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Show somewhere lies compromise and we all share in its bounty. John Holland should learn a greater appreciation for the many miles of jeep road he now has access to. He should enjoy the unspoiled views that groups like SUWA fight hard to preserve and quit crying his selfish tears over a few miles of road closures and closed camps. It’s all about sharing John John. Mr. Holland also stakes claim to the titles "environmentalist" and "naturalist" in his letter. I know John a little and I am sure that his environmental ethic runs deep. His time and experience in Canyonlands have instilled in him a high regard for low impact etiquette. I am curious though if John honestly believes that his “at least one hundred times" Jeeping in Salt Creek, plus the untold thousands of trips made by others through its unique riparian ecosystem, could possibly have left it "doing just fine". Hey Stiles, Somebody blew it on page 31 of the October/November 1998 issue, and as a former railroader, I cannot let them get away with it, especially since it involves my former employer, the Southern Pacific Railroad. Under "Herb Ringer’s Trip Across The American West - The Virginia City & Truckee Railroad in 1941", ANYONE oughta be able to recognize a Southern Pacific 2-10-2 locomotive with the third section of train 563. There never was a "Virginia CITY & Truckee Railroad” but simply a Virginia & Truckee, which ran from Reno to Carson City, Nevada, with branches from Carson City to Virginal City and Minden. The Virginal City branch was abandoned in 1939 and the rest in 1950 or 51. They never had a locomotive bigger than a 2-8-0, probably only about half the size and weight of the SP engine pictured, and only one of those. The rest were a handful of tiny little teakettles, most of which still exist in various museums, a few even operable. Also, the V&T never used train number indicators on the smokebox of their locomotives. Only the SP and UP did. If we had some employee timetables from that era we could narrow down the location of the photo (which is a great one, by the way-~an unexpected treat) by looking to see that route train #563 operated over. It’s obviously on a desert division from the surrounding terrain and the extra water car behind the locomotive tender. I’m betting on the old Salt Lake Division (later part of the Sacramento Division) somewhere between Lakeside, Utah and Sparks, Nevada. Trains 561 and 570 were definitely Salt Lake Division trains, so 563 most likely is also. I for one applaud the efforts of SUWA and the hard. work of Scott Groene, Ken Rait, and countless others through the years. While I may not feel in total agreement with each and every position people may take in the name of Environmentalism, I cringe at the thought of what might come to pass in the absence of some voice to speak loudly in support of conservation, restraint, and preservation. I may never get to drive my Suburban in Salt Creek, but I rest easier knowing Ray Pene won’t ever try and dig for gold there either. Finally, as I contemplate humanity’s seemingly unquenchable thirst for self destruction, I would like to quote a great American philosopher. Reviewing my lifelong study of humanist philosophy through animation, I reflect upon the wisdom of one George Jetson who said, as he found himself running out of control on his treadmill while walking his dog Astro: "JANE !!! STOP THIS CRAZY THING !!!". His profound words require no further elaboration. Thanks, Darren Vaughan Moab. Dear Mr. Stiles, It is interesting to find, in a publication so strenuously independent-minded, evidence of your acceptance of fashionable prejudice. I refer to the satirical petroglyph in the Weekly Zephyr News of 1 October, 1998, in which the existence of fat people is held to be an evil on a par with such disasters as the extinctions of species, and the threats embodied in weapons Sincerely, Bill Wolverton Escalante, Utah of mass destruction, industrial pollution, the internal combustion engine, and overpopulation. This bias sticks out in a newspaper that worked so hard to celebrate racial (Industrial Engineer, Southern Pacific Mechanical Dept. 1971-1982) and cultural diversity. Editor's Note: For cryin’ out loud, I can’t get away with anything. I was not able to consult with Herb on this one and so I depended on my own memory of our past conversations...] guessed. Thanks for the incredibly accurate correction...JS Stiles, Despite my previous rant in the most recent issue of the Zephyr, I am compelled to It is especially influence body size and shape. odd when one considers the genetic factors that (When diets and fat reduction schemes fail 95% of the time, powerful natural forces would seem to be at work) Different body types have been valued in different eras---just look at art history. Mesomorphs and ectomorphs carry off the beauty prized today, and the implication of your satire--that endomorphs are aliens, do not deserve to be here, and should go back where they came from—-falls right into step with modern advertising—driven standards and assumptions. write to you again regarding an item which appeared in your publication. The inspiration for my letter is actually another letter to the editor, one which appeared in the October- In addition, the satirist shows a "Pregnant Being" on his petroglyph of horrors resulting from alien invasion, while leaving this being’s impregnator out of the picture. Unless the November Zephyr, written by John Holland, of Moab. I find “Mr. Holland’s Opus" to be artist is so ignorant as to believe coition and conception to be unrelated events, which I seriously doubt, this omission puts him in the inglorious company of those men who take one of the most self-serving, pompous, narrow-minded, ventings of hot air to ever have appeared in your paper. : John Holland seems to be little more than an overeducated child, whining at the loss of his favorite toy. John readily labels himself as a "Jeeper" and his stated opinions indeed reveal a fairly blatant and uncompromising bias toward his own desires for all access jeeping. On one hand John praises "this last great wild and free place" while at the same time attacking the concepts of "wilderness" and its proponents SUWA and the Sierra Club. I wonder if John has ever even considered the role such organizations may have already played in preserving this "precious desert" he claims to love so dearly. In some respects John’s words ring true: SUWA and the like are extremists. In a nation where consensus rules the day, extremists play a crucial role. For every Scott Groene pulling an argument in one direction there is an equally extreme, Ray Pene-sort of person, pulling in the opposite direction. no thought for contraception and leave all responsibility for it to their women partners: not an enlightened bunch, I would say. Perhaps the artist holds that these "Pregnant Beings" reproduce asexually, by parthenogenesis, maybe. If so, he would have been wise to make that clear in his satire---I am sure his skills would enable him to make this as funny as the rest of his work. Sincerely, Janet White Berkeley, California Editor's Note: If you'll excuse the pun...lighten up. In the middle WRITERS of the WEST KATIE gn LEE ALL MY RIVERS ARE GONE A CT cantons fees ss We converge where we parted and stand quietly, looking at the strange moonscape beauty below and around us, so tuned to each other’s moods and preferences that we no longer need talk. We’re down to looks and sign language—-a squeeze on the arm, a pat on the back, a smile, a hug, a sigh, a tear. I know now, this is the only way to go to ground, to attend the magic here. One, two friends; never more. For almost a week, when Frank on e evens ool oa bth as saa With an introduction by Terry Tempest Williams (Bless her) - comes across more to get to where I might be resting or writing, he merely places his shadow my face or the page, and I know he’s there to suggest something or, often, just to give me his reluctant kind of smile that says we have on with it. I’ll nod, get up, and we'll go. All My Rivers Are Gone: A Journey of Discovery Through Glen Canyon From BACK of BEYOND BOOKS at 83 North Main Street in Moab (435) 259-5154 ee |