tonight i was talking on the telephone machine (which neither of us
much like) with my bestus climbing buddy from my youth. the topic
turned to our shared days in north conway (NH) long, long ago. and
with that quick to jimmy dunn, and with that quick to mark hudon.
my pal later emailed me, on the computer machine (which neither of us
much like), an audio interview with brother hudon -- one recorded in
august of '08. if you can humm and bzzt your way through all of the
opening sponsor hummers (i barely could) the actual part with the
actual hudon is rather excellent.
~~~
when hudon and jones did what i am pretty certain was the second free
ascent of the prow at cathedral (NH), it truly changed my world. for
i watched it from close nearby (a well wired 5.9), at pretty much his
eye level at the worst of the crux.
all of us (well, teen "us") believed that jimmy dunn's masterpiece
(well, one of them) was entirely a reach problem. for dunn is a tall
guy (in my memory he grows every year, like 6'8 -- though i suspect in
the real world more like 6' 2") -- well, dunn is surely taller than
me. i'm (just barely) 6'0" -- and in those daze, for then i was in my
mid teens, almost surely shorter. that and dunn has this absolutely
huge wingspan, a true knuckle dragger. that and dunn had, like all of
the truly great ones i actually met, absolutely no discernable ego at
all. at least none that i could comprehend.
now hudon was, well it is for him to say, but surely no more than
5'5". and he tagged the crux on his very first try. as did his
excellent (and notably taller) partner, max jones. and witnessing
this changed my -- our (my pals and me) -- fook'n world, forever. for
if nothing else, hudon proved to me that it was surely not the reach
problem that me and my pals had convinced ourselves through many lame
failures that it was. for we had given our only recently pubescents
selves permission not to try especially hard to actually finish the
route. but in that that remarkable moment, brother hudon proved us
all wrong. and with thathe lit all of our small jets. bless his
mighty soul.
that same pal just now sent me an audio interview with mark hudon.
you can find it here:
http://odeo.com/episodes/23136358-Masters-of-Rock-Mark-Hudon-Interview
if you can humm, buzz, or juss cuss your way through all of the
opening sponsor handjobs, the rest of it (the part with the actual
hudon) might prove quite worth the effort.
~~~~
so, with these images flooding my mind:
the top 5 rock climbers i've actually witnessed (defined simply as
gravity-defying smooth on wicked hard) of all time? (just off the top
of my pointy head, just now...) umm... dunn, edlinger, hudon,
hill, anderson... (five, that's all i get? sheesh...)
top five novels ("just off the top of my pointy head, just now..."):
one hundred years of solitude, moby dick, sister carrie, lord jim,
ulysses... (five, that's all i get? sheesh...)
top five movies ("just off the top of my pointy head, just now..."):
wings of desire, meet joe black, the red tent, casablanca, the year of
living dangerously... (five, that's all i get? sheesh...)
top five most stunning women i have ever encountered: ... dream
on, not even i am that stupid...
~~~
well, that was fun. ask me tommorow and i am almost certain that at
least one on each list of five will have changed (i'm especially
almost certain as i don't read my own stuff -- do you think i am an
absolute moron?)
better yet, feed me with your own top five of pretty much anything
worth counting. ok, your top five of something of your top five of
everything.
it's not as easy as you might think. but then, i won't hold you (or
me) to just today.
canis fidelis est,
^,,^
i'm just gonna try to send this post once, then wait at least a
week...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"In our sleep, pain which cannot forget falls drop by drop upon the
heart
until, in our own despair, against our will, comes wisdom
through the awful grace of God." -Aeschylus, "Agamemnon"
(as slightly misquoted by RFK upon the death of MLK -- a quote i
just happened to stumble back into
today, only to remember that it haunts me still)
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