[at-l] Cactus Ed's lasting legacy

[blisterfree@xxxxxxxxxxxxx (Brett Tucker)]

For anyone interested in reading more of our good late friend Ed, I believe
the following quote, referenced previously, is from his essay "A Writer's
Credo," which appears in the collection of essays entitled, "One Life at a
Time, Please." One of his best essays, from perhaps his finest collection.
(Ed preferred his Down the River.) On his death bed, Henry David Thoreau was
purportedly asked by a priest if he had any thoughts about the afterlife
awaiting him. To which Thoreau replied, "One life at a time, please." Cranky
and sober to the bitter end, both of our friends.

In terms of AT applicability, also try to find a copy of the beautiful
coffee-table book, "Appalachian Wilderness," with big color images of the
Smokies, and Edward Abbey narrating. His take on Gatlinburg is notably
outdated, but the words of wilderness still ring true.

- blisterfree

"One final paragraph of advice: Do not burn yourself 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 even more important to enjoy it.
While you can. While it is still there. So get out there and mess around
with your friends, ramble out yonder and explore the forests, encounter the
grizz, climb the mountains. Run the rivers, breathe deep of that yet sweet
and lucid air, sit quietly for a while and contemplate the precious
stillness, that lovely, mysterious and awesome space. Enjoy yourselves, keep
your brain in your head and your head firmly attached to your body, the body
active and alive, and I promise you this much: I promise you this one sweet
victory over our enemies, over those deskbound people with their hearts in a
safe deposit box and their eyes hypnotized by desk calculators. I promise
you this: you will outlive the bastards."