July Discussion: Between a Rock and a Hard Place

July apparently turned out to be a pretty busy month for most of us. The final afternoon discussion group was held July 6th. The members in the group have branched out to a different discussion group, or have become extremely busy keeping up with other family responsibilities. I'm happy to reinstate the afternoon timeslot anytime at least two other people are interested in meeting at that time, just drop me a line. Cindy brought some great Margarita pie for evening discussion that was oh, so refreshing on a hot summer evening. This was also a nod to Aron's thirst fantasies while he was trapped. Well, I'm hoping a lot of you will respond to the blog since you weren't at the discussion. Following are the main themes that came up. 1) Aron as writer. Several of us were impressed with the quality of writing and the way the story unfolds. 2) How many close shaves does one guy get? Guardian angels must be tag teaming or playing rocks, siccors, paper to decide who gets the next shift. 3) Following your bliss/living the dream. How many people have the courage to live the way Aron does. Forget cutting off your arm, how about turning your back on Intel? 4) Blame. Aron accepts full responsibility and definitely had the knowledge, skill and training to avoid being isolated for so long, but whom among us hasn't been caught up in the moment and found ourselves in a situation where we feel less than safe. 5) Objectivity. Many of us admired the cool way Aron caculated his options and participated actively in his own rescue. 6) Driven. What drives a man to climb 14000 foot peaks, solo, in the winter time? After the immediate response, crazy, do you find something to admire in Aron's single-minded pursuit? Is living on the razor's edge selfish or just inescapable for someone with a vision? 7) Spirituality. Aron's account of opening a door in the canyon, being comforted by friends and the vision of himself balancing a toddler with his arm stump all point to a dimension people rarely access in daily life. Combined with his statement in the last paragraph of the book that if he had a second chance, he'd still take the hike even knowing the outcome, we can only guess that Aron is fulfilling his destiny. I did a little web surfing to see what Aron's been up to lately. Of note, he recently climbed the highest peak in South America and is preparing for a climb of K2 in the Himalayas. He does public speaking appearances free of charge to nonprofits of choice but charges large corps a large price if the location is enticing enough.