Well, here's the thing: I live in Edmonton, and the closest
whitewater IS two-and-a-half hours away (Near Rocky Mountain House),
so long drives are part of any WW paddling we do around here. Usually
we try to make a weekend out of it, but one doesn't always feel like
dragging out the camping gear and giving up the whole weekend every
time they feel like paddling, ya know? As for it being "just
recreation"... Well, I think a lot of people would take exception to
your trivialization of recreation! For many of us, it's through
recreation that we achieve real spiritual fulfillment. Anyhows, be
very glad you live in Ottawa... And I'm not even going to start to
describe the seething envy I have for those paddlers who get to paddle
almost year-round!

Ben

(William R. Watt) wrote in message ...
people drive two-and-a-half hours for an afternoon of paddling? and here
I am wondering why gasloine is in short supply and prices are high. thanks
a lot.

when I moved to Ottawa I looked around to see what was available locally
in recreational persuits and chose from among them. fortunately we have
plenty of outdoor stuff here, paddling and skiing being two. but hey,
there's always cyling and backpacking and lots of other things. why drive
hundreds of miles for one afternoon of paddling? its just recreation.

I've paddled until mid December. There's always a gap between freeze up
and build up. You can't just stop paddling and start skiing unles you have
some sort of plastic pleasure dome. I mean real skiiing, not that downhill
only stuff on fake snow.

Ben ) writes:

Well, I think a lot of people would take exception to
your trivialization of recreation!

only because its non-productive activity. feeds nobody. houses nobody.
adds nothing of practical use to the body of human knowledge. take away
whitewater paddling, and all non-transprotation paddling, and the world is
no worse off. reintroduce non-transportation paddling and the world is no
better off.

... For many of us, it's through
recreation that we achieve real spiritual fulfillment.

sorry, whitewater paddling is a testoterone thing, not a spiritual thing.
like sex and love. sex only feels like love. for a true spiritually
fullfilling recreational activity I recommend dog walking.

Anyhows, be
very glad you live in Ottawa... And I'm not even going to start to
describe the seething envy I have for those paddlers who get to paddle
almost year-round!

It is hard to be spiritual in the freezing dark while slogging through
knee deep snow. There's something that feels spiritual about sitting by a
warm fire.

I certainly envy Albertans who don't pay provincial tax on gasoline or much of
anything else.

--
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
William R Watt National Capital FreeNet Ottawa's free community network
homepage: www.ncf.ca/~ag384/top.htm
warning: non-freenet email must have "notspam" in subject or it's returned

(William R. Watt)

typed in Message-ID:

Ben ) writes:

Well, I think a lot of people would take exception to
your trivialization of recreation!

only because its non-productive activity. feeds nobody. houses nobody.
adds nothing of practical use to the body of human knowledge. take

way
whitewater paddling, and all non-transprotation paddling, and the world is
no worse off. reintroduce non-transportation paddling and the world is no
better off.

Sorry, I'm productive some 60 hours or so a week, were I am housing people, so
I don't feel guilty about being non-productive
when I paddle. I'm being purposely non-productive. BTW, is there anything
particularly productive about building a wooden boat that some one is going to
recreate in?

sorry, whitewater paddling is a testoterone thing, not a spiritual thing.
like sex and love. sex only feels like love. for a true spiritually
fullfilling recreational activity I recommend dog walking.

You don't paddle whitewater, do you? Isn't that like being celibate and telling
me about sex? WW rivers take you to some of the last truly unspoiled places,
often within in a couple of hours of civilization. And Yes, I like the rush
that WW gives me too.
Don't buy your definition of spirituality, Ghandi.


SYOTR
Larry C.

Sorry, I'm productive some 60 hours or so a week, were I am housing people, so
I don't feel guilty about being non-productive
when I paddle. I'm being purposely non-productive.

Thanks for jumping in, Larry. I'm going to bow out of this on-line
squabble after this posting, but I did want to add one more thing:
Even IF the only activities worth putting any effort into should be
"productive" ones, what about the simple fact that people who
regularly get out and do things they enjoy are overall happier and,
therefore, more productive?

Ben

On 15-Oct-2003, (Ben) wrote:

Even IF the only activities worth putting any effort into should be
"productive" ones, what about the simple fact that people who
regularly get out and do things they enjoy are overall happier and,
therefore, more productive?

Also healthier, which allows more productivity and less dependence
on health care systems.

All work and no play...

Mike

In my case it's all play and no work. I'm retired. Oh yeh, I'm from New
England and I paddle all year unless the temperature drops down into the
teens.

Jim Michaud



"Michael Daly" wrote in message
able.rogers.com...
| On 15-Oct-2003, (Ben) wrote:
|
| Even IF the only activities worth putting any effort into should be
| "productive" ones, what about the simple fact that people who
| regularly get out and do things they enjoy are overall happier and,
| therefore, more productive?
|
| Also healthier, which allows more productivity and less dependence
| on health care systems.
|
| All work and no play...
|
| Mike

in article , Larry Cable at
ospam wrote on 10/14/03 6:35 PM:

way
whitewater paddling, and all non-transprotation paddling, and the world is
no worse off. reintroduce non-transportation paddling and the world is no
better off.

Sorry, I'm productive some 60 hours or so a week, were I am housing people, so
I don't feel guilty about being non-productive
when I paddle. I'm being purposely non-productive. BTW, is there anything
particularly productive about building a wooden boat that some one is going to
recreate in?

Hi Folks,

So by this definition, manufacture of liquor is productive, while actual
consumption is not? How does society have one without the other?

Hmmm... Troll, troll, troll...

Chuck
http://www.wildcountry.info

(William R. Watt) couldn't help himself and
spouted:

... For many of us, it's through
recreation that we achieve real spiritual fulfillment.

sorry, whitewater paddling is a testoterone thing, not a spiritual thing.
like sex and love. sex only feels like love. for a true spiritually
fullfilling recreational activity I recommend dog walking.

Wow, we have our own closed mind theorist here!

I hope you mind me saying so, but you sound a bit like the pope
talking about sex. Not very convincing...

As for (yet another of) your whitewater paddling assumptions: If
there's one thing I dislike, it's an adrenaline rush. I sure don't
paddle whitewater because of that, but because of things like
cameraderie, the feeling of being in touch with the river in so many
ways (definately spiritual as well), the feeling of concentrating so
hard on a line through a rapid and staying there exactly as I planned
it... There are many more reasons, but I doubt that you would be able
to comprehend those, seeing how much difficulty you already have
comprehending the basic reason why people enjoy white water paddling.

It is hard to be spiritual in the freezing dark while slogging through
knee deep snow. There's something that feels spiritual about sitting by a
warm fire.

Hmmm, you sure do not like to see outside of those blinders, do you
William? There is something very special about being out there in the
dark, and seeing the bright stars as well as all that snow everywhere,
that sure brings out something very spiritual inside me.

I certainly envy Albertans who don't pay provincial tax on gasoline or much of
anything else.

Coming from such a spiritual individual, I'm sure you can overcome the
envy of other people's monetary gains... :-)

--
Wilko van den Bergh
Eindhoven The Netherlands Europe
Look at the possibilities, don't worry about the limitations.
http://wilko.webzone.ru/