Potential Credentials

There's a well known saying in juggling, the trouble is the balls go where you throw them. Right now I'm lying on my back. My legs are at a 60 degree angle and I'm elevating my swollen right ankle. I didn't roll it or anything, but the mountains of New Hampshire have reawakened some tendon tenderness, and they've just barely begun. I have some serious climbing to do which means dealing with more soreness, but I just got new shoes, new insoles, and a new book about the famed Hungarian mathematician, Paul Erdos. Mathematics is the pursuit of the infinite, where tiny advancements are great steps forward. That's if you consider understanding the distribution and existence of more prime numbers progress. These guys love prime numbers, like, so much. Erdos was a quirky dude who bummed around four continents, broke as hell, crashing on couches, helping people solve hard math problems, and blasting off on amphetamines all the time. He...

"You're what's called an awfulizer" "What's that?" "It's someone who is always able to find the worst possible outcomes" "How so?" "I asked if there were some places to cool off in the river around here, and you told me about all of the ways people have died in the undertow" "Oh yeah, I kind of like that, like a pessimist" Carly, a Kent local, regailed Josie and I with tales of her EMT calls as my clothes tumbled dry. Many ended in at least one death. I learned about the shenanigans at Camp Getaway where Josie works. The international counselors fraternize and the children don't fear bears. It was the best time I've ever had in a laundromat. The bar was low, but now it's high. ____________________ I popped into Harrisburg PA to see Larry, my good friend and former co-intern. We caught up as old friends do. I planned on getting eight hours of sleep, but once the ba...

We're bound by exposure, strange eating habits, and sleeping in bags. Gear, stink, and getting a zillion steps in. It's like a sport we play, but at the same time, the last one to Mt Katahdin wins. Everyone's got their reason why this was the year and at least one story that rips at a campfire. All this sweat, blood, tears, and chaffing for a chance to scare a bear, look a cloud in the eye, and finally have a good fun fact for those awkward icebreakers. This is the most requested topic and it's not even close. I think I've finally done enough research. I've talked and listened for countless hours and shared enough beers and bowls to describe the people I've met on the Appalachian Trail. BUT FIRST:  A big shout out to Alex Jeong of Boston, the only reader to score a 6/6 on Virginia or Costa Rica. Well done, my friend.  I've always admired your thoughtfulness, your appetite for nonfiction books, and the depth and breadth of your music appreciation -from Ti...