View Full Version : AT Talk Wanted in Dalton
The Dalton public schools are reading "A Walk in the Woods as a community reading project. There are several side events (I am giving a talk on AT history in Mass, and another on AT management in general). The orgnaizers are looking for a thru hiker to come and present a talk about their experiences. Ideally this person would have some New England connection. I don't know if a fee would be offered or expenses covered. I am not charging a fee, as I view my talk is an extension of my volunteer trail duties.
The audience would be townspeople and older kids with an interest of the AT. Dalton, as many of you know is a town that has been part of the trail since the beginning. Like most trail towns, it has had good and bad experiences--but most residents enjoy being a part of the trail.
Interested folk should contact Kelly Marshall <
[email protected]> for more info. Preferred dates would be sometime the first two weeks of October 2006.
Cosmo
Peaks would make a good presentation. I saw him speak at the AMC's Highland Center in December '03. He has nice slides and understands the essence of the trail. And he's from Mass. Send him a PM.
I'm not so sure I would want my kids to read the book. Trail journals would be much better.
trailangelmary
06-26-2006, 19:20
I know Jack is hiking New England in September. I know he's a lifelong New Englander and doesn't he live in Hanover and has actually met Bill Bryson? Seems to me he'd be perfect for this, and open-minded, too.
Well sort of.
....and open-minded, too.
Not about Bill Bryson he's not.
Jack Tarlin
06-26-2006, 19:45
Gee, Mowg.
You're so well informed. But you're forgetting a few things.
I know Bryson.
I've met Bryson.
I lived in the same town as him for many years.
I've spoken with him about the Trail on several occasions.
Have you??
Ever?
Please don't speak for me in the future, OK? I've actually come to quite a sea change re. "Walk in the Woods." and how I feel about it. So, fact is, you don't really have a clue about how I feel about him or his book right about now.
So don't speak with such authority about what I know or what I think, OK?
Cuz if you do, you're gonna say silly and wrong things.
And I'm sure you wouldn't wanna do that, right?
I'd be willing to do this if no one more qualified works out which leaves me at the bottom of the list. Not a new englander but I did like the town, and at some point I would like to give back to the communities that I felt gave me something. Put me in as a backup.
Thanks Jack. But I've seen enough of your posts about Bryson to know what I'm talking about. I'm sure you'd be a very engaging speaker, but that doesn't make you "open minded" about the author.
Edit: But if you've changed your mind - that might change things. Care to elaborate?
icemanat95
06-26-2006, 20:03
My info is more than a little out of date (11 years), but it might be useful to present the changes that have taken place in thru-hiking over the past decade by having a past thru-hiker from the gear heavy era paired with a light hiker...I can see about scanning in my photos and putting them in a Powerpoint presentation or a digital slideshow. I have access to a digital projector as well. I can re-assemble my old kit for display, etc.
Jack Tarlin
06-26-2006, 20:14
Will elaborate at future date, Mowgli.
For now, regardless of its manifest problems and faults (the least of which is around 150 errors of geography, trail history, natural history, etc.) WITW needs to be sen as what it is: A humor/travel book, which seeks to tell folks about the Trail and entertain them at the same time. And in this it succeeds.
People that are still bent outta shape about this, years after the book first appeared, and a decade after Bryson actually hiked, really need something more siginicant to fret about.
Thanks Guys--
Jack, Swift and Iceman if you are available and willing, best to contact Kelly Marshall and make your pitch. She did mention an interest in a "then and now" comparison of the trail. I've also PM'd Peaks to see if he is interested. Kelly's contact info:
[email protected]
A correction in my initial post, the event is sponsored by the Dalton Public Library, not the schools.
Cosmo
The ALDHA Gathering is the second weekend in October. Gotta work around those dates.
I'm not so sure I would want my kids to read the book. Trail journals would be much better.
Actually, from an educational standpoint, I think the book is just fine. Bryson does a good job of educating the reader on the history of the trail and the plight of the Eastern woods. He also debunked Thoreau as a true "naturalist". I think kids should be aware of the struggle to preserve our natural heritage and see how one man came to terms with his appreciation for it (even if the hiking segments are "fictionalized").
I just met a thru-hiker named Bear last week, just entering MA. He is probably just through there now, check registers. He has been giving talks to schools and groups about protecting our environment. He'll do it for food! He would be great with kids. In fact, he wears a rope necklace a kid recently made him in Connecticut.
Tha Wookie
06-29-2006, 09:11
Gee, Mowg.
You're so well informed. But you're forgetting a few things.
I know Bryson.
......
So let me get this straight Jack, you were against the book before you were for the book?
People that are still bent outta shape about this, years after the book first appeared, and a decade after Bryson actually hiked, really need something more siginicant to fret about.
nice reply, jack, here's you two years ago...
http://whiteblaze.net/forum/vbg/files/4/7/7/tj18715F0609045F213331.jpg
Jack Tarlin
07-04-2006, 14:10
That's right, mdionne, I felt differently than I did a few years ago. Thank you for pointing that out.
I thought I made this clear in post #6, above.
I've come to realize that there are more important things to be worried about than Bill Bryson and his book.
Other folks are welcome to their own opinion.
As for the sentiments expressed on my tee shirt, this is also open to individual interpretation. Over the years, tho, most thru-hikers have not only agreed with the statement on the shirt---quite a few expressed an interest in owning it. I once caught a guy at Miss Janet's who'd attempted to steal it!
And Wook, I know you had fun comparing me to John Kerry, but please don't put words in my mouth. I've never said I was "for" the book. What I said (sorry it was too difficult for you to follow) was that folks who are still bent outta shape about WITW need to find something more significant to complain about. How this consitutes a positive endorsement of the book on my part is something of a mystery to me. I said the book has manifest problems and faults and scores of errors. How this translates to being "for" the book I don't quite understand. Geez, if you gotta compare me to Kerry, at least come up with something that makes sense!
[QUOTE=Jack Tarlin]That's right, mdionne, I felt differently than I did a few years ago. Thank you for pointing that out.QUOTE]
kudos jack, glad to hear you are finally realizing that AWITW was written for your entertainment and was not intended to be Bryson's self aggrandizing trail journal.
:-? now...if we could only get you to change your feelings for ann coulter...:D
now...if we could only get you to change your feelings for ann coulter...:D Politics aside there is this http://z.about.com/d/politicalhumor/1/0/c/c/coulter_adamsapple.jpg (http://z.about.com/d/politicalhumor/1/0/c/c/coulter_adamsapple.jpg)
I could probably find less flattering pictures, but there is the whole fish in a barrel angle.:D
This may explain why she is admired by those whose name is rumored to be Adam. That, and her propensity to tell it like it is. :banana
Given that the Movie will need at least a nominal technical advisor, high profile hikers might consider sucking up to the Bill Bryson camp even more-- so as to be ready when the call comes.
Warren Doyle would be a good choice, but I have heard tell that no one knows the contemporary Trail better than Jack Tarlin.
Lone Wolf
07-06-2006, 06:49
There areplentyof people who know the contemporary trail as well as Jack.:rolleyes:
Jack Tarlin
07-06-2006, 17:30
Quite right, Wolf. I've maintained this for a long time.
Which is why I have a beef with other trail old-timers who somehow feel that they are infallible, that they alone know how to hike, that their mileage, decades of experience, whatever, somehow elevates them to some sort of Trail guru status.
There are any number of folks whose knowledge of the Trail is worth listening to, and lots of them can be found here at Whiteblaze. But when someone startes telling you in a book, on the Internet, at a seminar, workshop, trail "Institute" , or anywhere else, that THEIR way is the way to do it.....well right about then, it's time to hike on.
I'm scheduled to do a slide show at 7:00 PM on October 24 at the public library.
Any White Blazers going to be there?
Jack Tarlin
08-28-2006, 17:55
I'll be coming back from the Gathering around the 16th or 17th and will be back in Hanover shortly after that.
If you or any of the organizers of the event are interested, I'll be happy to come by if I can figure out transportation.
I've been a member for a few months, but rarely post and this thread is the reason why. A sincere request went out from a member and then others took it in a totally different direction. Some of you folks need to get over yourselves. :mad:
I have a .pdf of the brochure for the upcoming AT activities at the Dalton Public Library. Unfortuantely their web page <www.vgernet.net/dfplib> seem to be not functioning. If you would like, email me <
[email protected]>, or PM me and I will be happy to send you an attachment of the brochure.
While I'm at it, check out AT hikes in Mass for our annual AT Day activities (including a cookout) on October 7th at <www.amcberkshire.org/trails (http://www.amcberkshire.org/trails)>
Cosmo