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Show THE ZEPHYRMAY 89 PAGE 2 401? H page two Jim Stiles a great passion for Justice. In his mind. If something was right, what was the point in compromising? He lived by that philosophy throughout his Ufa. How many of us can make the same boast? The poet once wrote, so today we shall mourn him. And tomorrow, and tomorrow we shall miss him." The last thing Abbey would want la for us to I mourn his death. Well, I'm sorry Just cant help IL But he has left his words to challenge us, to make us think, and to make us remember. History will have a very special place for Edward Abbey. Notes on VoL 1 No. 1 The first issue of The Zeohvr Is history and Pm glad of It. 'I knew goof-up- s, and If you didnt notice them all, being the masochist that I am at times, let me point them out to you. First of all, about that tiny little 4 pL type. My plan for the first In 10 two But until I to column format a establish Issue was pL type. I I started assembling pages, had no Idea Just how much copy had to Insert I came to the stark realization that all this story copy was not going to fit I In 24 pages. So bumped the paper to 28 pages. It still wasnt going to fit thered be rough spots and There are 24 hours In a day. In that short span of time, life can take the world on a roller coaster ride that leaves us spinning and bewildered. First It hands us a rose; then It throws us a blow. Its the way life Is Its all part of the process. Still, we are sometimes left to wonder and sort through the confusion. March 14 was the printing date for the first Issue of this paper. I had awaited that day for months with a mixed-b- ag of feelings anticipation, But dread. when that Tuesday morning and doubt, excitement, (at times) arrived, I felt fairly satisfied with the content and pleased with the design (except for all the tiny little print). The printer, a true craftsman named Larry Hauser, produced a beautiful, clean newspaper, and as I headed home, It could not have been a more wonderful day. I had Just pulled Into my driveway and lifted the first box of Zephyrs from the back of my VW, when my friend Jean Akens parked In front of my house. She came to tell me that Ed Abbey was dead. There must be some mistake, I thought. Not Ed Abbey. I met Ed thirteen years ago, right here In Moab. I had read Desert Solitaire in 1972. Id come here to give him a drawing, and I remember this big hulk of a man emerging from a dark room, wearing that magnificent salt and pepper beard, that great Ed Abbey grin. But I also recall how struck I was by his softspokeness, his graciousness, and gentle manner. The writer of outrageous novels, the no compromise defender of the land, the man who through his books could provoke a gentle man. such a broad spectrum of emotion, was a gentleman Over the years we became friends, although I never got to spend the time with him I wanted. He was usually in Tucson, I was usually here. Still, we managed to stay in touch. We didnt always agree on things, but that was OK. He preferred a good argument to blind, unthinking allegiance to his point of view. A year ago, I was visiting Abbey In Tucson. We decided to go to an exhibition baseball game at HI Corbett Held. As we raced up Speedway Blvd. In his old red Cadillac convertible (an absolutely outrageous sight), we got I was Into a terrific argument about the future of mankind. defending the human race (as Ed liked to say, somebody had to do It); Abbey was pessimistic. Too many people, too many cars, we're out of control, he shouted over the roar of the traffic. Something has to be done! Abbey dropped me off at the ticket stand, while he went to park the car. I waited for Ed to return. I must have And waited. really made him mad, I to me. left he hes thought Hnally, myself emerged from a tangle of cars and buses looking grim faced. told you there were too many people, he complained, "There was no room for my Caddy anywhere we must be parked a mile from here. I no "Well, wonder, replied, "that damn tank of yours must be thirty feet long. Why don't you get a smaller car? "Jim! he replied, squeezing my shoulder and giving me the fierce Abbey grin, lf I did that, what would I have to complain about? That was Abbey. He reveled In being contradictory, In keeping people off He liked to make people think. He preferred an angry, negative guard. Ed Abbey despised Indifference and response than no response at alL But he was consistently courageous in expressing his opinion, complacency. no matter how outrageous It might be. He had the strength to stand behind an unpopular cause, or to speak up when everyone else had lost their voices. That Is what I admired about him most And now, the world Is a little less that voice of and In the wilderness Is gone. interesting few Very people are ambivalent about Abbey; he has been admired and praised by many, reviled by others. But you don't have to agree with the man to respect him, and admire him. Ed Abbey had a great passion for life, and 1 I now had three choices. I could expand The Zeohvr to 40 pages to accommodate the copy and go broke after the first Issue. Or I could leave out about one third of the ads, whereupon I would also go broke after one Issue. Or I could drastically reduce the type-si- ze and shoe hom It Into 28 pages. The last option Just barely worked. Other than complaints of eye strain, the design of the paper was fairly In fact, I was beginning to exhibit signs of overconfidence, well received. I until heard from two readers. The first, subscriber Chuck Van Epps of Minneapolis, left the following message on my dreaded answering machine: we need to talk. (Click). "Stiles, the paper looks promising, but We need to talk? What did he mean? I began to be haunted by new selfdoubts, when my old pal Ken Sanders, the publisher of Dream Garden Press In Salt Lake, delivered the haymaker. In a letter, he began: he said, (I hate It when he calls me Stilesy1), "are you "Stilesy, sit down and prepare yourself. Comments about the Zeohvr to follow:" ready, So much for overconfidence. Brother Sanders returned me to reality the covers not bad In the top half when folded, but the bottom is Your masthead Is Just loose type sailing cfldnt reproduce well and muddy In a sea of white define things! "Pg2 your type! Stiles, give us a point size us (sic) six footers can read. OK, now youre using some sense, Interesting graphics Pg3 I take It all "Pg4 back; you haven't learned a damn thing. Remember Mark Twain's comment about chloroform In print? You get the Idea? By now, I could not even define overconfidence, much less display tt. But up to now, I at least had a rough Idea of what he was trying to tell me. In the next block of critique, he totally lost me you'd have to force yourself to read such an unappealing blob of black Ink; the kerning and leading are awkward Its too claustrophobic. Kerning and leading? Would somebody please tell me what kerning and I had been leading are? awkwardly kerning and leading my way through the entire paper, and I didn't even know it My confidence had been shaken to the core. Obviously, any publisher worth his or her Ink, should know how to avoid awkward kerning and leading, and I had no Idea what It meant Since then, Ive been trying to find a more readable type and a bigger I point size, to prevent further complaints and letters from Ken Sanders. still haveni had that talk with Chuck Van Epps. As for circulation and subscriptions, The Zeohvr did pretty well for its first issue. Still I'd been thinking of ways to improve it First I considered a personal and vicious diatribe against the Ayatollah, thereby inspiring His Goofiness to put a price on my head and attracting worldwide attention as a result. But again delusions of grandeur; besides It wasn't an original thought. Then I briefly considered a "Win a Dream Date With Stiles Contest in hopes of increasing circulation and sales, but my friends, Larry and Darrel, who I think of as brothers, advised me I couldnt handle the humiliation when no one entered the competition. So The Zeohvr remains free of frills and sensationalism, relying instead (hopefully) on honest reporting, interesting stories, improved graphics, and .... bigger type. I leave you, yearning to be kerning. THE CANYON COUNTRY SUBSCRIBE NOW ZEPHYR until May 1, an annual subscription is P.O. BOX 327 MOAB, UTAH 84S32 (801) 259-777- $10.00 3 local subscribers receive The Zephyr a day before it reaches newsstands. JIM STILES. PUBLISHER Trish West production manager contributing writers Audrey Graham, Jim Mattingly, Steve Mulligan, John Sensenbrenner Ken Sleight, Ken Sanders, Terry Tempest Williams and Grandpa Og very special thanks to name THE CANYON COUNTRY address ZEPHYR Louise and Ed Claus 1989 The Canyon Country Zephyr all rights reserved 22 after May P.O. BOX 327 1, subscriptions are $12.00 moab, utah 84532 |