[at-l] Re: Jim Owen of Spirit Eagle--Welcome Back, Solar Bear

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

Whoosh!  I decided to check out what this thread was about Jim and Jenny.  It 
might be serious.  Had something gone wrong between them?

'Twasn't that at all!  Quick, put the lid back on this can of worms.  Let's 
go hiking.

Kinnickinic

In a message dated 6/12/2005 9:23:27 AM Eastern Daylight Time, 
optimyst@gmail.com writes:


> Subj:[at-l] Re: Jim Owen of Spirit Eagle 
> Date:6/12/2005 9:23:27 AM Eastern Daylight Time
> From:optimyst@gmail.com
> To:at-l@backcountry.net
> Sent from the Internet 
> 
> 
> 
> I love the mystery of human nature, the contradictions inherent in
> stuffing ourselves inside this soft wimpy skin of ours.  We are made
> of the stuff born inside of stars that have died and we have the
> imaginations that can span the galaxies.  We have science which has
> enabled us to solve countless mysteries and invent marvellous (and
> horrific) machines to do our work for us.  We claim to know logic and
> seek truth but frequently attain only the lower standard of
> rationalization of our inbred ideas.  I know myself to be a prime
> example of this flawed, contradictory breed often given to hubris.
> 
> My friend Jim Owen is not a perfect human being.  He has some hard
> edges.  In his life I daresay he's made more rounds inside the
> rocktumbler of life's adversities than many of us and he has been and
> is being shaped by it.  He's made of stern stuff, but I don't let
> those remaining hard edges obscure the shining gem of a human being
> that lies within.  Yes, Jim and I rationalize things quite differently
> on unimportant matters like politics, he the conservative, and me the
> liberal, but that pales beside the important matters upon which we
> agree.  I can think of few people I'd rather go for a hike with.
> 
> Let us disagree with one another on the issues of the day, but let us
> do it respectfully.  Let us spend the bulk of our energies here on the
> much more satisfying job of building friendships and sharing the joys
> of our hiking lifestyle.  Where there has been conflict, let us choose
> to forgive and forget.  As each hike must end, why not let our grudges
> do the same?  And let us look for the good in the Trail lovers here
> and not get hung up on the sharp edges that few are without. Let us
> start anew and learn anew from each other: new hikes, new friendships
> and new adventures around every bend in the Trail.  With goodwill, it
> can be done.
> 
> Happy trails,
> 
> Solar Bear