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Show FEE CPT CK TELE READERS RESPOND MORE MUDD SLINGING & AN ABBEY LOOK-ALIKE TALE Stiles: Good Abbey issue; gave me ideas............ 1. I don't even remember the 70s, but still want the retro issue. 2. Lame aliens in " swimsuits appeals to the prurient interest; so run the L.A.S. issue. Even better would be a Nekkid Aliens Issue, featuring Nuevo-Utahans recently en-gated in Greater Urban Moab Complex (GUMC). Humvee of the Month pic. 3. Market the “alien auger" (Riverside Plumbing’s ad on page 19) as a Moab souvenir. 4. Hold a contest to see who can donate the most money to the Zephyr. Winner gets a T-shirt and a week-end hiking alone through the Maze (free beer). 5. Initiate a "Ken Sleight for Mayor" write-in campaign. 6. More Katie Lee nude pin-ups. 7. Start shooting “Canyon Country Zephyr - The Movie." 8. A music issue. 9. Interview the current City Council and ask them one question: "What is progress?" 10. Take no shit (as opposed to Techno shit). Remembering Abbey is a noble venture and it should be done often enough to keep the old flames a-burning. As proof, here’s my tale: I was eating in a chi-chi cafe habituated by hip college kids (oxymoron?). A cute waitress came up and said, "Can I tell you something personal?" (Always a dangerous way to begin a repartee). I agreed, of course, and she said, "You look like Edward Abbey, as an older man." [older man? me? that was pre-50, by Gawd] Without belaboring the point, it was the beard. I made some idiotic quip and whipped out the tiny monkey wrench dangling round my skinny neck. You should've seen her eyes, Stiles; it was one of those magic moments, what the Woo-woos call “synchronicity.” : But here’”s the kicker: when she pointed me out to her fellow waiters, one replied: "Who's Edward Abbey?" This wasn’’t in just any lovely American cross-road suburb. Hell no — I was in Arcata, California: home of the wooly eco-freak neo-hippie tree hugging Tribe of the groovy Redwood trees! Who's Abbey? It hasn't been THAT long, has it? It's later than we think, Stiles! Hussein. Perhaps that is true in these beginning months, but we should revisit this question 19 years from now, and then we will have a more accurate comparison. Saddam Hussein killed people to subjugate them. He used methods of torture. Yes, we have killed, but I would like to believe that our intent is to provide a better life for those who are alive, and to dissuade those who would bring their holy war to our soil. With great sadness, for many who died, this is a moot point. I will reserve judgement until I see the life that the majority of people of Iraq lead in the years to come. We should consider the possibility that the riotous and infuriated Iraqi public that you speak of is actually a much smaller group of individuals who lost power with the overthrow of a Tyrant. The majority may just be frustrated with a slow rebuilding of the country, a problem which is exacerbated by a small part of the population hell bent on chaos and bringing back the old order and favors and the thirteenth century world view. I would also suggest that we consider if part of this is the very high price that is paid for our freedom, and that of the Iraq people. As much as you dislike the hordes that invade Moab (very understandable), and the damage that is done to the very delicate and beautiful environment of Moab, this pales in comparison to the damage that religious extremists can do to our country. And yes, I would like to see it our way in Iraq. I would like to see democracy there, instead of a dictatorship that tortures it's citizens to keep them in line. Perhaps this is a form of religious or political extremism on my part. I must consider that possibility. But I do believe in human rights, and the right of a people not to be subject to a Tyrant. And yes, it is their country. We have not annexed it. It will take ten to twenty years before we are certain if we did the right thing, and History will judge us. I for one, am proud of our country that we did not just stand aside and marvel at the horrors that were taking place. It is very hard sometimes to know when to take action, and to take the rist to bear the horrors of causing wrongful deaths. Oh yes, if you publish this, perhaps an autographed copy of the next issue of your publication would be in order. What do you think? Take Care, yr pal, Tom Anselmo Ned Mudd Birmingham, Alabama Dover, NJ ANOTHER P.S. I enjoy your publication. Thanks. ED ABBEY STORY EMAIL YOUR COMMENTS: Jim, I was reading your Take It or Leave It column when the line hit me. "Ed was still a man who enjoyed the company of 'regular people,’ who spurned and hid from most autograph cczephyr@frontiernet.net seekers (unless they were gorgeous co-eds)". Isuddenly realized I too was touched, indirectly, by Ed Abbey. It was May 1984. Edward Abbey was going to be at The Living Batch bookstore, located a block from the University of New Mexico. My wife, Karen, single at the time, was working on her masters degree in art at the University and was (and is) a big fan of Abbey. She grabbed an old copy of The Monkey Wrench Gang and went to the bookstore, which was located just across the street from her apartment. When she got to the store she was informed it wasn't cool to have a great author sign an old book, but rather she should purchase a new book for Abbey to sign. She and one other person were the only people there for the book signing. Can you imagine? Edward Abbey in the flesh and for the express purpose of meeting people and signing autographs and only two people show up for the event? Karen was second in line and overheard the other person ask Abbey to sign the book in a rather elaborate personal way. When it was her turn Ed asked her, "How would you like me to sign it?" Because she thought the other person had overdone it, Karen said a signature would do. Abbey then said "A wise choice, the resale value will be much higher that way." Karen was now very embarrassed as she didn't want Edward Abbey, her hero, to think she just wanted his signature for an investment, but she was too in awe of the man to say anything. After the busy signing session of two autographs Ed then turned to the store manager and said "It's good to know I can still draw beautiful young women’ and with that he looked up at Karen and stared her straight in the face. She turned beet red and walked out of the store. Funny thing, Karen has never read the book she purchased that day. The book is Beyond The Wall. She says she didn't want to bend the pages. I told her that she missed the boat by not talking to Abbey and she is missing it again by not reading his pearls of wisdom. I guess she and | are similar in this regard as Karen gave me a gift of Abbey's Desert Solitaire 10 years ago and I have never read a word of it. Why? Because it is known as his classic and I want to read it at the very end of my life. I know it is a big risk, but it is hard to read the last words of such a wonderful man. As long as I have that book, unread, I will still have something new and exciting right around the corner, and I can turn that corner whenever I want. Jeff Lunt 24 HOUR ‘NIGHTMARE’ Jim, Glad to see the piece on 24 hrs of Moab.I have long felt it was an environmental nightmare.I walked the course after the race years ago and saw the damage myself.I would like to see Laird whats-his-name (the promoter) held responsible for damages to the area. Of course if the BLM weren't such willing dupes... Bruce Dissel Moab PS Had my own amusing interaction with Gene Schafer nearly 30 years ago when my truck broke down in the Needles. 24 HOURS...WHERE ARE THE ENVIROS??? Greetings Jim, Before I get into the meat of the matter, a small anecdote. I first visited Canyon Country (and in fact the West) early this summer-- 20 years old, wide-eyed, bent on ridding myself of the East Coast for good. My jaw dropped open coming down 128 from Cisco and I was hooked. I went over to Boulder to visit a friend's father who had moved out there. In discussing local politics, as he was about to go out for a Gentiles vs. Mormons soccer game, he tossed me a copy of the Zephyr and said, "Well don't think EVERYONE in Utah is a conservative right-wing fascist." And that's how I stumbled upon the best alternative paper I've come across in our fair nation. Anyway... THANK YOU for the coverage of the 24 Hours of Moab! I didn't know much about the event when it went on, but I went out for a long hike along the Behind the Rocks trail two weeks or so afterwards... the signs of destruction were everywhere. It was almost laughable to see the "Wilderness Study Area" signs next to countless tire marks (many of which, I might add, extended clearly beyond the signs barring all mechanized modes of RE: IRAQ...”1T’S JUST YOU, STILES..” Dear Jim, In the Dec/Jan issue you discuss Iraq Facts, and close by asking 'Is it just me? Or is this insane?’ Please consider the possibility that it's just you, certainly not you alone, but perhaps your view is in the minority (not that being in the minority makes your view wrong). You have calculated that we have killed more civilians per month than Saddam travel and onto some of our last, precious wilderness). My trust "Moab West" trail map showed an older alignment of the Behind the Rocks trail-- not only has the alignment been changed since the map was published, but they didn't even bother using the dozens of existing County Roads and ranching roads that already are there. Instead, they cut new road, and LOTS of it-- with two, three, sometimes even four roads running parallel to each other over a square mile (see the large cleared field north of "Prostitution Butte" as Lee PAGE 29 | continued on next page... |
