into her canned spiel about books on the shelf, papers on the desk, etc. And she pointed out some correspondence with Armand Hammer, the US industrialist who fostered business with the Soviets in the 1920s and was a friend of Lenin (and who also amassed an extensive collection of Russian art). She went on for awhile about Hammer's role when one of our staff interrupted her and said "Miss, he is right over here" pointing to Mr. Hammer who was one of the group on the tour. Her heart almost stopped in total shock. She clearly had been giving this tour for years and suddenly she was confronted with a piece of history alive right in front of her, a national legend. ralph diaz -- ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Ralph Diaz . . . Folding Kayaker newsletter PO Box 0754, New York, NY 10024 Tel: 212-724-5069; E-mail: rdiaz_at_ix.netcom.com "Where's your sea kayak?"----"It's in the bag." ----------------------------------------------------------------------- *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************Received on Tue Apr 24 2001 - 06:35:44 PDT
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