4:05 p.m.||||2004-09-14

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OH man.

What a summer. What a waste in some ways. Feeling better, still shaky. Talkin in code, as usual.

I saw a program the other night about that guy (Aaron somebody) who went hiking in Utah by himself, without telling anyone where he was going and then fell into a fifteen foot space, pulling a bazillion ton boulder down on top of his hand, pinning himself.

So, he was there for six days, ran out of water by Tuesday (happened on Sat), and food, cold at night, broken, rotting flesh. Stuck in a standing position. Raven flew over the top of his hole every day until the sixth day, making him sure he would die. Tried a buncha things and on the sixth day, after poking himelf in his rotting thumb and hearing the gas escape from decomposition, suddenly remembered an engineering concept regarding pressure and counterpressure. Cause the knife he had was dull from scraping at the impentrable rock for five days, and it wouldn't cut bone. Then he realized he could snap the bones himself and saw through the rest with the dull blade. Which he did.

Then he crawled out of the space. rappelled down six stories and walked out a trail to meet the rescuers who were coming for him.

When he met the helicopter dudes he said "I've cut off my arm, can I have a ride?"

Fuckin A.

And this kills me - the name of his book is "Between a rock and a hard space"

It suddenly made what I had to go through this week a lot less significant.

I just get so fucking happy when I think about this guy.