Re: [Paddlewise] Stephen S. Sinclair Storm Paddler

From: Craig Jungers <crjungers_at_gmail.com>
Date: Tue, 4 Aug 2009 08:06:58 -0700
On Tue, Aug 4, 2009 at 2:44 AM, MATT MARINER BROZE <marinerkayaks_at_msn.com>wrote:

>
> People are interested in the extremes and what a skilled human can push the
> limits back to in most endeavours. Magazines are going to cater to that
> interest. I don't see a problem. The general public knows they aren't
> capable
> of planning and executing a 186 foot waterfall jump. They aren't going to
> rush
> out to buy a kayak to try it unless they are suidical. If you are suicidal
> why
> not be creative about it.
>

My wife, Sue, and I just celebrated our 34th year of marriage (although
we've been together for 35 years... which confuses me but never her) by
visiting the quirky little waterfront of Kirkland, WA and eating at
Hector's. We drove over to buy a Pottery Barn sectional sofa which our
daughter found on craigslist for $399 (instead of the $3500 normal price)
and hauled it out of a $700,000 house in the Issaquah Highlands; the most
expensive tract housing project I''ve ever seen (4 different models... don't
tell your friends to "look for the house with the porch").... but I
digress....

At Hector's we had a fine meal (I had Baja Fish Tacos which tasted just like
the fish tacos we bought from the street vendors in La Paz but with a pizazz
- and price tag - those muchachos never dreamed of).... but I digress....

We also had a fine view of the 2-lane street that winds along Kirkland's
waterfront and I had a chance to watch the people..... and their cars.
Someone from another universe dropped into my chair might have thought that
we were in the middle of the adventure zone with expedition cars of every
stripe going by the window. From ancient restored Land Rovers straight out
of an African novel to modern Toyotas with huge racks on the top.

I remember thinking to myself that the drivers of those cars are buying a
persona. A vision of themselves hunting elephants, exploring remote valleys
or maybe kayaking off 186-foot Palouse Falls. They read the magazines, they
watch the television shows, and they buy the books but they'll never
actually do it.

Instead they'll get drunk and rent an inflatable river raft and float down
the Deschutes River in central Oregon whooping and hollering at ever bump.
And if something bad happens they're not worried a bit. They all have
lawyers.


Craig Jungers
Moses Lake, WA
www.nwkayaking.net
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Received on Tue Aug 04 2009 - 08:12:17 PDT

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