[at-l] old lister bio

[patv@ukans.edu (Pat Villeneuve)]

Lamar Powell wrote:

> Oh, my favorite beverage is sweet tea on the
>rocks. You know, I get some ice cold tea in a thermos and take it out on

> the Trail and sit down on some rocks and drink it. My favorite hard
> beverage is some ice cold sweet tea at the top of a hard steep climb.

I can vouch for this. Oh, c'mon, Hopeful, I have to tell this story...  ;->

A coupla years ago I posted that I was going to be working in Chattanooga,
Tennessee, for a week. (Now there's a spelling test, but I digress...)
Hopeful suggested that area hikers get together for dinner, and I left the
arrangements to him. He suggested we meet at a restaurant in a mall--one with
a park bench in front, nonetheless--and we gave highly unsuccessful physical
descriptions to each other. (Hmmm...I seem to remember this happening with
Datto as well...) In any case, I arrive at the appointed time and see a man
on the bench. Is that Hopeful? I stride foreward hopefully (sorry), smiling
all the way. He looks straight through me. Oops. Maybe not. Hmmm....I make a
coupla more passes. Nothing, but I'm starting to feel a little awkward. I
thought I could try the direct route, but try as I may, I couldn't not come
up with his "real" name. And no way was I going to walk up to this man and
chirp, "Hi! Are you Hopeful?!"

Eventually his wife Diana came to our rescue. Son Deluge joined us for dinner
as well. Warning: The following sentence will prove I am NOT a southerner.
All though the dinner I kept wondering how well he knew the waitress when she
made repeated trips to our table to ask "More, sweetie?" Or something like
that....

Sorry, but it was an unfogettable evening.
Give Me Chocolate