Althouse: "He said if he had to do it all over again, he would have probably picked a different time."

February 6, 2015

"He said if he had to do it all over again, he would have probably picked a different time."

"He said his last drink kind of gave him that urge, that oomph.”

39 comments:

Will Cate said...: What's a ptarmigan?; 2/6/15, 7:02 PM
RecChief said...: did they let him finish his walk? or did they force him into a truck just 4 miles short of his goal?; 2/6/15, 7:15 PM
SteveR said...: His retrospective via Captain Obvious; 2/6/15, 7:18 PM
Michelle Dulak Thomson said...: A ptarmigan is one of those things with a silent "P," like "ptomaine" and "Psmith."; 2/6/15, 7:20 PM
FullMoon said...: Brian Williams led him to safety but was too modest to stick around.; 2/6/15, 7:22 PM
traditionalguy said...: How many time around Lake Medota iwould 50 miles be? The Meads will need a three day weekend and Zeus tag team dogs for that long a march .; 2/6/15, 7:35 PM
madAsHell said...: Hold my beer!! Watch this!!; 2/6/15, 7:45 PM
Eric the Fruit Bat said...: Last time I wandered off into the wilderness, intoxicated, for 46 miles and 15 hours, I ended up pregnant with a litter of pups, so that was the end of that!; 2/6/15, 7:48 PM
Fred Drinkwater said...: "only carrying a little .22 rifle."
So, I'm imagining Glenn Reynolds' reaction to this datum.
(Under the circumstances, what good was THAT tiny thing going to do him? Clearly, he was impaired. Course, the drunker you are, the smaller caliber weapon you ought to carry. Safety First, folks.); 2/6/15, 7:50 PM
Bob Boyd said...: "the drunker you are, the smaller caliber weapon you ought to carry."

If you're drunk you need a shotgun.
Or full auto.; 2/6/15, 7:54 PM
kcom said...: A ptarmigan is a bird with fuzzy winter feet.

BTW, I think this story smells fishy. 50 miles in 15 hours? Walking through bogs and such? Prove it. (It's that you, Rosie Ruiz?); 2/6/15, 8:03 PM
Gahrie said...: I totally get it.; 2/6/15, 8:05 PM
Anonymous said...: god

drunken fools

etc; 2/6/15, 8:11 PM
Laslo Spatula said...: Yet another case in America of where high-speed rail would've helped tremendously.

I am Laslo.; 2/6/15, 8:42 PM
NotWhoIUsedtoBe said...: I like this guy. I've known people like him.; 2/6/15, 8:42 PM
Paul said...: Heck, he was in no trouble. Pity they freaked and organized a search party.; 2/6/15, 8:43 PM
Laslo Spatula said...: If I'm walking that distance there better be a naked Scarlett Johansson waiting for me on the other end. Maybe tied to a bedpost, at that.

I am Laslo.; 2/6/15, 8:46 PM
F said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 2/6/15, 9:01 PM
F said...: My father always insisted that the P was silent in swimming too.; 2/6/15, 9:15 PM
Chef Mojo said...: Badass. Good on him.; 2/6/15, 9:19 PM
J Scott said...: Without heavy gear, <80 lbs, 4 miles an hour isn't difficult over flat land.; 2/6/15, 10:05 PM
Michael K said...: Alaskans are different. In many ways the NY Times hasn't thought of. Or Tina Fey.; 2/6/15, 10:19 PM
traditionalguy said...: Just watched a preview of the NBA finals. The Hawks won over a very good Golden State team. But will they win 4 out of 7?; 2/6/15, 10:26 PM
traditionalguy said...: NBC needs to interview this guy about Sarah Palin rumors he has heard.

And for that they will need to send for.....Katie Couric! She is back to replace what's his name.; 2/6/15, 10:39 PM
Diamondhead said...: Good for him. He wanted to do something and he set out to do it. There's a trace of Roald Amundsen in there somewhere.; 2/7/15, 1:29 AM
John Lawton said...: No tags?; 2/7/15, 2:08 AM
Laslo Spatula said...: Hollywood has probably already bought the rights to his story.

Just need to add some of the following to add depth to this heart-wrenching saga of endurance and redemption:

• His family at a party: self-absorbed, the son in particular: they don't even notice when he says "I think I'll go for a walk."

• his encounter with young free spirits in a van 1/3rd of the way through the film: these youngsters respect the man's vitality, lots of conversation about how society is so much noise, can't it all just be simple, man? Can't we just have some time for ourselves? Obligatory shot of one of the kids bemoaning lack of cell-phone reception. They leave him with another beer before they go.

• Flashbacks of him as a child, wandering alone through the frozen wilderness, looking for his lost dog. These scenes intercut thematically: at the end is the heart-warming scene when he finally finds the puppy: face-licking, sun shining on the snow, etc.;

• Epic winter windstorm 2/3rds of the way through the film: frozen ice, falling branches, a fall down a ravine, wolves watching intently, perhaps a gunshot to try to ward them off for extra drama;

• the crawl out of the ravine: he has hurt his leg: how much can he endure? The last part of the movie he will incorporate a limp for pathos;

• delirious, he encounters the spirit of his father, dressed from the icy Korean War: they -- finally -- have the talk they so missed in real life. His Father is Proud of him! Uplift.

• he is finally found by the rescue party, only to find they aren't needed. His son walks with him the rest of the way.

• a final shot of his younger self, walking home with his found dog.

I am Laslo.; 2/7/15, 3:02 AM
Laslo Spatula said...: How could I forget?
Add cryptic scenes of him checking the time on an old pocket-watch. When he encounters the spirit of his father the father is checking the time on his same pocket-watch: "You're late."

Conversation about the nature of time: passing fast, passing slow.

We're going for the Oscar here, people. Maybe we get Tom Hanks as the Father.

I am Laslo.; 2/7/15, 3:11 AM
Laslo Spatula said...: Perhaps Scarlett Johannson is one of the free-spirits in the van. Every movie has room for Scarlett Johansson.

I am Laslo.; 2/7/15, 3:13 AM
Laslo Spatula said...: Tom Hanks to his young son in flashback: "Son, sometimes dogs get lost." Portent.

I am Laslo.; 2/7/15, 3:16 AM
Laslo Spatula said...: Brad Pitt will desperately want the part, but he'll then want a part for Angelina Jolie shoe-horned into the film: NO BRAD PITT.

I am Laslo.; 2/7/15, 3:20 AM
Laslo Spatula said...: AND NO JOHNNY DEPP!

Please God, no Johnny Depp.

Because then, inevitably: directed by Tim Burton.

Which means, inevitably: a role for Helena Bonham Carter.

No, no, no.

I am Laslo.; 2/7/15, 3:27 AM
Laslo Spatula said...: Mark Wahlberg: there is not an Oscar in your future. Not the part for you.

I am Laslo.; 2/7/15, 3:32 AM
Laslo Spatula said...: Written strangely early in the morning.

I am Laslo.; 2/7/15, 3:35 AM
Laslo Spatula said...: In the van with Scarlett Johansson? Taylor Swift!

Scarlett Johansson AND Taylor Swift!

And then Taylor Swift could write the winsome opening-credits song: we'll get the kids to come see this film, dammit.

Maybe Johansson and Swift can give off a little 'Thelma and Louise' vibe: they are on the run from SOMETHING, obviously.

It practically writes itself.

I am Laslo.; 2/7/15, 3:42 AM
Guildofcannonballs said...: Careful Laslo, per Get Shorty if it almost writes itself, what the $&)!? do I need you for?

It doesn't write itself damnit; We need you!; 2/7/15, 4:01 AM
Guildofcannonballs said...: For humor we need a grizzly running around trying to eat the lead. In the end we will see Grizz was playing around, goofing off, all along.; 2/7/15, 4:04 AM
Jaq said...: "Heck, he was in no trouble. Pity they freaked and organized a search party."

We had a guy like that here. I woke up seeing blue lights flashing out on the lake, it turned out that the guy was ice fishing and got a little lost in his pickup in a whiteout, and snuggled in to wait for daylight. He thought it was odd that they sent out all of those people to search for him.

Of course lots of pickup trucks disappear through the ice, often to be spotted by small planes in the spring if they go through in shallow enough water. I think a section of ice just tips and dumps them in and then resettles back where it was, like a frog eating a bug.; 2/7/15, 5:26 AM
donald said...: We live in a world where the Atlanta Hawks are the best basketball team in the world and Jeff Teague fucking OWNS John Wall, Chris Paul, and Derrick Rose.

The apocalypse is upon us!; 2/7/15, 6:04 AM