If any of you out there are rather
"I think the Azores must be very little known in American.".OK, OK, that's throwing Europe onto the heap, but bear with me here and lieu of the Azores, let's insert a different location into the truism. Say a location in honor of my serendipitous discovery yesterday and today of...duh duh duh duh dah duh (sp?)....Kilimanjaro!
[Remember: See- I'm not that dumb...Kilimanjaro starts with "K" and so does K2. I had some very, very little basis in sound reasoning there...]
Now, despite the fact that in my young days...
[Technical Stuff: I no longer say "younger" days as I now count myself to be quite old.]
...despite the fact that in my young days I would rather have had my mouth washed out with soap than watch one, I have in the last couple of years discovered that I really enjoy documentaries, especially those dealing with nature and science, such as ones elucidating on the power of the regal lion, the amazing and much-yet-to-be-learned workings of the human brain, the extreme outer reaches of the stratosphere (what IS that?), and the incredible scientific processes in the of making of perhaps the most amazing invention of mankind...Jelly-Bellys.
About two weeks ago I recorded and yesterday watched an Iris (documentary series) episode entitled...hold onto your hat..."Kilimanjaro"!
[Tip: Don't give too much credit to me RE the "hold onto your hat" quip which was unintentional and was not at all referring to the sombrero of muy-rico-suave Mr. Indiana up there.]
Well, for enticement's sake, BYU-TV's website can give a more exciting descriptor of "Kilimanjaro" than I:
"Join a group of adventurers as they attempt to climb one of the largest freestanding mountains on earth—Mount Kilimanjaro: a landmark of beauty and mystery in the heart of Africa. The mountain has drawn hundreds to its base, but only half of those that begin the trip up Mount Kilimanjaro make it to the summit."This viewing of the wonders, exhilaration, and self-fulfilment of a not-for-sissies 6-7 day African trek starting in tropical climes, through moorlands-on-steroids and escalating to 19,000 ft glacier-covered volcanic peaks, and knowing that as the Kilimanjaro glaciers deplete, thus deplete the snow drifts outside my door, I was inspired before I could have second thoughts to strap on my belt (don't want my jeans falling down into the slush) and to do my own trekking. Time is of the essence and he who hesitates is lost!
And despite knowing that back in Mr. Twain's Chapter VI of "Innocents Abroad" he and his cohorts are even now struggling with a wild pack of savage donkeys and their handlers....
"We started. It was not a trot, a gallop, or a canter, but a stampede, and made up of all possible or conceivable gaits. No spurs were necessary. There was a muleteer to every donkey and a dozen volunteers beside, and they banged the donkeys with their goad sticks, and pricked them with their spikes, and shouted something that sounded like "Sekki-yah!" and kept up a din and a racket that was worse than Bedlam itself. These rascals were all on foot, but no matter, they were always up to time--they can outrun and outlast a donkey."....and thus understanding what bringing an animal with me may cost me, I grabbed my trusty mutt-dog Gracie Ann (don't tell my mom that I use her middle name as my dog's middle name...but it's just so cute!) and trekked down the 1/5 mile semi-gravel semi-red clay road from my toasty warm abode through frozen tundra to the ice capped pond here at "The Farm". And I count myself to be a braver soul than those who aspired for Kilimanjaro...
[Remember & Technical Stuff: Oh dear, almosted typed in "semi-grave" instead of "semi-gravel". After all that harassing of Mr. Twain and calling him morbid.
Also, am so tired from spelling that peak's name over and over...what a long moniker! Why didn't they just call the it Mt. Fred or something?]
...I count myself to be braver than those who traversed to the peak of "Mt. Fred" as I went downhill, not uphill, to my crater and if fatigue had set-in I perhaps would never have made the 1 mile trek (path seems 5x longer on the return trip) back to the safety of my abode.
Journey and challenge conquered!. Pride of accomplishment saturates our beings! Gracie & I remained true, despite off-setting track-type signs of imminent danger from wild beasts such as deer, turkey and I think a "b'ar" ( = Ozarkian bear) or two. And thus my call-out to you today is to follow your dreams and aspirations. I may scoff at my own piddly little attempts at greatness....but hey, I'm not stuck riding full-bore on a crazed donkey, and that counts for something, doesn't it?
PS Mr. Twain: Your above passage did not pass Spell-Check!
Boy, so tired from sojourn today that I may doze off now and skip dinner...too tired-out to eat....zzzzzzz
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