Friday, January 11, 2008

Another RIP

In the past (mere!) couple of months, we've lost two of the premier adventurers, bon vivants, and teste del formaggio. One begins to wonder how many of us there are left in the world - how many of us can there be left in the world?

First, at the end of November, we lost Evel Knievel - well known to all for his many and varied jumps, leaps, crashes, and fractures.

Now comes the news that our favorite Kiwi (that's a person from New Zealand, for those of you not "in the know" about such things!) has passed away at the (still far too young!) age of 88. Yes, Sir Edmund Hillary (Sir Eddy to his friends) has scaled that final peak into the beyond. The first man to scale Everest - who went on to find a route to the South Pole - is no longer with us.

I once remarked to him that the latter feat didn't seem all that impressive to me, once he had described it as simply, "go South until you can only go North - then you're there, Jay; then you're there." That remark was more than half in jest, and it is with wry amusement that I recall it here.

To both Evel and Sir Eddy, I raise a glass and say:
Excelsior!

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

I must concur - it seems there are few of the "Explorers' Club" types around these days.

I wonder, though, at your insistence on being classed with the likes of Mr. Knievel and Sir Edmund. I find it hard to believe that you actually knew either of them, or that you'd be on such familiar terms with a peer of the realm such as Sir Edmund.

Nonetheless, I'll echo your Excelsior! and raise you a Tally Ho!

Anonymous said...

I'm getting tired of people on this blog telling Jay he doesn't exist!

I know he exists becuase I work for him at Jay Standish Inc. LLC in the accounting department.

I see him in the office almost every day, and I sure see him on payday, let me tell you.Even if he didn't use my name the first time he talked about me in his newsletter he fixed it and put me in I think the next one.

He does too exist, and I know it and I've seen him and talked to him and all that stuff. So blow it out your ear pal.

Jay Standish said...

Yoiks, Argosy! Tally Ho, indeed.

I trust Bailey's reply has been an adequate riposte to your thrust in sixte. Regardless, I appreciate your readership, and look forward to more tussles and backs-and-forths with you in the future!

Excelsior!