Drinking Writer Man and Mt. Washington

The coldest place in the US, 50 years ago.
Mt. Washington, New Hampshire ,!971

is a long story. But today I was reminded of it as the news stated that the temperature on Mt. Washington in New Hampshire was 47 degrees below zero. The wind-chill adjusted temperature was 108 degrees below zero. This is thought to be a record for the lower forty-eight. Okay.

I recently bloggedabout my time in New Hampshire, 50 some years ago. The conditions were severe; and I think, contributed to who I am – a Drinking Writer Man.

Friends

or rivals attach nicknames to you. You don’t get to do that. [However, many in today’s world of social media and self promotion attempt such. But that’s a post for another day.]

My friend (ghosted) assigned the nickname of “Drinking Writer Man” to me years ago.

Only an other can assign a nickname to you. Maybe it's accurate, maybe not.
DWM = drinking writer man

Then, just today, I saw the temperature data on Mt. Washington. Furthermore, seconds later my bff dm’d me about that. Okay. Yeah, I saw that, too. We were there! And I remembered when …

But my memory wasn’t totally accurate. I’d responded that I’d summited Mt. Washington. Maybe I didn’t.?

Who knows? I'd thought I'd summited Mt. Washington; but maybe I didn't.
Frog and Korak posing (1971) New Hampshire.

Frogs and Korak with a view of Mt. Washington

 

Memory is sort of like fish tales.

The Point Is

be mindful of your memories and assumptions. In addition, the past does shape who you are.

In this regard, I think Barack Obama was right when he advised, “Don’t do stupid things.” Mt. Washington records more deaths per summit attempt than any other mountain.

Pay attention

to your friends and your environment. I didn’t live this long (73 years) being stupid. Pay attention to how you feel and what you want. Pay attention … and relax. Unless, of course, it’s 108 degrees below zero. In that case … good luck. Or pray?

 

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