tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-52490119796702433172023-11-16T06:28:49.426-07:00Everett Ruess DisciplesThis site is devoted to documenting Everett Ruess news, especially now that the mystery of his disappearance endures. More information is available on Facebook.com. Just join the Facebook group "Everett Ruess Disciples." (Formerly Disciples of Everett Ruess)Nathan E Thompsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12317254814822606463noreply@blogger.comBlogger32125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5249011979670243317.post-73024997510024694532013-10-17T22:55:00.002-06:002013-10-17T22:55:46.591-06:00Ellipsis ... "Give Peace a Chance"<br />
I resigned as wrestling coach last week.<br />
<br />
Sometimes you just have to admit you can't do it all, even if it means putting in a two-week notice, the first day of practice for the new season.<br />
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Tonight, I reveled in my new found freedom and blew off my nightly ritual of grading papers and answering school e-mails so I could "snuggle" with Koah (his words, not mine) and watch Nature for the second night in a row.<br />
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I also read "My Side of the Mountain" to my boys tonight -- to enable a brief melting away of the chronic pain of being a teacher.<br />
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And since I've been off Facebook for a while, I'll share the other highlight of the week: Kai wrote his first report on John Lennon. It wasn't the prettiest process. We had to grin and bare it through some rough edits, because the last words of that report were to "give peace a chance ... "<br />
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Kai insisted on keeping that ellipsis at the end of his essay because, he said, "peace needs a dot, dot, dot."<br />
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---<br />
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Epilogue: I have something in common with John Lennon and his son Sean. We all have the same birthday.<br />
Nathan E Thompsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12317254814822606463noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5249011979670243317.post-70254932292016336392013-08-27T22:20:00.001-06:002013-08-27T22:20:41.079-06:00Parenting when 'A River Runs Through It'<br />
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><i>“So it is that we can seldom help anybody. Either we don't know what part to give or maybe we don't like to give any part of ourselves. Then, more often than not, the part that is needed is not wanted. And even more often, we do not have the part that is needed.” </i></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><i></i></span><br /></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><i>- </i> Rev. Maclean , from a<i> River Runs Through It</i></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">My eight year old is testing his boundaries. He struggles with persuasion. He is big enough now that using violence to get his way can have dire consequences. It’s terrible. Sometimes I looked at his red angry face, with its slightly upturned nose and little folds under his eyes, and I think he looks like a “bad piggy” from the Rovio game app of the same name. </span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Tonight I made Kai write an apology letter. He can’t do it. He doesn’t see why his actions are a problem. He is still right in his mind. Besides, he is doing what I tell him to do: standing up for what is correct and worth fighting for. However, tonight we made some break throughs after I told him that he needs to start picking his battles. </span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">“Oh,” he said. “I should just give up.” </span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Ouch. </span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">“No,” I said. “You should never give up. You just need save your energy for battles and fights you can win.”</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">It’s a hard lesson to learn, I said, that at this age you can’t win many of the battles you have with parents. </span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">“So why are you punishing me?” he asked, with a very puzzled look. “You interrupt me when I talk.”</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">“True. I do interrupt you because you aren’t listening to what we need you to hear. I’m punishing you for being disrespectful,” I tried to explain. “You can fight and stand up for what you think is right but you have to acknowledge that Mom and Dad need you to listen and do what we are asking you to do.”</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">That didn’t sink in.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">“Do you know what ‘acknowledge’ means?”</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Kai shakes his head. Yes he does know what acknowledge means. He just doesn’t know it.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">“It is when you let me know you are listening and hear what I’m saying.”</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">It’s still a difficult concept to get across to a third grader who is starting to test his boundaries by developing enough sass to peel your fingertips backwards. </span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">So I made him write a letter. </span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">“Write what you are thinking now.”</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">One hour later. The page is mostly blank. </span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">“I hate writing.” </span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">“Say it. Then write it. What do you want to say to mom and dad about what is going on today with us?”</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Adding another line to his letter, he says, “I agree to our agreement.”</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Write that I said. He does.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">“That’s much easier. Where did you learn how to do that?”</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">“Do what?”</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">“Tell people how to write.”</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Internally, I sigh, in relief. The rest of the letter goes much more easily. We even edit his punctuation. Kai is on his way to being a writer. </span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">And he’s already found his voice. </span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">After we finished up a simple paragraph about what he is going to do -- to be more respectful, why he is going to be more respectful, and how he intends to make that happen -- he said he had one more thing to write. I could tell he had had an epiphany. </span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">“Do you want me to leave?”</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">“Yes.”</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">I left him to his devices. Expecting, hoping that he writes something touching and heartfelt.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">“Don’t read it until the morning,” he yelled from the kitchen table.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">“Okay,” I said, now, really wondering what he wrote. </span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">“Good night dad.” </span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">“Good night.”</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">I couldn’t wait to read the final line of his letter. I disobeyed his request and read ... “bacon some day Please?”</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">I don’t know that bacon is a metaphor. He probably just wants bacon. On the other hand, Kai also likes telling jokes and his written voice reminded me that most of the time I don’t know what anyone needs -- until they tell me. </span></div>
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Nathan E Thompsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12317254814822606463noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5249011979670243317.post-78728246072588476942013-01-19T10:49:00.000-07:002013-01-19T10:49:02.720-07:00Everett Ruess for a Day<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px; text-align: left;">On Friday, I pretended I was Everett Ruess. No, I wasn't wandering off into the wilderness to revel in beauty -- to avoid the "discontent bred by cities." </span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px; text-align: left;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px; text-align: left;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px; text-align: left;">I was Everett Ruess for a day, visiting some Language Arts and Social Studies classes at work. And a funny thing happened: Squirrelly middle schoolers were interested in history. </span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px; text-align: left;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px; text-align: left;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px; text-align: left;">They asked questions. They listened to what Everett had to say. They clapped after I read "Wilderness Song." They sat forward in their chairs and LISTENED.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px; text-align: left;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px; text-align: left;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px; text-align: left;">It wasn't normal middle school behavior to be sure.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px; text-align: left;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px; text-align: left;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px; text-align: left;">For my part, it was really fun reciting some ER poetry, letters, and famous quotes. I felt like a rock star when I walked down the hall: Kids would say "hey, there's Everett Ruess. I found him."</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px; text-align: left;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px; text-align: left;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px; text-align: left;">And the one thing that really strikes me from this experience is that some of the kids who saw my presentation -- were only a year away from beginning to "pull an Everett Ruess."</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px; text-align: left;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px; text-align: left;" /><a href="http://www.hcn.org/wotr/pulling-an-everett-ruess" rel="nofollow nofollow" style="background-color: white; color: #3b5998; cursor: pointer; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">http://www.hcn.org/wotr/<wbr></wbr><span class="word_break" style="display: inline-block;"></span>pulling-an-everett-ruess</a>Nathan E Thompsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12317254814822606463noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5249011979670243317.post-66429218633973708712012-07-25T17:05:00.001-06:002012-07-25T17:55:05.207-06:00EVERETT RUESS: HIS SHORT LIFE, MYSTERIOUS DEATH, AND ASTONISHING AFTERLIFE … A BOOK REVIEW.<br />
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">“So
much paper and ink have been expended on Ruess, especially on speculations
regarding his mysterious disappearance from an Escalante side canyon in 1934,
that it almost seems an environmental crime to add to the expenditure, but a
summary account of his life, at least is necessary.” (Topping, 1997, p. 317)</span></i></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVozgvsLVhheAFjpkDbTV6s5JK737bMYMLiIptXY1SRIjQlwjp_p7SvzrEkdtnvcIPD1crTsLht4e_1cn15nllgj9Dkn3Ts97VM8pQAlPyKgUidV4g151zFPVACXG62KQCeopH1Pzs339h/s1600/Everett+Ruess+book+by+Philip+Fradkin.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVozgvsLVhheAFjpkDbTV6s5JK737bMYMLiIptXY1SRIjQlwjp_p7SvzrEkdtnvcIPD1crTsLht4e_1cn15nllgj9Dkn3Ts97VM8pQAlPyKgUidV4g151zFPVACXG62KQCeopH1Pzs339h/s400/Everett+Ruess+book+by+Philip+Fradkin.jpg" width="263" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Philip Fradkin also wrote the <br />
biography of Wallace Stegner.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">In the final paragraphs
to <a href="http://www.philipfradkin.com/" target="_blank">“Everett Ruess: His Short Life, Mysterious Death, and Astonishing Afterlife”</a>
– and its devotion to understanding and telling the truths associated with
Everett’s “short life” – <a href="http://www.philipfradkin.com/bio.htm" target="_blank">Philip Fradkin</a> suggests that literary and
investigative favors are “not about to be extended to everyone.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">So why then does
Everertt’s story about his mysterious disappearance in the Utah desert in 1934
deserve to have even more paper, ink, and energy expended on his life? <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">In my opinion, this particular
expenditure by Fradkin is needed because the telling of Everett’s story always
lacks context. It needed to have written what <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Harvey" target="_blank">Paul Harvey</a> coined “the rest of
the story.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Fradkin’s book brings an expanded and insightful context to
the Everett saga. And this is Fradkin’s biggest gift to Everett’s mysterious
death because it keeps the “short life” from becoming long in fiction.</span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">However, Fradkin’s research does leave out the fact that “Finding
Everett Ruess” was written and researched during the same time period he
alliterates about Everett’s “Astonishing Afterlife.” Despite that fact, Fradkin’s
book doesn’t need to review David Robert’s book <a href="http://www.scribd.com/doc/96235445/Finding-Everett-Ruess-The-Life-and-Unsolved-Disappearance-of-a-Legendary-Wilderness-Explorer" target="_blank">“Finding Everett Ruess” </a>because
Roberts offers very little new information about Everett’s story and basically
repeats what most Ruess fans already know – if they read <a href="http://www.gibbs-smith.com/productdetails.cfm?PC=2278" target="_blank">“Everett Ruess:Vagabond for Beauty”</a> and
kept up with the steady flow of news about Roberts’ misadventures to solve the
Ruess mystery. </span></div>
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<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I first learned about Fradkin’s book about Everett a couple
of years ago when he contacted me to get a copy of my thesis about Everett
Ruess’s connection to the <a href="http://www.suwa.org/" target="_blank">Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance</a>. (SUWA still uses a block print, inspired by Everett's artwork during his trips to the Utah desert). </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1ZaFQKLd69DKQiRFGW0sstPnCpnjerzOnYXKbKi0WCaLvqCL3PPX5U6wvxCCXD7AAzIhEs-nbXs8QkUXyfcgfsFaX5P9VLraFnHJEUSig2TvN8N7UAfuN1O6au6KMZJqNz0E6HyvmZDtJ/s1600/Screen+Shot+2012-07-25+at+4.25.52+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="94" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1ZaFQKLd69DKQiRFGW0sstPnCpnjerzOnYXKbKi0WCaLvqCL3PPX5U6wvxCCXD7AAzIhEs-nbXs8QkUXyfcgfsFaX5P9VLraFnHJEUSig2TvN8N7UAfuN1O6au6KMZJqNz0E6HyvmZDtJ/s320/Screen+Shot+2012-07-25+at+4.25.52+PM.png" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance<br />used a "self portrait" created by Everett Ruess<br />as their logo. They dropped the design and replaced it<br />with a logo inspired by Everett's block prints of the<br />Utah desert He created a juniper print that was<br />very much loved by wilderness warrior<br />Terry Tempest Williams.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Fradkin was pushy and impatient in his requests and as a
result I didn’t feel like helping him out with his research. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Besides, I thought, a copy of my thesis is at the University
of Utah, where he is doing much of his <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">original</i>
research, so it shouldn’t be that hard to find it there or at Brigham Young University. My stubbornness with Fradkin’s request may have led to my thesis
research not even getting mentioned or referenced by Fradkin. Roberts read my
thesis after learning about it the night I gave a copy of it to him and Bud Rusho.
</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Fradkin may have read my thesis but it isn’t evident in
book’s footnotes or index. However, he did report one of the most interesting
things I first reported about Everett regarding claim’s about his mysterious
love letters to Frances. Robert’s picked up on this “tidbit” from my thesis,
but should be noted, that Roberts’ struggled to solve this mystery. Fradkin, on
the other hand, shows the panache of a seasoned investigative reporter and
provides some very interesting insights that will end this part of the mystery
for many Ruess aficionados. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">However, both Roberts and Fradkin missed out on some of the
important insights my research highlights. (More on that later.) </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Fradkin’s thoughtfully researched book is full of context
and insights that do not use Everett as a platform to talk about his own
opinions or experience in the wilderness (sorry David Roberts … that
description very much describes the narrative and style of your writings about
Everett, despite the fact you were very gracious in your recognition of my
thesis). Fradkins does this to a certain extent but it is tastefully done and,
in most cases, provides more context about how he did his research.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-bottom: 0.5em; padding-bottom: 6px; padding-left: 6px; padding-right: 6px; padding-top: 6px; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHSqwPLCpTleQ3v9P7Rxu2xH6tnAsKlDG8rh8I9Afzzmq_MsC73iMlgbCL4cqAdx8i7ZbnWqXLTTCxA46FubgZoK1icyHr8NE-T4fCNceV9EP8ECRaG_x-b0w_xHoJOuXIymeK6NlU6eTZ/s1600/Screen+Shot+2012-07-25+at+4.29.48+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="220" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHSqwPLCpTleQ3v9P7Rxu2xH6tnAsKlDG8rh8I9Afzzmq_MsC73iMlgbCL4cqAdx8i7ZbnWqXLTTCxA46FubgZoK1icyHr8NE-T4fCNceV9EP8ECRaG_x-b0w_xHoJOuXIymeK6NlU6eTZ/s400/Screen+Shot+2012-07-25+at+4.29.48+PM.png" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="padding-top: 4px; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: x-small;">Gibbs Smith, Publisher, had W.L. "Bud" Rusho edit some of the first<br />books about Everett Ruess. "Vagabond for Beauty" remains<br />one of the best books containing Everett's original,<br />art, poetry, prose and letters.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Fradkin’s devotion to reporting the context of Everett’s “Astonishing
Afterlife” includes great insights about Everett’s relatives, associates, and
goings-on in American history. That context is beautiful and complimentary to
the topic. It also helps demythologize the Ruess story, by reminding the reader
that yes, Everett Ruess is unique, but no, he is not alone in his sentiments
about nature, art, and literature for this time period. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">This is something <a href="http://www.gibbs-smith.com/" target="_blank">Gibbs Smith</a>, the Everett Ruess
publisher-in-chief, will tell you over and over: that Everett was the first real
appreciator of wilderness, for sentimental reasons. Fradkin proves otherwise.
But be warned: Fradkin stops short of providing some of the political context
of the wilderness movement that reinvigorated the telling of the Everett Ruess
story in the 1980s and what I think are some of the real reasons for Everett’s
“astonishing afterlife.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Fradkins book is a page turner because, like the good
journalist he is, Fradkin writes for the audience that knows Everett’s story – while
still giving the Ruess novice the ability to enjoy an extended prologue to the
original Everett Ruess books: “Vagabond for Beauty” and “The Wilderness
Journals.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Fradkin further dampens the Everett Ruess myth by setting the
record straight, by grounding Everett in reality – which does, in my mind diminish Everett’s mythos and storied connection to the Utah wilderness movement and
self-styled, ersatz desert rats (line taken from a <a href="http://www.tucsonweekly.com/tw/05-29-97/mailbag.htm" target="_blank">letter to the editor</a> of a
Tucson newspaper, criticizing how Everett’s story is used for political
purposes).</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjk1JpDTVABsnQeMlB26S1aQyk03RxnsN0fntkagmgWCEIeqyytxVChX_bNuwHALp1rJX5OMef2vidhSmc6nUAbEoVsHnzhe2_PE9wjYGqppEUPuzopAgCzZzTIlUe_TUUkdyFP7T6hK5zk/s1600/Screen+Shot+2012-07-25+at+4.19.46+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="137" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjk1JpDTVABsnQeMlB26S1aQyk03RxnsN0fntkagmgWCEIeqyytxVChX_bNuwHALp1rJX5OMef2vidhSmc6nUAbEoVsHnzhe2_PE9wjYGqppEUPuzopAgCzZzTIlUe_TUUkdyFP7T6hK5zk/s400/Screen+Shot+2012-07-25+at+4.19.46+PM.png" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Letter criticizing the use of Everett Rues for political purposes. <br />Source: http://www.tucsonweekly.com/tw/05-29-97/mailbag.htm</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The irony here is that Everett, in many ways, never seemed
to be grounded in reality and now the definitive story about him is fertilized
with facts. I also like the fact Fradkin also looked at this story from the
lens of a parent who has to deal with children who are depressed or go their
own way.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">And since I can’t resist being a hypocrite, I want to tell
my own story about my connection with Everett -- as taken from the introduction
to my master’s thesis, "Everett Ruess and the Southern Utah Wilderness
Alliance: A Triangulated Study Employing the Elaboration Likelihood Model of
Persuasion (ELM).”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">My thesis is currently published online as “Selling Everett
Ruess: Protecting Utah’s Redrock Wilderness Created an Environmental Saint.” </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Here’s a blurb from the introduction:</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt;">“I first learned about
Ruess when my father spent two bits at a yard sale and bought me a copy of </span><i><span style="font-family: TimesNewRomanPS; font-size: 12pt;">Everett Ruess: Vagabond
for Beauty </span></i><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt;">(Rusho,
1983). That summer I shared a mutual love with Ruess of the Escalante Canyons
in southern Utah. Since that time it’s been an interesting journey, but my
parasocial relationship with Ruess has stirred within me an everlasting lust
for the desert. And like Ruess, I too crave intellectual companionship, boring
easily with people who revel in “the discontent bred by cities.” </span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt;">
<br /></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgo2AjvVwPGuS_EVN8jHnr43eiKTZ9awlecxcT3EwMImSyt147cCMwy_mizCHGKl2gFpE8HF4axhN_f5Zy1R7-s31US9PJ9GbxvsyTX-JKDK-fix5OVHtd6KGzopzedHDjpL3tPKU8_z07S/s1600/Screen+Shot+2012-07-25+at+4.33.46+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgo2AjvVwPGuS_EVN8jHnr43eiKTZ9awlecxcT3EwMImSyt147cCMwy_mizCHGKl2gFpE8HF4axhN_f5Zy1R7-s31US9PJ9GbxvsyTX-JKDK-fix5OVHtd6KGzopzedHDjpL3tPKU8_z07S/s320/Screen+Shot+2012-07-25+at+4.33.46+PM.png" width="248" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My thesis was first published as "Everett Ruess<br />
and the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance:<br />
A Triangulated Study Employing the Elaboration<br />
Likelihood Model of Persuasion (ELM). The<br />
cover of the online version is very similar to<br />
the cover design for David Robert's<br />
"Finding Everett Ruess."</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt;">Ironically, my zeal for
Ruess waned when my passion for protecting the environment peaked. It was one
thing to revel in beauty, but quite another to preserve it. Activism resulted
in abandoning much of the art and literature that was a catalyst for my raging
environmentalism. SUWA became a part of my paradigm and I participated as a
“wilderness warrior” in Washington D.C. About that time, Big Suckin’ Moose – a
band I used to play drums and percussion for – recorded a song about wilderness
titled, “Washington D.C.” The song is now on a compact disc sold through SUWA.
Nevertheless, my interest in SUWA, like my love for Ruess, went into remission.
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt;">Interest in the Ruess
myth resumed when I researched a communication theory about parasocial relationships.
While rummaging through scholarly journals, I remembered an experience I had
when I was working in the backcountry of Alaska’s Resurrection Bay. I was in
the midst of building a bridge made of raw spruce trees when a tousled man in
his mid twenties walked up to me from almost out of nowhere and started
talking. We exchanged a few sentiments about the Bay and then the young man
excused himself and mumbled as he walked away, “I think I’ll be going now...
I’m gonna build a fire and commune with the spirit of Everett Ruess.” That
memory hurled me back into the lure of the Ruess myth and for the past year I
have been researching how Ruess has evolved from myth to wilderness icon. How
could an obscure young adventurer from California, lost in Utah in 1934, be
known over sixty years later, by a stranger passing by in the wilds of Alaska? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">That question, asked by
me in 1999 – about how Everett could be known, at all – begins to be answered by
Fradkin. His book also signifies what I think could be the peak of the Golden Age
of Ruess. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">I predicted this golden
age in the conclusion to my thesis in 2003. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16px;">Fradkin misses this
point in his book.</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">That is, at least,
one part of the context readers need to know when they digest Fradkin's
book: that Everett’s short life, with its enduring afterlife, depends on
storytellers with an agenda. And </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16px;">where that agenda takes the Everett Ruess story from here is something I will continue to follow -- as one
of Everett’s enduring disciples.</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaOrKtRC6Pr3QJyp3hA-i-tMcDYBuPixljfke_dK9dewEiZhOJ-3RDr_f4wfXDVfLDCYezXDYsXOYelR2t5PO8-1Wq_mq9bd9R199VtQKFFTV7eBNk_5P5CBJDQnN7SRwdN_wscBn5cPSr/s1600/Screen+Shot+2012-07-25+at+4.42.39+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="151" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaOrKtRC6Pr3QJyp3hA-i-tMcDYBuPixljfke_dK9dewEiZhOJ-3RDr_f4wfXDVfLDCYezXDYsXOYelR2t5PO8-1Wq_mq9bd9R199VtQKFFTV7eBNk_5P5CBJDQnN7SRwdN_wscBn5cPSr/s640/Screen+Shot+2012-07-25+at+4.42.39+PM.png" width="640" /></a></div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt;">References<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt;">Topping, G. (1997). </span><i><span style="font-family: TimesNewRomanPS; font-size: 12pt;">Glen Canyon and the San
Juan Country. </span></i><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt;">Moscow:
University of </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px;">Idaho
Press.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"><br /></span></div>Nathan E Thompsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12317254814822606463noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5249011979670243317.post-52162814142875038022012-06-09T22:18:00.002-06:002012-06-09T23:00:40.426-06:00Is it the reporting about "Everett Ruess: Wilderness Song" -- or the actual documentary -- that are lacking important details?<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 17px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #fce5cd;">I recently read one of the </span></span><a href="http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/lifestyle/53942222-80/ruess-jaeger-film-wilderness.html.csp?page=1" target="_blank"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;">only articles</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #fce5cd;"> I've been able to find about the recent screening of </span></span><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oaEcb0Z4r6o" target="_blank"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;">"Everett Ruess: Wilderness Song"</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #fce5cd;"> in Salt Lake this spring. </span></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 17px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #fce5cd;"><br /></span>
</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 17px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #fce5cd;">The reporting left me in a quandary because </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 17px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #fce5cd;">I really felt like the article left out an important point: What is Lindsay Jaeger's documentary actually about and what is it adding to the current discussion about Everett Ruess's enduring mystery and evolving legacy? </span></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 17px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #fce5cd;"><br /></span>
</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 17px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #fce5cd;">Everett Ruess fans can only gather so much from the Wilderness Song youtube trailer.</span></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 17px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #fce5cd;"><br /></span>
</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 17px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #fce5cd;">As a result, </span><a href="http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=o.28967211516&ref=mf" target="_blank"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;">Everett Ruess Disciples</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #fce5cd;"> like me are largely left to media accounts of Everett's life and influence. However, as a journalist, I am increasingly aware of how news reports that act as the "first rough draft of history" are only as good as an article's credible feedback.</span></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 17px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #fce5cd;"><br /></span>
</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 17px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #fce5cd;">One of the things, I also noticed in this article about Wilderness Song is that the reporter didn't put this movie in context with other Ruess-related media -- including last year's two books about Everett. And more importantly, the reporter should have done enough reporting to know that other documentaries have been made about Everett. </span></span></span><br />
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</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 17px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #fce5cd;">News is supposed to be new. </span></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 17px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #fce5cd;"><br /></span>
</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 17px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #fce5cd;">And if Everett Ruess is a Utah icon, as the article's headline suggests, then it should tell people what "new" information is being shown by the creation of this movie. This article only gets to a piece of this and spends almost as much time telling Lindsay Jaeger's story as it does Everett's. It has quotes from people saying the movie followed the right path, but it remains unclear what that path looks like.</span></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 17px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #fce5cd;"><br /></span>
</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 17px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #fce5cd;">Some people will say that that is the point: the article create's buzz about the movie so more people will watch it. That's great, if you have the wherewithal and ability to watch it.</span></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 17px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #fce5cd;"><br /></span>
</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 17px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #fce5cd;">My other concern is that this movie is in its final stages of being done and I haven't heard from Lindsay about my take on her project. According to the Tribune, Jaeger "</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 20px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #fce5cd;">hopes her documentary will help to keep the interest alive, not just in Ruess as an icon but also as a conduit to a fascination and respect for wilderness lands. Outside of Utah, it’s rare to find people who know who Ruess was. It’s only once they connect his legacy to the larger canvas of environmental concerns that his appeal clicks into view."</span></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 20px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #fce5cd;"><br /></span>
</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 20px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #fce5cd;">Jaeger is a member of my Everett Ruess Disciples group. She knows I'm one the founders -- connecting the Everett Ruess story online. She should also know that I wrote my master's thesis about how the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance "connect(ed) his legacy" to their environmental concerns. </span></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 20px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #fce5cd;"><br /></span>
</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 20px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #fce5cd;">So why hasn't she called? </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 20px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #fce5cd;">I think maybe that's my fault. </span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 20px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #fce5cd;"><br /></span>
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 20px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #fce5cd;">I should have told Jaeger to call me. I guess I just figured anyone who is doing sophisticated research about Everett Ruess would figure out some of her research was already done in 2003.</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 20px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #fce5cd;"><br /></span>
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 20px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #fce5cd;">Philip Fradkin and David Robert's figured this out for their books (even though the fomer left out that fact in his book). Steve Robert's figured it out for his Everett Ruess Arts Festival in Escalante. So why hasn't Jaeger? </span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 20px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #fce5cd;"><br /></span>
</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 17px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #fce5cd;">I posed these points on the Everett Ruess Disciples Facebook group and an interesting discussion continues to unfold. </span></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 17px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #fce5cd;"><br /></span>
</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 17px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #fce5cd;">I'll leave some of my other issues for those postings but I will end by saying that if</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 17px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #fce5cd;"> Jaeger thinks, according to the Tribune article, that very few people know about Everett Ruess she is mistaken. </span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 17px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #fce5cd;"><br /></span>
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #fce5cd;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 17px;"></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 17px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #fce5cd;">I believe the Everett Ruess Disciples, named and unnamed, and the large amount of mass media about Everett Ruess -- including the book "Into the Wild" reaching the New York Times best seller list -- prove otherwise.</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 17px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #fce5cd;"><br /></span>
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 17px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #fce5cd;">---</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 17px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #fce5cd;"><br /></span>
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 17px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #fce5cd;">p.s. One thing that has emerged from the online discussion about this article on Facebook is the news to me that another Everett Ruess movie, </span><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Y3BnOK-EzU" target="_blank"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;">"Nemo 1934"</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #fce5cd;"> is coming out this fall. Information about that project can be viewed </span><a href="http://www.adhub.com/cgi-bin/webdata_pro.pl?_cgifunction=form&_layout=company_news_single&keyval=company_news.companynew_id%3D70758" target="_blank"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;">here</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #fce5cd;">.</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 17px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #fce5cd;"><br /></span>
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 17px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #fce5cd;">One last thought: The Diane Orr said she had tons of footage that didn't make it into her film "Lost Forever." That, to me, is the important stuff Jaeger needs in her movie, along with quotes from the same types of people I interviewed about Everett's connection to the Souther Utah Wilderness Alliance. </span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 17px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #fce5cd;"><br /></span>
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 17px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #fce5cd;">I've got the audio and transcripts, she just needs to add the pictures. Those details found here ...</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 17px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #fce5cd;"><br /></span></span><br />
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</span></span>Nathan E Thompsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12317254814822606463noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5249011979670243317.post-70166679578202770412012-05-25T18:34:00.004-06:002012-06-11T22:33:15.827-06:00If I were an artist like Everett Ruess ...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi95VjmNeEkzMtJ1DU705bpAxB6935snIO5DkLQP2mKYbL0-raAHCA66MYVJZF0izzlxuiiw27Pa2meNplaFz-D4bPQXU1WPO5qWBaKvDWucRhYoWkDPjnRa32QRZ0sWRlUDyNbg7mPWW2Q/s1600/Screen+shot+2012-05-25+at+6.33.29+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="173" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi95VjmNeEkzMtJ1DU705bpAxB6935snIO5DkLQP2mKYbL0-raAHCA66MYVJZF0izzlxuiiw27Pa2meNplaFz-D4bPQXU1WPO5qWBaKvDWucRhYoWkDPjnRa32QRZ0sWRlUDyNbg7mPWW2Q/s320/Screen+shot+2012-05-25+at+6.33.29+PM.png" width="320" /></a></div>
If I was an artist like Everett Ruess I would apply for the Everett Ruess artist in residence (<a href="http://everettruessdays.org/2012%20Artist%20in%20Residence%20Program%20application%20and%20information.pdf" target="_blank">this program</a>) today. I love the Everett Ruess Art Festival and recommend it as one of the best fall travel experiences around.<br />
<br />
Side note: School is out for the summer so I get a week off until I start teaching summer school. I will be popping in an out of my Everett Ruess Disciples group on Facebook but, frankly, I'm almost on the verge of leaving Facebook forever. I just don't like trying to maintain friendships on a virtual level.Nathan E Thompsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12317254814822606463noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5249011979670243317.post-15507372532685453452012-02-23T17:55:00.001-07:002012-02-23T17:57:47.097-07:00The best lessons about Chris McCandless and 'Into the Wild' include Everett Ruess<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13px;">I've working on a rough outline for an integrated curriculum using the story Everett Ruess as the connecting theme to teach a whole host of subjects. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13px;"><br /></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13px;">In the meantime it'll be interesting to see if this lesson plan about Chris McCandless and <i>Into the Wild</i> generates any interest in my <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/28967211516/" target="_blank">Everett Ruess Disciples</a> group on Facebook. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13px;"><br /></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13px;"><br />Read more: <a href="http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/g/a/2012/02/22/prweb9213110.DTL#ixzz1nFw7VD62" style="color: #003399;">http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/g/a/2012/02/22/prweb9213110.DTL#ixzz1nFw7VD62</a></span>Nathan E Thompsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12317254814822606463noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5249011979670243317.post-25356306950158390522011-12-23T00:32:00.003-07:002011-12-23T00:32:50.644-07:00Frontier Fellowships at the Epicenter: Would Everett Ruess apply?As I road the train through the Sierra's today, after a short stop in Green River, Utah, I was reminded of Everett's indomitable spirit. There is a group in Green River who have an interesting mission.<br />
<br />
I love that they they offer a "frontier fellowship." Check it out at <a href="http://www.ruralandproud.org/">www.ruralandproud.org</a>. <br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2GNUV8IpjK5yk3MsduFRGyAQI1wBIbSGnOZz2J_ld4Yq-PUub47VnFYS3TGd_kjMp8KSpE1f5FHJBDYdWhNM6F6OpnwiuXHy5IVcdsLQQk9NOufDW55-jB94i6iNJ_SQhZ1AYtAsRahez/s1600/Screen+shot+2011-12-22+at+11.51.15+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="387" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2GNUV8IpjK5yk3MsduFRGyAQI1wBIbSGnOZz2J_ld4Yq-PUub47VnFYS3TGd_kjMp8KSpE1f5FHJBDYdWhNM6F6OpnwiuXHy5IVcdsLQQk9NOufDW55-jB94i6iNJ_SQhZ1AYtAsRahez/s640/Screen+shot+2011-12-22+at+11.51.15+PM.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">Screen grab of an endeavor I think Everett would support ... or at least record in his journal or a letter home.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>Nathan E Thompsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12317254814822606463noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5249011979670243317.post-47271080676025966742011-11-01T22:10:00.001-06:002011-11-01T22:10:25.865-06:00Everett Ruess would have hated Mesa Verde today<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 14px;">Everett visited Mesa Verde National Park during an interesting time in history (CCC camps, etc.). My wife actually wrote a book about that time during her time at the park. She wrote about the development of the park and created an archaeologists's bible that helps them preserve some of the modern history as well.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 14px;"><br /></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 14px;">As result, I still have a keen interest in what is going on there and thought I would share a link to some heavy parts of national park management.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 14px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 14px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 14px;">If any of you are as interested in enjoying, preserving and protecting our national resources as Everett was, I think you will find this information to be very enlightening.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 14px;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 14px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 14px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 14px;"><a href="http://www.schundler.net/FOIA.htm" rel="nofollow nofollow" style="color: #3b5998; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span>http://www.schundler.net/FOIA.</span><wbr></wbr><span class="word_break" style="display: inline-block;"></span>htm</a></span>Nathan E Thompsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12317254814822606463noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5249011979670243317.post-65734273374468203192011-09-06T22:09:00.001-06:002011-09-06T22:09:43.923-06:00When I stood ... (continued from Everett's Mesa Verde)When I stood at the bottom of Square Tower House (called Square House Tower by Everett Ruess) and looked back at the famous overlook, where most people view the site, I couldn't help but think of Everett Ruess looking down -- feeling inspired to create what I think is one of his best block prints.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUe7U921x7M_6y5G0mGV0eX3p0kmbeBwTQxIhwNSuhlsWoJBqFmYUbCet0qIeEGOuI0KPYVXI29nJj1bvC8o_3JBaRz13Je-57hUcUcJUk1vSmWtiF1jSHBL0zG6Cb4PRT0Jr1uNDdC-k9/s1600/squaretower-enhanced.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="267" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUe7U921x7M_6y5G0mGV0eX3p0kmbeBwTQxIhwNSuhlsWoJBqFmYUbCet0qIeEGOuI0KPYVXI29nJj1bvC8o_3JBaRz13Je-57hUcUcJUk1vSmWtiF1jSHBL0zG6Cb4PRT0Jr1uNDdC-k9/s400/squaretower-enhanced.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Square House Tower and Crow's Nest by Nate Thompson</td></tr>
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Square House Tower is the tallest of Mesa Verde National Park's ancient Puebloan (Anasazi) structures and is closed to the public. It is four stories high. Most of the floors are still intact and the walls are painted with bands of bright white and red clay.<br />
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I got a chance to see the site first hand in 2003. It was a dream come true because of my love of Everett Ruess country. However, my dream visit evolved when I saw the site's Crow's Nest.<br />
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Sitting a dozen yards up and over -- from the front of the site's tower -- the Crow's nest is wedged into a crevasse. It looks as though it will fall at any moment. Surprisingly, the archaeologist who took me to Square Tower said she actually visited the Nest and collected samples of its plastered walls.<br />
<br />
The result of my visit that day: I fell in love with ancient Puebloan plaster. It is an integral part of Mesa Verde's "Hidden Landscape" (the unwanted name of my wife's book about Mesa Verde's development as a park). And most visitor's to this an other Puebloan sites don't or can't appreciate it.<br />
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The plastered walls Everett may have seen in Mesa Verde are probably long gone. The multi-layered painted surfaces -- some 50 layers thick in some pueblos -- are vanishing during our lifetime.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdVU_XyQPLz3l2NlzBd6fGRLbUL205I5dboEqfCabrHhPEC_kbnziCBReuSP9xcMUogCQKCw6T8C5o_pvEmk9PhR1gzwcXoZUCxDjHdUlfV9pX6MmYlcfs9jA1y1Geulu3n5GV-W_v-7AM/s1600/crowes-closeup.BMP" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdVU_XyQPLz3l2NlzBd6fGRLbUL205I5dboEqfCabrHhPEC_kbnziCBReuSP9xcMUogCQKCw6T8C5o_pvEmk9PhR1gzwcXoZUCxDjHdUlfV9pX6MmYlcfs9jA1y1Geulu3n5GV-W_v-7AM/s320/crowes-closeup.BMP" width="211" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Crow's Nest by Nate Thompson</td></tr>
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Sometimes my wife jokes like Ronald Reagan and says "if you've seen one Pueblo, you've seen them all." Her response mocks his comment about redwoods. That's when I respond: "What Pueblo?" (Another Reagan joke: He made a similar statement before popping a grape in his mouth after being asked California's famous grape boycott).<br />
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What Everett Ruess do people see when they think of Square House Tower or Long House? Are there any journal entries about Everett at Mesa Verde? Surely, a CCC employee would have written something about the novelty of the stranger who stayed in their bunk house?<br />
<br />
I proposed offering a special tour called "Everett's Mesa Verde" when I worked as a ranger at the park in 2009. I didn't push the idea very hard because one of my criticism's the books I read about Everett is that, inevitably, the books turn to telling the author's own story.Nathan E Thompsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12317254814822606463noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5249011979670243317.post-65693547301351627982011-08-26T23:12:00.000-06:002011-08-26T23:12:16.960-06:00Mine and Everett's Mesa Verde<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhR-KyBs2bzEMtj0JSaF9dwg03BG3-GXXyaJny0jLA6OgnHv9C5SQhAvDFHs_V5YxpLpetqc8GOOyoHflwPoRknorQuOewhcIWAo1ToiqfmWVlgkLDh0Jdyq8Yob8dMqgV-HovMYXMAw5a2/s1600/mesaverde-214x300.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhR-KyBs2bzEMtj0JSaF9dwg03BG3-GXXyaJny0jLA6OgnHv9C5SQhAvDFHs_V5YxpLpetqc8GOOyoHflwPoRknorQuOewhcIWAo1ToiqfmWVlgkLDh0Jdyq8Yob8dMqgV-HovMYXMAw5a2/s1600/mesaverde-214x300.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;">Article/issue of the Four Corner's arts perspective </div><div style="text-align: left;">got me thinking about Cortez. This image hung on my</div><div style="text-align: left;">bedroom wall for years. Great article about the art at </div><div style="text-align: left;"><a href="http://artsperspective.com/artsperspective/?p=712">http://artsperspective.com/artsperspective/?p=712</a> .</div></td></tr>
</tbody></table>I once wrote a chapter for a Mesa Verde memory book about Everett Ruess and how his life impacted mine -- by influencing my move to Cortez, Colo.<br />
<br />
Today, I had an invite to attend a Mesa Verde Museum Association event and flinched when I couldn't attend: I love Mesa Verde. I love its history. I love that it marks the beginning of my married life.<br />
<br />
In short: there is no Ruess media I want to discuss today. I would rather reminisce about Mesa Verde.<br />
<br />
I find it a bit ironic that I'm now living in the "land of enchantment." I'm not feeling very enchanted here. Not after living in the shadow of the former capital of the American southwest.<br />
<br />
I miss the tourists. I miss the archaeologists. And I actually miss Cortez politics and the weekly onslaught of letters to the editor from the same three cranky Repubs and Demos.<br />
<br />
The brand of politics I experience in northern New Mexico is one of hegemonic boredom. There is rarely a letter to an editor -- with any hint of civil discord.<br />
<br />
Am I the one who will rock the boat? Not likely. My voice, like Everett's, echoes in the desert with a small hope of someday finding an audience. And for what purpose? To be a famed writer like Wallace Stegner or perhaps a Pulitzer winning reporter? Not likely.<br />
<br />
My dreams are sometimes food (to quote the new Cookie Monster). And at the moment, my dreams feel like the time Everett's burrow floundered in the Mancos River. <br />
<br />
When I stood ...<br />
<br />
(to be continued)<br />
<br />
<br />
Nathan E Thompsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12317254814822606463noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5249011979670243317.post-31904182158137538582011-08-20T14:51:00.000-06:002011-08-20T14:51:37.005-06:00Ruess-pert weighs in on "Selling Everett Ruess" and "Everett Ruess: His Short Life, Mysterious Death, and Astonishing Afterlife"When Gary James Bergera used the Everett Ruess quote "the murderous pain of living"as the title for his insightful article into the causes of Everett Ruess' disappearance -- I was disappointed.<br />
<br />
It wasn't because I didn't like how Bergera wrote or even what he wrote. It was that he wrote it first.<br />
<br />
When I discoverd Bergera's Utah Historical Quarterly article for my master's thesis about Everett, I was still very much a Ruess novice. And in his article, Bergera outlined points about Everett's life that I've been thinking and wanting to articulate for quite some time.<br />
<br />
He beat me to the punch and my thesis ended up going in a different direction.<br />
<br />
In short, Bergera theorized that Everett was bi-polar and that it led to his mysterious disappearance in the southern Utah wilderness in 1934.<br />
<br />
And now Bergera has <a href="http://www.blogger.com/Everett%20Ruess:%20His%20Short%20Life,%20Mysterious%20Death,%20and%20Astonishing%20Afterlife.">weighed in</a> on the two most recent books about Everett. His review is a very welcomed point-of-view because he actually knew a little about the Everett Ruess saga <i>before</i> expressing his opinion about David Robert's and Philip Fradkin's new books. Most of the reviews I've read thus far don't offer that kind of credibility.<br />
<br />
Wait, did I just say saga? Strange. I rarely, if ever, use that word to describe Everett.<br />
<br />
However, as I see the conversations that are expanding on this blog's mirror Facebook group, Everett Ruess Disciples (not the Everett Ruess blockprint group). I'm beginning to think that the short life and mystery of Everett Ruess is now reaching saga status.<br />
<br />
Here is a screen shot one discussion that is expanding the Everett Ruess myth and makes me think the Everett Ruess discussions will never end:<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIDoIa0e5fQlyzTVy3ysRJRIsIOzs3k1fWkuPih2VNqFOaX3B3SAG-uiXfmw5fCeCAARZYtDwKCf0Nip7qeIUccRTahcifdxm6wu87x5twh_N3tY8w4T76YKIol4QcowrBM1sPlqEtQXBr/s1600/Screen+shot+2011-08-20+at+2.20.12+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="355" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIDoIa0e5fQlyzTVy3ysRJRIsIOzs3k1fWkuPih2VNqFOaX3B3SAG-uiXfmw5fCeCAARZYtDwKCf0Nip7qeIUccRTahcifdxm6wu87x5twh_N3tY8w4T76YKIol4QcowrBM1sPlqEtQXBr/s640/Screen+shot+2011-08-20+at+2.20.12+PM.png" width="640" /></a></div><br />
I love that my little Facebook group (195 members encounting!) is enabling the Ruess experts (i.e. Ruess-perts), the Ruess family, and Everett Ruess layman alike -- to discuss someone who has touched the hearts and minds of many people.<br />
<br />
There are subtleties to the Disciples discussions most people can't see. Bergera saw them in the new books about Everett Ruess and he pointed it out in his review. I appreciate that.<br />
<br />
Writing history can be a sloppy and sometimes political process.<br />
<br />
New media (Facebook and this blog included) may muddy the Ruess mystery at first, but I believe it will only help us discover the truth about who Everett is and why the story continues to inspire our investigations as Everett Ruess Disciples.Nathan E Thompsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12317254814822606463noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5249011979670243317.post-44422271249229070792011-08-07T22:00:00.000-06:002011-08-07T22:00:44.163-06:00The Mystery of Everett Ruess: Repackaged "Vagabond for Beauty" only worth having as a collectable.I am still working to finish my review of "Selling Everett Ruess" by the end of the week.<br />
<br />
If I were a professional freelance journalist it would have been done by now. Fortunately, I am taking care of my two young boys until school starts and then it is off to being a full time middle school science and journalism teacher.<br />
<br />
I will say that I am planning to test out some ideas I have for multi-disiplinary school lessons using Ruess as the <i>modus operandi </i>to learning in my honor's science class.<br />
<br />
<b>In other news ... </b><br />
<br />
"Everett Ruess: His short life ..." by Philip Fradkin has just arrived from Amazon.com and I can't wait to review it as soon as possible.<br />
<br />
I did a quick perusal of this book's index, but alas my name was not mentioned. I do think some of my research influenced its content so that's not a good first impression (I've always believed you can judge a good book by it's index).<br />
<br />
I will say that "Everett Ruess: His short life ... " is being marketed fairly well because the promotions (i.e. press releases?) appear to rely on big name reviewers, Fradkin's past work, and the fact it comes from the University of California Press. <br />
<br />
Similar things can be said of "Selling Everett Ruess" by David Roberts.<br />
<br />
The marketing of both these books remains my primary interest in Everett so it is interesting to see how these publications are received by the press and public.<br />
<br />
<b>Speaking of new books about Everett ...</b><br />
<br />
<b></b>I finally read W.L. Rusho's afterword to the updating of "Everett Ruess: A Vagabond for Beauty." The book is now titled "The Mystery of Everett Ruess." It has new pictures. A new look coupled with a new beginning and ending.<br />
<br />
Rusho's updating to "Vagabond" (found now as POD -- print on demand -- from Gibbs Smith, Publisher) is pretty good, but I don't know that it is worth the money. I like the vagabond title for Rusho's original editing work much better than the updated version -- despite its having a Google friendly title. It is definitely something avid Everett Ruess fans will want on their shelf.<br />
<br />
After reading the afterword in "The Mystery of Everett Ruess" I was reminded of my interview with Bud Rusho for my master's thesis research. He had some interesting things to say about David Robert's dealing with Everett Ruess. Much of those sentiments were only alluded to in his afterword to "The Mystery."He told me the same story about digging up the "grave" of Everett that he included in his last book. He showed me pictures of the trip, too.<br />
<br />
Rusho mentions my thesis in his afterword to "The Mystery," but does not include its title, author or any other detail. This leaves me to wonder what -- or if -- he thought about my research. I gave Rusho a copy my thesis at an event at the University of Utah when a symposium was held to discuss the initial "solving" of the E.R. mystery in 2009. <br />
<br />
The Everett Ruess "cold case" was reinstated a few months after it was solved and Rusho has since passed away. And I really wish he were still around to offer his critique of the new E.R. books that emerged this summer. I have always appreciated Rusho's matter-of-fact approach to the Everett Ruess story. However, that impression has changed a bit from reading "Finding Everett Ruess" and I will elaborate on that in my forthcoming book review of Robert's book.<br />
<br />
One irony I love about Rusho's last book is that the www.gibbs-smith.com site says Rusho "confronts the truth" -- of Robert's reporting about Everett Ruess in National Geographic Adventurer -- "in a new epiloque."<br />
<br />
There are truths about the people who are selling the Everett Ruess story for money and political purposes. That story needs to be told to Ruess fans around the world and it isn't being told by Roberts or Rusho. My thesis is too academic for a mass audience. I do get the feeling Fradkin is going to touch on this subject a little bit with his new book but since my name isn't mention I doubt it will included details I think important to the Everett Ruess myth.<br />
<br />
And until the references to my thesis stop being too cryptic for a journalist from the Wall Street Journal or L.A. Times to investigate, it seems the truth's I uncovered in my thesis will remain untold to the masses.<br />
<br />
So what am I to do? I don't feel like writing letters to the editor. And I want to make my own money "Selling Everett Ruess," too.<br />
<br />
I don't need to make a lot of money. I just want to make enough to make it possible for me to be a vagabond like Ruess -- without the poverty of friends, family and money -- as evidence that the same people who read the existing and new Ruess books also get "the rest of the story" (thanks Paul Harvey).<br />
<br />
This is hard for me to say. I've never set out to make money off of Everett's story but I've tired of Gibbs Smith flaking on his offers to publish my research. He says he wants to publish it. We have meetings and exchange emails about my book's content. He says that he has read my thesis but I doubt it. <a href="http://www.issuu.com/everettruess/docs/sellingruessbynatethompson">My thesis</a> includes some not-so-flattering things about Gibbs Smith and other people with ties to the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance and those promoting Everett Ruess as a wilderness icon.Nathan E Thompsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12317254814822606463noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5249011979670243317.post-67807136178322304472011-07-20T15:39:00.001-06:002011-07-23T13:12:39.313-06:00Did Selling Everett Ruess inspire the title and cover for Finding Everett Ruess?I find it only a little strange that David Robert's <a href="http://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/wireStory?id=14103656">new book</a> has title similar to my working title. Oh, and the cover looks similar to the one I designed. I can't wait to get my copy of his book to see if he even mentions my research.<br />
<br />
For those who have been requesting it ... here is a link to my thesis.<br />
<br />
<object style="height: 450; width: 600;"><param name="movie" value="http://static.issuu.com/webembed/viewers/style1/v1/IssuuViewer.swf?mode=embed&documentId=110208185816-19def33a725444d2abdd7e64d66e971b&documentUsername=everettruess&documentName=sellingruessbynatethompson&layout=http%3A%2F%2Fskin.issuu.com%2Fv%2Flight%2Flayout.xml" /><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><embed src="http://static.issuu.com/webembed/viewers/style1/v1/IssuuViewer.swf" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowFullScreen="true" style="width:600;height:450" flashvars="mode=embed&documentId=110208185816-19def33a725444d2abdd7e64d66e971b&documentUsername=everettruess&documentName=sellingruessbynatethompson&layout=http%3A%2F%2Fskin.issuu.com%2Fv%2Flight%2Flayout.xml" /></object>Nathan E Thompsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12317254814822606463noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5249011979670243317.post-64151265961830484182011-07-18T15:16:00.002-06:002011-07-18T15:47:29.440-06:00Finding Everett Ruess is getting media coverage<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8hPWI-TzZ2My3uH183GzQpxgyj2ipidogz8kmwsR7c7-br8MCIdNR-rDYI4rXjJSXBKc7NpUkvBFH6cYm7hj3vUcccXbpbrq_PPu0haUhEcMKhL7aCkSdVdYS5DZEj_u35D_igohNpYen/s1600/cover.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8hPWI-TzZ2My3uH183GzQpxgyj2ipidogz8kmwsR7c7-br8MCIdNR-rDYI4rXjJSXBKc7NpUkvBFH6cYm7hj3vUcccXbpbrq_PPu0haUhEcMKhL7aCkSdVdYS5DZEj_u35D_igohNpYen/s1600/cover.jpeg" /></a></div>Two things: 1) my copy of <a href="http://www.scribd.com/doc/59058670/Finding-Everett-Ruess-by-David-Roberts-Excerpt">"Finding Everett Ruess"</a> by David Roberts is enroute (stay tuned for a book review) and 2) the book is getting some play on my google alert for Everett Ruess. The reviews are pretty favorable but I don't think they are coming from anyone I would consider a Ruess expert.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
Speaking of reviews ...<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnwbj4WyFTYELldl8V8c0TE9Ntfzt8Ep2lh-CFMNzoz8B_L3Bwv9AjFtUyK_daUXIP6JxJRb4yp4bXJ7cAeFx7T4Jc8SE9pR_ueW77W0PYHfm_yxPYSu8m639JZl0hEfoodXmorv0GgPwG/s1600/images.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnwbj4WyFTYELldl8V8c0TE9Ntfzt8Ep2lh-CFMNzoz8B_L3Bwv9AjFtUyK_daUXIP6JxJRb4yp4bXJ7cAeFx7T4Jc8SE9pR_ueW77W0PYHfm_yxPYSu8m639JZl0hEfoodXmorv0GgPwG/s1600/images.jpeg" /></a></div>I recently thumbed through "The Mystery of Everett Ruess" and was sorely disappointed. I didn't read a book description before buying it online but it is safe to say that is a repackaged version of "Vagabond for Beauty." It did have an updated prologue by the Waldo Ruess family that is worth reading.<br />
<br />
<br />
p.s. The online versions of my thesis at Scripd.com and Google Docs are experiencing technical difficulties. I hope to have them fixed soon.Nathan E Thompsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12317254814822606463noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5249011979670243317.post-70677915383314157532011-03-20T22:56:00.000-06:002011-03-20T22:56:08.806-06:00Bud Rusho, proud stenographer of Everett Ruess history, dies<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; white-space: pre-wrap;">I will be forever grateful to Bud Rusho: "Everett Ruess: A Vagabond for Beauty" is one of the most influential books of my life. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br />
</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; white-space: pre-wrap;">I interviewed Bud for my master's thesis about Everett and Mr. Rusho was the most cordial person I have ever met. I finally gave him a copy of my thesis last summer (many years after it was finished). Unfortunately, I never got a chance to hear what he thought about it. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br />
</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; white-space: pre-wrap;">Mr. Rusho will certainly be remembered for his contributions to history. For me, I will remember his passion for finding the truth and his story about going to find the place David Roberts said Everett was buried, the first time Robert's solved the Ruess mystery. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br />
</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; white-space: pre-wrap;">I last saw Bud when he spoke at the University of Utah at a symposium following the second time Robert's "solved" the Ruess mystery. I wish I could have heard what he had to say after that time was debunked as well.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br />
</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13px; white-space: pre-wrap;">Rusho's thoughts for my thesis about Everett Ruess and his supposed connection to the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance (SUWA) can be read <a href="http://www.issuu.com/everettruess/docs/sellingruessbynatethompson">here</a>. His stories were very insightful and provide great perspective about how his original research for "Vagabond" has been used over time.</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br />
</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13px; white-space: pre-wrap;">As I head to into the desert this week after a long hiatus I will certainly have Bud in my thoughts. </span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br />
</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13px; white-space: pre-wrap;">I think some poetic words from Stella Ruess, Everett's mother, best suit the <a href="http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/outdoors/51437091-117/rusho-bud-utah-canyon.html.csp">news of Bud's passing</a> (as posted by the Twitter user named everettruess last May).</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br />
</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13px; white-space: pre-wrap;">"Somewhere your eyes light up to beauty near and far; Somewhere your spirit lives where kindred spirits are."</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br />
</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br />
</span></span>Nathan E Thompsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12317254814822606463noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5249011979670243317.post-28166646384387110492010-06-14T20:53:00.001-06:002010-06-14T20:55:08.201-06:00New book on Ruess out in August<a href="http://gs1.gibbs-smith.com/covers/Mystery%20Ruess%20Eblad.pdf">http://gs1.gibbs-smith.com/covers/Mystery%20Ruess%20Eblad.pdf</a>Nathan E Thompsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12317254814822606463noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5249011979670243317.post-85749676223936163992010-03-30T14:55:00.002-06:002010-03-30T15:01:18.673-06:00Seitadd ruessiDesert rats are quirky people so I think it is pretty cool this the name of this new, unique dinosaur was inspired by desert lore.<br /><br />http://www.ksl.com/index.php?nid=148&sid=10131652<br /><br /><a href="http://www.ksl.com/index.php?nid=148&sid=10131652"></a>Nathan E Thompsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12317254814822606463noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5249011979670243317.post-32902247572575452962009-10-30T21:06:00.000-06:002009-10-30T21:07:34.319-06:00ER VirusEverett Ruess gave me a virus today ... be careful what links you click on when Google sends you an "Everett Ruess" news feed. <br /><br />By the way, I'm still seeing posts that the mystery is solved. Clearly the latest news is not getting out.Nathan E Thompsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12317254814822606463noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5249011979670243317.post-4566364779516464432009-10-24T14:46:00.001-06:002009-10-24T14:49:13.873-06:00Everett Ruess mystery 'unsolved'I'm grateful the mystery remains. However, I'm sorry media outlets are not covering this news the same way they covered the National Geographic story about Everett's mystery being solved. It seems Everett's myth will adopt a new dynami...c: Many of the new followers of the story, who think the Everett Ruess story is a classic cold case, will never see that it was a story of adventure and nature worship. Thus ends the golden age of Everett Ruess ...<br /><br /><a href="http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&source=hp&q=everett+ruess&um=1&ie=UTF-8&ei=HF7jSvnVIsyj8AaFxdX4AQ&sa=X&oi=news_group&ct=title&resnum=1&ved=0CBQQsQQwAARead More"></a>Nathan E Thompsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12317254814822606463noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5249011979670243317.post-88947545145627928582009-09-13T18:52:00.002-06:002009-09-13T19:09:18.331-06:00Everett Ruess ChautauquaI won't be able to attend the Everett Ruess discussion on Sept. 25 in Escalante. I really wanted to enjoy seeing all the "players" involved with the Everett Ruess story. But for this event, I was asked to be a participant and I honestly don't feel comfortable at this point (in my research) in transitioning into this participant-status. I, like dozens of other people who are emerging as stenographers of Ruess, need to remain an observer of the myth-making. Even my Disciples of Everett Ruess Group (with activities limited to Facebook and this blog) was hard for me to launch. <br /><br />As I continue to watch this story unravel I know that the aspects of the story I have learned about continue to be found in an informational abyss ... and I like it that way. Let all of this other publicity about Everett's discovery continue for a couple of years and then I will be ready to push forward with a published version of what I see happening to the Everett Ruess story. I can’t even get Gibbs Smith to make good on his promises to publish my research. As a result, I am contemplating taking down all the electronic versions of my thesis to avoid future plagiarism. As the list of people saying they are doing projects about Everett grows, I know that it is only a little while until I see my research ripped off. So far, I've only seen my thesis used a couple of times by the media, but those times that it has been used I was never given credit for reporting the information that was used.<br /><br />That said, I am mostly not attending the ER chautauqua for a long list of additional reasons that I would rather not get into. I will, like most everything else related to ER, wait for the press coverage. Afterall, that has also been my primary interest in Everett Ruess.Nathan E Thompsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12317254814822606463noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5249011979670243317.post-38038986042841902282009-08-12T09:26:00.004-06:002009-08-13T16:43:19.431-06:00Everett Ruess dental analysisHere is a link to a <a href="http://docs.google.com/fileview?id=0BxlhUXM51xlVZmZhYzJkZWMtZmI3NS00ZDg0LWJjMTgtYTgxY2Y4ZDYyMmIy&hl=en">PowerPoint</a> presentation I was sent, regarding the dental records of Everett. The research was done by Paul Leatherbury ... more on him later.<br /><br /><br /><a href="http://docs.google.com/fileview?id=0BxlhUXM51xlVZmZhYzJkZWMtZmI3NS00ZDg0LWJjMTgtYTgxY2Y4ZDYyMmIy&hl=en"></a>Nathan E Thompsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12317254814822606463noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5249011979670243317.post-21536099164006595682009-08-02T18:47:00.001-06:002009-08-02T18:49:47.324-06:00The Spirit of Everett Ruess<blockquote>"He didn't commit suicide per se," he added. "He just walked down that road and didn't come back." </blockquote><br /><br />I thought you all might want to read this story about Winston Branko Churchill's death ... <a href="http://www.denverpost.com/ci_12975359">http://www.denverpost.com/ci_12975359</a>. He seems to be a kindred spirit of Everett, who couldn't come to terms with his own view of life.<br /><br /><br />p.s. The ER festival in Escalante is working out to be an interesting event, includiing a visit with Pat Jenks. More event details at <a href="http://www.everettruessdays.org">http://www.everettruessdays.org</a>/schedule.htmlNathan E Thompsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12317254814822606463noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5249011979670243317.post-75686052585476666342009-07-06T21:23:00.004-06:002009-07-06T21:27:39.390-06:00Utah state archaeologist questions Ruess researchIn an interesting twist of events, the Utah state archaelogist is questioning the research that put the Ruess mystery to rest.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/05/us/05ruess.html?_r=1&ref=global-home"></a><br /><br />http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/05/us/05ruess.html?_r=1&ref=global-homeNathan E Thompsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12317254814822606463noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5249011979670243317.post-3092699134783354532009-06-30T21:12:00.005-06:002009-06-30T21:20:42.529-06:00Glen Canyon Institute Everett Ruess ForumHere is the full streaming video of the Glen Canyon Institute's forum on the discovery of Everett Ruess.<br /><br /><a href="http://stream.utah.edu/m/show_grouping.php?g=437ef3eaccea7d1094">http://stream.utah.edu/m/dp/frame.php?f=63c54cc6111a4940267</a><br /><br /><a href="http://stream.utah.edu/m/show_grouping.php?g=437ef3eaccea7d1094"></a><br /><br />JUST CLICK ON THE WINDOWS ICON ONCE YOU GET TO THE SITE.Nathan E Thompsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12317254814822606463noreply@blogger.com0