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[at-l] rodney kinged...

felix' quip reminded me of a very poignant moment on my 92 thruhike:

smokey & tweetie, fancy free, hurricane hugo, phantom engineer and i were
at pine swamp branch shelter, just north of pearisburg.  it had been a long
day, we were tired.  dusk was falling, we were filtering water and
preparing dinners.  smokey had a tiny radio because he liked to listen to
NPR's all things considered, even on the trail.  usually he'd listen
through headphones, but this night he let us all hear.  this night was
devoted completely to coverage of the LA riots after the cops in the rodney
king trial were acquitted.

we were horrified.  we couldn't understand it.  700 miles on the trail
restores your faith in humanity, and after all we had been through, the
hatred and animosity was so far from our current reality we could not grasp
it.  there were a lot of tears and head-shaking and fist-pounding.

when the program was over, we talked quietly amongst ourselves.  stars were
lighting overhead, the creek was gurgling nearby, night insects were
buzzing.  it was very peaceful.  the intrusion of the reality of this world
was a shock, but we all agreed how lucky we were to be out on the AT,
experiencing the good side of human nature.  we would not be hardened.  the
evening was subdued; nevertheless, we slept well, awoke to a gorgeous
morning surrounded by rhododendron and mountain laurel, and we appreciated
it all the more.


mike
ke kaahawe   AT92 TYT94 PCTsoon
mikeh@royalrobbins.com
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