Archive for July, 2008
Assault on Miners
Jul 14th
Hey Team,
Not everything on the list is adrenaline fueled (obviously). But a great case in point is #11 “Go into a coal mine.” I may have mentioned this before but a good portion of the list exists because I occasionally get that feeling that I was born in either the wrong time or the wrong place to experience everything I would like to experience. So rather than get my heart rate up, the coal mine is really more of a steep slide into Nerdville. A learning experience and not much more.
And that’s exactly what I got at the Lackawana County Coal Mine yesterday. Most important lesson learned: I now know exactly why so many people told me there was no way they were going to let me into a working coal mine. Turns out there are a billion and one easy ways to get yourself killed in a working mine. Good to know.
Besides the obvious black lung (which I avoided mentioning on tape mostly out of the shame created by a “too easy” joke) there where a hundred ways to get squished, crushed, or otherwise trampled before you even make it to the coal vein in the morning. Dynamite can More >
The Wonderful World of Greyhound
Jul 11th
Hey Team,
I stepped up into the doorway resigned to the upcoming fifty-three hour marathon only to be slapped in the face by a wall of stale air. A quick look around shows only one empty seat; not leaving me the usual option of scouring the bus for the least stained place to plant myself. It’s the front seat. Not a terrible spot. At least not as compared to all of the other terrible spots. Notable drawbacks: No reading light, less leg room (but since the leg room is minimal anyway I go in expecting discomfort), and a little old lady who thinks she can “save me” by convincing me I should settle down and get married, “maybe have a few kids.”
I fold myself into a good book silently throwing out all the social cues I can muster to drive the point home that I don’t want to be having this conversation. The next forty-five minutes only bring me two pages closer to the climax. She needs no prompting to ask the next question and a never-ending string of one-word answers are nothing in the face of her persistence.
“Were you married once already?”
“No.”
“Is there a girl back home?”
“No.”
I think she’s More >
The Grandest of Holes in the Ground
Jul 9th
Hey Team,
I’m back! Long story short: The Grand Canyon hike was incredible. Period.
Long story long (You guys didn’t actually think you’d get away with a short story did you?):
First of all, the permits for the Grand Canyon campgrounds only allow for up to eleven people in a group so I’m sorry to anyone that really wanted to go. Originally I was hoping to make it a much bigger meet-up but it just wasn’t possible. I guess we’ll have to make the end of Amtrekker extravaganza that much bigger!!!
The permit was filled quickly with friends and family that I hadn’t seen much of in the last year. Besides myself, Mom and Popamtrekker both made it out to the most famous of holes in the ground. Nate, Saadia, Erica, Cody and Rebecca (All of whom you saw in the sandboarding video!) were there. Spence (the dude that gave me the green Captain America shirt and another of my best friends) and Jaime (a good friend that just recently made it back to the US after a four year stint with the army in Germany) and Katy Moe (a friend from high school that I literally hadn’t seen in eight years but was More >
Anniversary Sonnet
Jul 4th
Hey Team,
Today is the “official” one-year anniversary of Amtrekker. Although yesterday was the 365th day thanks to leap year it was July 4th, 2007 when this adventure began. I’ve said it before but it’s still tough to believe things are still going.
I gave you haikus on day 100. I gave you limericks on day 200. I got angry emails on day 301 for the lack of poetry. So for the one-year anniversary I decided to rise to a new challenge.
The Amtrekker Sonnet:
Shall I compare a year of homelessness To a year of slavery to routines? Is it fair to say that “living the list” Is worth not having a spare pair of jeans? When again you wake to the alarm clock Take note of the expression on your face. Rather to give up; be outlined in chalk? Or set new goals and prepare to give chase? I took a road few would dare to travel. It makes for an uncomfortable life. A road to adventure paved with gravel. But one where the excitement trumps the strife. So long as there are things I need to do. So long lives Amtrekker’s podcast for you.
There it is. Tougher than I thought it More >
Thank You
Jul 3rd
Hey Team,
Today is the 365th day of Amtrekker. (Although officially tomorrow is the first anniversary…wacky leap year.) It’s hard to believe I’m still out on the road after all this time. I’m not sure which PART is hard to believe. Is it more of a surprise that it has taken me this long to accomplish my goals or that I’ve actually managed to afford being homeless and unemployed this long?
Regardless, I know I couldn’t be doing this without help and it’s amazing how many people have come together to make Amtrekker happen. Whether it be a small donation or the opportunity to hang glide or drive a racecar or even just being there to follow along and spread the word it’s amazing how much you have all done for me in the last year. I feel like, quite literally, I’m the smallest piece of the puzzle here and I’m just glad that I have the ability to share my adventures with all of you in turn.
So, although tomorrow is the “big day” and this weekend will be the celebratory trip to the bottom of the Grand Canyon I can’t help but think of this as an important day and get More >
#17 Kiteboarding! [podcast]
Jul 2nd
Hey Team,
After a long wait I finally managed to stay in one place long enough to compress the kiteboarding video! Here it is!
“Amtrekker travels back to Charleston, SC to get dragged face first through the waters of the Atlantic Ocean in an effort to “try his hand at kiteboarding.”
Calamity ensues.”
Get the Flash Player to see the wordTube Media Player. var WT1_1 = { params : { wmode : "opaque", allowscriptaccess : "always", allownetworking : "all", allowfullscreen : "true"}, flashvars : { file : "http%3A%2F%2Fwww.amtrekker.com%2Findex.php%3Fxspf%3Dtrue%26id%3D9", volume : "80", bufferlength : "5", controlbar : "over", 'logo.hide' : "false", shuffle : "false", playlist : "bottom"}, attr : { id : "WT1", name : "WT1"}, start : function() { swfobject.embedSWF("http://www.amtrekker.com/wp-content/uploads/player.swf", "WT1_1", "437", "522", "9.0.0", false, this.flashvars, this.params , this.attr ); } } WT1_1.start();Here’s the YouTube link!
Thanks!
I’m done.
Brett.
If you enjoy the podcasts…why not donate?
Don’t let me stop you.
AKPC_IDS += "333,";
“Food” Stops
Jul 1st
Hey Team,
It’s no secret that Greyhound is a long boring ride no matter where you’re going. (And mysteriously, I’m relatively sure, every ride takes about twenty-four hours.) But the problem I ran into yesterday was pretty unique and I’m not sure how much of it Greyhound was to blame for but they always make a handy scapegoat so they’re going to get a healthy dose of the blame too.
Since all of the rides are twenty-four hours long it becomes necessary to make food stops along the way occasionally to prevent mutiny. (Or is that just a boat thing? Can you have a bus mutiny? Butiny?) The rest stop couldn’t have come one second sooner yesterday. In true Amtrekker fashion I had gotten distracted by one thing or another all day and kept forgetting to eat.
Now it was coming up on 8pm and I was getting desperate for food. The bus driver pulls into a large parking lot and wakes me up from an uncomfortable half-sleep with the PA.
“Okay, folks. Time for a food stop. You only have fifteen minutes so don’t straggle.”
Bleary eyed, I stumbled out the bus door to the less than welcome sight of the Golden More >
