A Friendly Correction for those Man-Haters who Delve to be Single

[Flinty_McFlint]

Originally Posted by Sidd Finch

I agree with you to an extent. Once you decide to have kids, your life really isn't your own anymore. You brought someone into the world, you owe them something for that.

A spouse may or may not have the same implications -- depends on the relationship, and adults unlike kids can make their own decisions on this.

But Wonk's kids are adults now, I think. They don't own a part of his life, they just had a lease on it.

I'm not equating motorcycles to base jumping, and I wasn't speaking specifically towards Wonk, I trust him to do what's right for him. It just bums me out when some daredevil dies with a relatively young family at home. Surfing, cycling, skiing, all are dangerous, but nothing like climbing Everest or using a flying suit. It's the latter activities that I'd avoid, not the former. Can't live in a box, but you also don't need to set the box on fire. But there's really no excuse for watching soccer, that's just pathetic.

[Hank Chinaski]

Originally Posted by Flinty_McFlint

I'm not equating motorcycles to base jumping, and I wasn't speaking specifically towards Wonk, I trust him to do what's right for him. It just bums me out when some daredevil dies with a relatively young family at home. Surfing, cycling, skiing, all are dangerous, but nothing like climbing Everest or using a flying suit. It's the latter activities that I'd avoid, not the former. Can't live in a box, but you also don't need to set the box on fire. But there's really no excuse for watching soccer, that's just pathetic.

watching soccer live can be more dangerous than all of those.

[taxwonk]

Originally Posted by Flinty_McFlint

Whenever I read about some person dying while climbing a big mountain, or base jumping, skydiving, flying a old plane or some shit like that, you always hear the refrain, at least they died doing something they love. Which is probably true and wonderful and all that, except when they then describe that this person is survived by their spouse and kids, etc. It's wonderful to have hobbies and interests, it's wonderful to be true to yourself, but it's also wonderful to do so in a manner that doesn't fuck up your family and dependents. Life insurance is great and all, but it still doesn't replace your presence throughout their lives. Whenever I read those stories, I feel simultaneously sad, angry and disgusted.

All of that made perfect sense until I was lying in a hospital bed a week ago Sunday night, absolutely positive I was not going to see Monday morning.

No drama here. I was send a text message to a buddy to wipe my hard drive sure I was dying.

[Greedy,Greedy,Greedy]

Originally Posted by Sidd Finch

But Wonk's kids are adults now, I think. They don't own a part of his life, they just had a lease on it.

Do we know about the grandkids? And are we sure he hasn't impregnated the grrrlfriend?

[Atticus Grinch]

Originally Posted by Flinty_McFlint

I'm not equating motorcycles to base jumping, and I wasn't speaking specifically towards Wonk, I trust him to do what's right for him. It just bums me out when some daredevil dies with a relatively young family at home. Surfing, cycling, skiing, all are dangerous, but nothing like climbing Everest or using a flying suit. It's the latter activities that I'd avoid, not the former. Can't live in a box, but you also don't need to set the box on fire. But there's really no excuse for watching soccer, that's just pathetic.

Agree 100%, but I’ve also got a bone to pick with the families aspiring to be the youngest to climb Everest or solo sail around the globe. What horseshit. Finish or die, I won’t be applauding the courage either way. You just sent a kid with an undeveloped prefrontal cortex to do something dangerous so they’d be in the record books until an EVEN STUPIDER rich family gets determined to beat the record?

The current record holder is a 13 year old from rural India. She went up the China route because Nepal bans climbers younger than 16; China apparently doesn’t give a fuck. It was a publicity stunt for some Indian NGO for underprivileged youth; they trained her and sponsored the climb. According to the news, she was “shocked” when they came upon human remains at 10,000 feet. Yeah, that’s why you shouldn’t fucking be there, sweetheart. The sponsors should be spit-roasted even though she survived.

[Adder]

Originally Posted by Atticus Grinch

Agree 100%, but I’ve also got a bone to pick with the families aspiring to be the youngest to climb Everest or solo sail around the globe. What horseshit. Finish or die, I won’t be applauding the courage either way. You just sent a kid with an undeveloped prefrontal cortex to do something dangerous so they’d be in the record books until an EVEN STUPIDER rich family gets determined to beat the record?

The current record holder is a 13 year old from rural India. She went up the China route because Nepal bans climbers younger than 16; China apparently doesn’t give a fuck. It was a publicity stunt for some Indian NGO for underprivileged youth; they trained her and sponsored the climb. According to the news, she was “shocked” when they came upon human remains at 10,000 feet. Yeah, that’s why you shouldn’t fucking be there, sweetheart. The sponsors should be spit-roasted even though she survived.

Kinda seems like something that should have been included in her training.

[Hank Chinaski]

Originally Posted by Adder

Kinda seems like something that should have been included in her training.

at my big law there was a GP who had a goal of climbing the highest mountain on every continent. (conf to Flinty: he was old enough that his kids would be better off with him dead and his vast hoarded riches theirs, finally)

he told me about Antarctica; the mountain was nothing, but getting to it was a bitch. his friend had just did it. You get there, take a snowmobile for a WEEK to the mountain, climb it, then a week snowmobiling back. but on the week to the mountain a blizzard hit and they had to stay in their tents for a whole week.

he was going to do it the next year. he heard that story and was going to do it. these fuckers are nuts.

years later, he'd retired and I'd quit, he started doing motivational talks. he was on the Everest climb where a dozen people died. his group was 150 yards from the summit when a storm started. he and some others turned around and started down, others couldn't give up, they'd gotten too close. everyone who continued on died, but at least they'd summitted!

[ThurgreedMarshall]

http://www.lawtalkers.com/forums/sho...postcount=2580

http://www.lawtalkers.com/forums/sho...postcount=2581

http://www.lawtalkers.com/forums/sho...postcount=2582

http://www.lawtalkers.com/forums/sho...postcount=2583

TM

[Did you just call me Coltrane?]

Originally Posted by Atticus Grinch

According to the news, she was “shocked” when they came upon human remains at 10,000 feet. .

7000 feet below base camp? Those are some shitty climbers.

[Did you just call me Coltrane?]

Originally Posted by Atticus Grinch

Agree 100%, but I’ve also got a bone to pick with the families aspiring to be the youngest to climb Everest or solo sail around the globe. What horseshit. Finish or die, I won’t be applauding the courage either way. You just sent a kid with an undeveloped prefrontal cortex to do something dangerous so they’d be in the record books until an EVEN STUPIDER rich family gets determined to beat the record?

The current record holder is a 13 year old from rural India. She went up the China route because Nepal bans climbers younger than 16; China apparently doesn’t give a fuck. It was a publicity stunt for some Indian NGO for underprivileged youth; they trained her and sponsored the climb. According to the news, she was “shocked” when they came upon human remains at 10,000 feet. Yeah, that’s why you shouldn’t fucking be there, sweetheart. The sponsors should be spit-roasted even though she survived.

What about Kilimanjaro? I know people who've done it and it's really just a long uphill walk. I wouldn't mind doing that with my teenage or college kids.

[Pretty Little Flower]

Originally Posted by Did you just call me Coltrane?

7000 feet below base camp? Those are some shitty climbers.

Maybe they fell a reeeeeaaaaaaaally long way.

[Did you just call me Coltrane?]

Originally Posted by Pretty Little Flower

Maybe they fell a reeeeeaaaaaaaally long way.

If only they had Mac from "Mac and Me" looking over them.

[Adder]

Originally Posted by Did you just call me Coltrane?

What about Kilimanjaro? I know people who've done it and it's really just a long uphill walk. I wouldn't mind doing that with my teenage or college kids.

I thought about it, and have known people who have done it who are not outstanding athletes, so maybe some day. As you say, I understand it's more like a multi-day uphill hike than a climb.

ETA: I have climbed the third highest peak in County Mayo. So, you know, it's a start.

[Replaced_Texan]

Originally Posted by Hank Chinaski

at my big law there was a GP who had a goal of climbing the highest mountain on every continent. (conf to Flinty: he was old enough that his kids would be better off with him dead and his vast hoarded riches theirs, finally)

he told me about Antarctica; the mountain was nothing, but getting to it was a bitch. his friend had just did it. You get there, take a snowmobile for a WEEK to the mountain, climb it, then a week snowmobiling back. but on the week to the mountain a blizzard hit and they had to stay in their tents for a whole week.

he was going to do it the next year. he heard that story and was going to do it. these fuckers are nuts.

years later, he'd retired and I'd quit, he started doing motivational talks. he was on the Everest climb where a dozen people died. his group was 150 yards from the summit when a storm started. he and some others turned around and started down, others couldn't give up, they'd gotten too close. everyone who continued on died, but at least they'd summitted!

He was on Everest in 1996? I read Krakauer article in Outside magazine when it came out the following fall. It was a riveting read. (Krakauer later turned it into a book called Into Thin Air.) And it made me never want to do one of those climbs. I always find it fascinating that none of those issues have been resolved since then. Krakauer was on the mountain specifically to look at whether or not the uptick in commercial clients was causing a problem (apparently traffic jams were forming because so many people were paying tens of thousands of dollars to climb Everest.) In 2006 another 12 people died, but this time, not because of a freak storm.

I've climbed the highest peak in Texas and hiked up parts of Taos mountain. I don't have the daredevil gene, so I'm not likely to go someplace I can't get out of again.

ETA: I read the Dave Eggers book about Kilimanjaro. It was very different from the Krakauer article, though they also hire locals to do the heavy lifting so you can say you climbed the mountain.

[Hank Chinaski]

Originally Posted by Replaced_Texan

He was on Everest in 1996? I read Krakauer article in Outside magazine when it came out the following fall. It was a riveting read. (Krakauer later turned it into a book called Into Thin Air.) And it made me never want to do one of those climbs.

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontl...lifeafter.html yes 96. Lou K. I didn't know it but he had done 6 of the 7.