Re: [at-l] Blue Blazes

["Thomas McGinnis" <tmcginnis@ucclan.state.in.us>]

>> "David Addleton" <dfaddleton@mindspring.com> 04/05/00 12:05AM 
Maybe some blue blazer here could enlighten me about the origin of this expression:

What in the blue blazes is that?!!!

######
We have Myron Avery, famous AT routefinder and skinflint, to thank for the phrase.

As an AT routefinder, Avery was second to none, and well known for being competitive enough to want to be first among equals. He'd jump up, split out from camp at first light — often without breakfast, so's his choice of trail would by default end up being the one followed by the AT.

But Avery (Scottish, a Sailor, and a lawyer to boot) was a dyed-in-the-wool, over-educated, trial-by-fire skinflint, too. And so tight with a penny was he that Axe heads and hatchetts often went unsharpened so that their steel would not be "prematurely" worn down.

Well, you can see where this is going. Avery would tramp off by himself every morning, yesterday's dulled axe in one hand, a chewed hatchett in the other, and he would commence to marking out his start of the day's trail route. He'd swing, the oblique-toothed tool would bounce lazily up or down the subject tree trunk, hit Avery in the opposite hand, elbow, knee, shin, and on at least three recorded occasions, his head, and then the sailor's mouth would take over, slinging venomous epithets far and wide through the woods. These attacks of language color were often overheard clear back in the camp, where his fellow pathfinders would exclaim

"What in blue blazes is that man DOING out there???"


I'm glad we had this little talk.
Sloetoe


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