Sunday quote: November 27, 2011
“I never knew a man who took a bedroll into an Idaho mountainside and slept there under a star-studded summer sky who felt self-important that next morning. Unless we preserve some opportunity for future generations to have the same experience, we shall have dishonored our trust.” ~ Sen. Frank Church, 1924-1984...
More magical thinking about retirement
The seventh annual Retirement Survey from Wells Fargo, released last week from the company’s headquarters on top of its huge mountain of government money, is thought-provoking. But not in a good way. It is thought-provoking because it reveals so much recklessness, fecklessness, and denial. And those qualities make us stop...
Sunday quote: November 20, 2011
“Leave all the afternoon for exercise and recreation, which are as necessary as reading. I will rather say more necessary because health is worth more than learning.” ~ Thomas Jefferson (Full disclosure: We are very skeptical that Jefferson said this. It’s all over the Internet as a Jefferson quote, but there...
National parks not likely to be vaporized next year
Anyone who’s a fan of the U.S. National Park Service knows that it’s been a rough few years, what with the chronic underfunding, and the occasional bear-mauling, and now the looming likelihood of a 9 percent budget hit if Congress’ super-committee can’t figure out a rational way to take care of its...
Camping out in someone else’s garden: fake, irredeemably lame travel trend for boomers
Last month we reported on the rise of glamping—a conflation of “glamorous” and “camping” that makes us wince every time we write it. We were skeptical. Even dismissive. But then we looked at a few web sites and thought about it, and decided it might be a very acceptable way to...
America’s Great Outdoors initiative: When showboating shows how little you care
It isn’t often when an attempt to draw attention to an issue also highlights how little one really cares about that issue. Put another way: imagine a Venn diagram where the circle of pointless exercise overlaps almost perfectly with the circle of consciousness-raising about conservation and you get a...
Hiker’s Snack FAQ: Don’t leave home without ’em
Most people understand the importance of carrying plenty of water on a long trek—for maintaining hydration and as a reserve in case you get lost or injured or the shuttle you planned to take back to your car doesn’t show. And most people know (or sense) that they need...
Sunday Quote: October 30, 2011
“One final paragraph of advice: do not burn yourselves out. Be as I am – a reluctant enthusiast….a part-time crusader, a half-hearted fanatic. Save the other half of yourselves and your lives for pleasure and adventure. It is not enough to fight for the land; it is...
Ouch: Another story about scaling back without stopping
Earlier this week we noted a story about the often painful transition to a less aggressive, less violent, less taxing and (alas) usually less adrenaline-pumping activity. It’s not something we like to dwell on, but it’s worth paying attention to because most of us will have to make that shift,...
Denial, bargaining, resignation: making the transition to (somewhat) tamer pursuits
At some point, each of us decides to set aside the things of a child and pick up the things of a being with weak knees and occasional shooting neck pains. Often there’s a watershed moment. (“Mark the date and time. That was my last roller-coaster.”) More often, the...
Sunday Quote: October 23, 2011
“If you don’t do it this year, you’ll be one year older when you do.” –Warren Miller, the godfather of sports action films
Put down the ginger curry and applaud Fauja Singh, 100-year-old marathoner
At age 100, British runner Fauja Singh completed Sunday’s Toronto Waterfront Marathon in 8:25:16, placing 3,850 out of 3,855. Which means first that he is a phenomenal athlete and second that five people had to slink home after the race and admit they were beat by someone who was born the...
