"Mary Malmros" wrote in message
...
(BW) writes:
Maybe my last THRILL posting appeared a bit like SPAM. Just to allay
any questions - I'm a researcher at the Royal College of Art, England.
I've got an arts grant to research this subject of thrill, and develop
ideas for how thrill could be engineered.
No doubt, but we hear this a lot...not every day of the week, but
whenever someone decides they want to write a book or a paper or a
whatever about why and how humans "seek thrills" -- a phrase that
researchers and media types are much more prone to use than
participants; except for the name of the boat, I don't think I've
ever heard an actual whitewater boater speak of "thrillseeking" to
describe what wwe do -- they come to the so-called "adventure
sports" newsgroups and ask us to be part of their survey. And my
answer is: why would I want to?
You're free to write whatever you want, but I really don't like
seeing my sport sound-bit through the voice of people who haven't
been there. Your questions tell me you've already got your mind
made up. "Tell me why you're not a sensible person"? What is up
with THAT? Your questions are bizarre; I can't tell exactly what it
is you're angling at, but I would bet my house that true
understanding isn't it. If it were, you'd know that whitewater
boating isn't a fun-park ride. It isn't just "thrills"; it has real
risks, and the consequences don't always happen to someone else.
Think about that the next time you ask a group of whitewater boaters
for their "most thrilling experience".
Now, now Mary, you're being pretty hard on the guy. Here, I went ahead and
answered his questionnai
ABOUT YOU
==========
Just to get the record straight, could please tell me your name, age,
sex and where you were born (I'll only publish your surname and
birthplace unless otherwise instructed)
name: riverman
age: 45
sex: M
birthplace: In the backseat of a greyhound bus, rolling down highway 59.
Just kidding man. It was a VW.
YOUR BACKGROUND
==================
1.Q Tell me about the first time you remember being thrilled.
1.A I was about 2, and climbed up the railings of my crib, and fell out on
my butt (no, not my head, dude!)
2.Q Which of your thrilling experiences has frightened you the most?
2.A The time I spent a night hanging on a 3/8 inch rope on a cliff because a
big storm blew in and I did not have the time or strength to complete the
5.12b climb I had started that afternoon. That was pretty cool, but I was
really wet and hungry.
3.Q What's the smallest or slightest thing to have thrilled you?
3.A This cute girl I did not know grabbed my ass in a crowded bar once. I
still haven't gotten over it.
4.Q Tell me why you're not a sensible person.
4.A I suppose its because I march to the beat of a different drummer.
5.Q What were you doing the last time you were really bored?
5.A Not as long as you think. Like one question ago...
6.Q What's the most uninhibited thing you've ever done?
6.A Hmmm, one time I showed up for a final exam wearing only a jock strap
and nylons. But that was on a dare, so it probably didn't count. However,
the dare was to show up wearing a *dress*, jockstrap and nylons, so maybe it
does.
7.Q What things have you considered doing for thrill, but were too
concerned about the risks?
7.A Are you joking?? ANYTHING is worth the risk! The more risk, the more
fun!! I mean it, man, you gotta try it.
8.Q I always dreamt about becoming a paramedic, speeding in an
ambulance and saving lives; what about you?
8.A Dreamt?? I am a paramedic, but I don't work in no stinking AMBULANCE!
I work high-angle mountaineering rescues, where I rappel out of
helio-chopters to save yellowbellied flatlanders when they lose their nerve
on Everest above Camp 4. Or pulling wimpy Grand Canyon boaters out of
trivial situations where they get skeered of their shadows because the big
bad whitewater is gonna get them, boo hoo.
YOUR THRILL
============
To answer these next 15 questions, you should think about a particular
time you were thrilled.
9.Q Describe this thrill in a nutshell, in one sentence. (there's time
to expand later)
9.A I went over Lava Falls on a log, to replicate the journey down the
Canyon of some guy before John Wesley Powell. I forget his name, but that
guy had BALLS!
the setting...
----------------
10.Q Where and when did it take place?
10.A Lava Falls. You do know where Lava Falls is, right?
11.Q Tell me a bit about yourself around this time.
11.A Umm, you mean now, or when I did the log run?
preparation...
------------------
12.Q How did the moment arise? Was it planned?
12.A Well, yeah, sort of. I was rowing a raft full of passengers on this 16
day trip, and just as we were setting up to run Lava, I saw this big old log
just about to get pulled out of that big eddy on the right, just below the
scouting rock...you know the one? Anyway, I didn't realize it at the time,
but I guess I had always kinda wanted to run Lava on a log, so I jumped on
it, told my passengers to follow me through, and went for it. It was, like,
totally rad!
your feelings...
--------------------
13.Q List the sequence of events leading up to your thrill, and how
you felt at each stage. The smallest detail could be important (this
is your chance to expand).
13.A Well, I was thinking about how cool running Lava always is, and how it
was a shame that I didn't have any mushrooms like last time, and how cute
this chick was who was sitting right in front of me, you know, and how it
would be so cool to just give her the greatest ride through Lava of her
life. Like maybe we could surf the ledge hole, or catch an ender out of the
V-wave, or maybe just do a full-on splat against the Black Rock. Then I
thought, no riverman, you can't do that ****, this is a commercial trip, and
these guys would be skeered. So I was starting to feel a little depressed,
because you know, it takes a long time and a lot of effort to get ABC, you
know? And like we say, once you are below Lava, if you really want to run it
again, since your last run was so boring because you had to protect the
clients and stuff, its easier to derig your whole raft and carry it on your
head through the sawgrass and past the spring and the lava field than it is
to paddle all the way to take out and get another permit and come all the
way back down the river again. Then I saw this log floating just next to me,
and I figured, hey riverman, if you really want to do this thing, its
like, now or never. So I did.
14.Q At the exact moment of thrill, how did your mind and body feel?
14.A Well, I was a bit hungover, and my hands hurt from climbing the cliff
above Grapevine the week before. And I think I still had some water in my
lungs from swimming Sock. But mostly, I wasn't really feeling anything.
15.Q What thoughts were going through your head?
15.A Isn't this what the last two questions just asked? Anyway, mostly I was
thinking that if I jumped and missed the log, it'd be pretty ugly.
16.Q What did you do immediately afterwards?
16.A After I ran Lava, you mean? Well, I swam like a maniac to catch my raft
before it pinned on the left wall at Little Lava, dude! That was really
close, too; and that cute chick who was crying didn't help anything.
the risks...
-------------
17.Q What were the most likely things that could have put you off
going through with it?
17.A Put off? What do you mean? Like if there wasn't a log or something?
other people...
--------------------
18.Q How were other people important to your thrill?
18.A Other people? You mean, like the clients? Oh, they weren't so
important. It was cool telling the other guides about it over dinner,
through. They were into it, for sure.
19.Q What do you imagine other people were thinking throughout your
thrilling episode?
19.A Jeeze, what a stupid question, dude! You gotta axe them that, not me. I
guess they were just too focused on whether or not I'd make it to the log
before I got swept into the diagonal. They were cheering and yelling stuff
and stuff.
20.Q Some people probably don't understand how such a thing can thrill
you; explain it to them.
20.A You're kidding, right? They really wouldn't understand? I guess the
best way to explain it is to take them on a climb or something. They'd have
the best time of their life, man. I'd take really good care of them, and
show them a really good time, man.
equipment...
-----------------
21.Q Why were certain objects or equipment important to your thrill?
21.A Umm, you mean like the first aid kit, or something? Its because I
always keep a big doobie in there in case I'm ever stranded with broken legs
or something and I know I'm gonna die down there, I can smoke a big one and
go out with a smile on my face, man.
repeat performance...
-----------------------------
22.Q If you've done something like this before, how does the last time
compare to the first time you did it?
22.A I never did anything like that before. But the closest was when I swam
Cataract Canyon with just an innertube, but that wasn't the same.
23.Q If you did it again, what things would you add or change to make
it even better?
23.A I'd remember to bring the mushrooms, man :-)
finally...
-----------
Thanks for doing the interview. I'll let you know when it's on the
chromo11.com website. Is there anything you want to add?
No. Whoops, I just did. Oops, there I did it again.