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Outlive the Bastards

Here's a semi-famous quote from Edward Abbey: "…So get out there and mess around with your friends, ramble out yonder and explore the forests, encounter the grizz, climb the mountains. Run the rivers, breathe deep of that yet sweet and lucid air, sit quietly for a while and contemplate the precious stillness, that lovely, mysterious and awesome space. Enjoy yourselves, keep your brain in your head and your head firmly attached to your body, the body active and alive, and I promise you this much: I promise you this one sweet victory over our enemies, over those deskbound people with their hearts in a safe deposit box and their eyes hypnotized by desk calculators. I promise you this: you will outlive the bastards."

I'd often had similar thoughts before I ever read this quote. People ask me, "Isn't rock climbing dangerous?" and "Aren't you afraid to go hiking by yourself?" My response is always the same: I'd rather die young living my life to its fullest than die old in front of the TV.

I'm 39 years old and the average life expectancy for an American is around 77 years. I figure I've already outlived most people. I've climbed to the top of mountains and experienced the intuitive and trusting and fun relationship of being someone's climbing partner; I've rafted down class V rivers (where I've probably come closest to death); I've picked up hitchhikers and been picked up as a hitchhiker trying get to the trailhead or back to the car; I've discovered a long-abandoned coal mine; I've seen a baby black bear and bald eagles; I've seen a meteor shower that included shooting stars so close I could see the fireball and the contrail; I've drunk fresh springwater ("Aren't you afraid?") and eaten wild blueberries and morel mushrooms ... you get the idea.

Don't feel sorry for me if I get hit by a car while on a bike ride or if I misplace a piece of climbing gear and hit the deck. It's worth the risk. And BTW, it turns out that those of us who exercise regularly live longer anyway. How 'bout that!
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Comments

Anticopyright said…
hi, could you please tell me from which of abbeys books is the quote "...you will outlive the bastards"?
thanx
May 3, 2009 at 9:15 PM
Unknown said…
it was an earth day speech i thnk
May 28, 2009 at 6:57 PM
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