[at-l] Re: A Walk in the Woods

[Snodrog5 at aol.com (Snodrog5@aol.com)]

In a message dated 5/27/2005 2:34:45 PM Eastern Daylight Time, 
optimyst@gmail.com writes:
I'm sensing nothing like
the trail community I've been working with the last few years.
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Do consider creating gossip about a "hostile, closed-minded audience" and 
"the myopia (and bloodlust) of a segment of the membership" positive 
contributions toward your work with the Trail Community? I don't know if you were in the 
lecture hall that day in Hanover, but a list member who was there wrote this:

"People at the Gathering had a variety of opinions about the book, but my 
impression was that it was largely a friendly crowd that gathered to hear Bryson 
speak. I didn't detect either myopia or bloodlust.

Bryson agreed only reluctantly to speak -- probably because he knew his book 
had almost nothing to do with the Appalachian Trail or long distance hiking -- 
and then simply didn't show up at the scheduled time.

We sat around for awhile. Finally word came that Bryson wasn't going to show. 
So we discussed the book in his absence. I sensed the pro-Bryson folks were 
clearly in the majority."

I was at that Gathering too. At that time I could count on one hand the 
number of hikers I knew that cared one way or another about Bryson or his book. 
Earlier, regarding a question about this topic, a wise list member posted: "Read 
the archives. It's been talked to death, extensively." You might consider the 
small number of current comments on this topic a measure of just how much list 
members care. Until negative remarks were made about the AT Community no one 
bothered to comment at all.

Teej