[at-l] Holmes, Cold Weather and Life

[icw at esisnet.com (Clark Wright)]

I think much of life involves wrestling with conficting emotions and 
desires - for instance, my desire to hike, climb, take risks and be in 
the outdoors must be reconciled with my desire to be a good husband and 
father . . . when I read the stories about Mr. Holmes dying in the 
Whites, I have at least two conflicting emotions: (1) what a great way 
to die - doing what you love in the outdoors; and (2) what a dumb thing 
to do alone given the weather conditions . . . both thoughts bear 
legitimacy . . . ironically, if he had been 85 years old, we all might 
be saying to ourselves "What a way to go - a life well lived!"  In all 
events, hopefully his love of the outdoors will live on in his children, 
and that his wife can come to terms with the fact that his death was an 
inextricable part of who he was . . .

thru-thinker