My Uncle, The Mountain Climber...And So Much More

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My brother found this photograph and posted it on Facebook. Inside this edition of Sports Illustrated is a story of the men who first climbed the Matterhorn 150 years go. There's a very cool YouTube video showing climbers lighting the route to the top of the mountain. You can see that video: HERE.

Why my brother brought attention to this particular edition is because our Uncle Arlin is in this edition of the magazine! He was one of the hikers featured in the article. He climbed the Matterhorn when he was there. Funny story--when I was eight-years old my family visited my aunt, uncle and cousins when they lived in California. We went to Disneyland and I believed for a long time that my uncle had climbed the Matterhorn that was at Disneyland and when we were there, I kept thinking to myself, "I guess they used to let people climb the ride," which I thought was kind of strange.

But he didn't climb the Disneyland mountain--he climbed the real one. Kind of like the difference between seeing the Eiffel Tower in Las Vegas and the one in Paris.

It's difficult for me to express just how important my uncle has been in the lives of me and my siblings. In so many ways he was like a father for us after our own father passed away. So the fact that he climbed one of the most beautiful mountains in the world, doesn't surprise me at all.

* Photo used without permission from: http://xyzcollectibles.com/guests/view_only_defined_collectible?defined_collectible_id=15815&defined_collection_id=186

A Canoe…The Perfect Boat

 As a kid whenever we went on a family outing (on my mother’s side of the family…) a canoe always seemed to be part of the fun. My mom’s brothers had canoes and it was a rare event when we didn’t have them with us (anyone remember the Great Canoe Race?). We did a lot of camping and hiking whenever we got together, and we did a lot of canoeing.

Now I’m not completely sure if I can attribute this quote to my Uncle Arlin, but I’m pretty sure he said it. And if he didn’t say it, he would agree with it. A canoe is probably the most perfect boat ever designed by man (the ark doesn’t count—it was designed by someone else…).

An experienced canoeist can glide across a lake of glass-smooth water silently. A canoe can be put on almost any car ever made, and it doesn’t cost a ramp fee to get it into the water. A canoe can be propelled by one person, or two or even more. It can ferry cargo. It can be powered by a motor or just with oars. You can fish from it, run rapids in it, and admire its symmetrical beauty.

Whether or not my uncle said it, it is absolutely true. A canoe is a perfect boat.