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Show THE ZEPHYR/JUNE-JULY 2008 ~ JIM CORWIN, THE FLEXIBLE CABLE GUY For years there was actually a cable company in Moab with real people who you could actually see and talk to. They even answered the phone. Jim Corwin was the manager of the cable eee here and one of the first Zephyr advertisers. FINDING ABBEY’S HOUSE Goddamn Ed Abbey. T came west in 1975 on a quest. I wanted to find my hero, Edward Abbey, and give him a pen and ink drawing, poorly executed but done with great feeling, of a blown up Glen Canyon Dam. Because of its remote location, Moab has always needed cable television ser- The jacket cover of The Monkey Wrench Gang said he lived in Wolf Hole, Arizona, in vice—it’s been cable or nothing at all the heart of the Arizona Strip. In good faith, I traveled hundreds of miles over dusty corrugated roads to present my offering. It seemed logical and natural that Abbey would live out there in the middle of no- since the beginning. For years we were limited to the three commercial affiliates in Salt Lake City and KUED, the public tv station. By the mid-80s, however, our selection began to expand a bit. In 1988, Moab received the A & E channel, but only after 4 pm. That where, away from the Things of Man. But when I got to Wolf Hole, there was nothing there. Not even a hole. The lying bastard, I grumbled. My dog and I left Wolf Hole, never to return. A month later, I discovered that the Great Cactus Ed was living in Moab, in a ranchstyle home on Spanish Valley Drive. I’d driven past his place a month before and didn’t channel was occupied by C-SPAN 2 ow it. In December, I finally met Abbey. I told him of my pilgrimmage to Wolf Hole. until then. In November I read that A & E planned to re-broadcast the NBC video He eyed me with the slightest hint of scorn. (What kind of idiot is this...) “Wolf Hole,” he said. “Yes...so tell me..what’s it like down there?” tapes of the assassination of President Kennedy, in real time, just as the events unfolded on November 22, 1963. As a dyed-in-the-wool JFK conspiracy buff, I was desperate to see this program. But it was to start airing at noon. I tracked down Corwin, the day before the broadcast, and explained my dilemma. Jim shrugged. “What the hell,” he said. “I'll just flip the receiver over toA&E early today. Nobody will ever know.” True to his word, C-SPAN stopped and A & E began broadcasting just before noon. I gas all four hours and still have them, to this day. ne poagine being able to work out an arrangement like that with a cable comeae in Abbey's home on Spanish Valley Drive KEN DAVEY, the DEAN of the MOAB PRESS CORPS In the early 1990s, Ken Davey was the Voice of Moab. He was the news director for SOMETHING MISSING THAT I CAN’T COMPLAIN ABOUT Channel 6 News, the senior reporter for the Moab Times-Independent, and a featured columnist/essayist for The Zephyr. His dry wit and edgy sense of humor drove all of us insane at one time or another, but he never drove all of us crazy at the same time, so he was able to successfully multi-task for years. When it was first proposed it would never happen. And forever. I was wrong on both The company that built the Election nights were Ken's specialty. Before they hired a cameraman, Ken would set up his own video shots, tape himself giving the latest updates, then remove the cassette from _. the recorder, sprint down Center Street to the studio on Main. Personally, Ken was and continues to be as charming off camera as he is in front of to build a scenic tram up the side of the Portal, I was sure when it was built I was just as sure that it would be there counts. chairlift expected it to be a huge commercial success, with a projected visitation of 250,000 paid customers within a few years. In reality, the numbers fell far short. e tram went into bankruptcy, the tram was sold for pennies on the dollar and the new owner couldn’t turn a profit either. Finally the Nature Conservancy bought it and, taking a lesson from Jennifer Speers, one. Over the years we've had hundreds of conversations, on a “free range” of topics. But when the words begin to fail, Ken has the most honest way of ending a conversation I have ever known. tore it down in one afternoon. But lest we all breathe a sigh of relief too quickly, the adjacent property has been bought by Canyon Dream Realty, LLC. They are proposing a massive residential development, including this; taken directly from their web site: He simply says, “Okay...it’s time for you to go now.” And Ido. He’s one of the few truly honest men I’ve ever known. And an honest pain in the ass. And he still lives in Moab. Because five acres of the property tops the Moab Rim, we will be offering five 1 acre lots right on top the rim! That’s right, I said on top the rim! We will be constructing a tunnel from the bottom of the rim all the way to the top. This tunnel will be formed by sawing dimension building stone from within the rim. This stone will be used to build retaining walls and landscaping in the development. The tunnel will be a private driveway to the top, making this the most exclusive property in Moab. Read it and weep... Paces DEAN DAVEY reporting on the 1992 election. Moab from the air...2007 aed 17 |