Discussion Topic |
|
This thread has been locked |
throwpie
Trad climber
Berkeley
|
|
|
Topic Author's Reply - Aug 25, 2012 - 04:34pm PT
|
Mouse...that blond fellow with Mathis is Mike Dwyer, Merced boy and good friend of mine. I think. Many moons have passed.
|
|
ß Î Ø T Ç H
Boulder climber
bouldering
|
|
|
Aug 27, 2012 - 12:53am PT
|
Those Gypsy pics are so rad.
|
|
mouse from merced
Trad climber
merced, california
|
|
|
Aug 27, 2012 - 01:38am PT
|
As you can tell, the comment I made is sort of true. This guy could be Randy. It could be Timmy. I liked the shot of Annie and Randy hamming it up.
|
|
mouse from merced
Trad climber
The finger of fate, my friends, is fickle.
|
|
Jeff Mathis, aka the Muskrat, aka the Reverend, aka Smooth-Trail, aka Jefe.
We have known each other since I moved here to Merced, 1961. He roped me into this climbing gig. Back when I got work in the Mtn. Shop ('71) he was still living in 4, later on in a cave over underneath the talus below Sentinel, then in Degnan's Dorms.
He kept a kitchen wherever he camped and was a credible camp cook then and has gotten more better with experience. The opening post by Throwpie loosened up Jeff's tongue as soon as he saw the photo. Throwpie's done a good thing. Thanks, dood. He's nosing the bait, but we'll have to practice patience. Mathis is a 'mossback' as he is not computer literate, hasn't the slightest bit of interest in getting a computer. I'm afraid it's gonna take a concerted effort and have little hope of its success. He's pretty set in his ways.
For what it's worth, I got him to tell me a few things. Last evening when he called and we decided to get together today he told me a Roy M. story. Roy has told me he knows Mathis, and the name he uses is the Reverend. Jeff is an officially sanctioned minister of Universal Life and so it responsible for marrying off Millis, which didn't take, and marrying off Bill Nickell (absolutely the correct spelling) and Lauren Nickell, which apparently has taken. gotta be 25+ yrs on the books now.
IIf you look at the OP the Rev has a digit taped up and Limber Linda H., in front of him, has a crutch. He got his finger crunched climbing The Yawn and pretty much that was enough to sour him on rock climbing. Fingers can't wear helmets, that's true. The 'bookshelf' is not that at all, it's Jeff's kitchen shelving. Yoho mooched and so did many others. He was a scratch pank maker, too. No Krusteaz.
He got on trails and got nick-named Smooth-Trail, but apparently it only was for Carter's use, according to the horse's mouth. Also, Jeff told me this about Tarbuster and Bruce Hawkins. They had stopped at the Iron Door in Groveland after voyaging to one of the first two Eastside reunions. Jeff's then-GF, Debbie-Debbie, was sitting near enough at the bar to overhear the climbing brags and she asked if the stories that Jeff had been filling her with were true, they were so bizzare. Roy was taken aback by this woman's effrontery. He gathered up his wounded Camp 4 pride and pronounced these immortal words,
The Reverend NEVER LIES!!! [Bitch!!!] That's loyalty!!!
Bump-de-bump-bump for Tarbuster Attitude!!!
|
|
mouse from merced
Trad climber
The finger of fate, my friends, is fickle.
|
|
At the softball game, Jeff told me this afternoon, that he had a sit-down somewhere down on the third base line, out of the shot that Gene Foley made. I foget who he was sitting with, even though he told me just ninety minutes ago, while he's 'membering things from 40 years ago. The tricks that memory plays are many. He and I are blessed with fairly accurate memories. But we always over-estimate our abilities and capacities. A case in point
The Dood asked (and I have questions for the Dood, but the account's de-activated---anyone know him? dare to fill me in on who why?) about how Dillis Millis was named.
It was I, said the Mouse from Merced, to the Little Red Dood. I named the Millis. Jeff just reminded me, and I take his word for it, because everyone who knows him can tell you the Reverend NEVER LIES!!!
Jeff could not remember specifically where or exactly when this Baptism occurred; however, he assured me that I had, in a fit of literary fervor, written the fateful words, Dinner Millis . sown in my hard-cover notebook for literary fervor fits. (I am reporting problems with my writing system here, which is that when I try to fit in a "bold" or other formatting tag, I lose the ability to edit the content for typos. In a long post it is a real drag. Is it happening across the site or is it my system?) I am sorry for the interruption to our program. But I can't even back-scroll past the last parenthesis.
|
|
BASE104
Social climber
An Oil Field
|
|
I enjoy the Bardini pics. When Carter and him got going it was a riot.
Those two should have gone into comedy. Get rich doing a show for a few months and then spend lavishly for the rest of the year.
|
|
BASE104
Social climber
An Oil Field
|
|
As for the Devil's Lake Fuc%ness Society, I didn't really know much about them. Every evening I would hear an occasional shout of:
"Puke With Force!!!"
Also, those guys ran around drawing on every bathroom wall in the valley these cryptic messages:
"Topper is real."
"Dino too."
I think that Dino was accompanied by a dinosaur drawing, but it has been a while. Swilliam later filled me in on a little, but nobody has ever divulged the meaning of the bathroom graffiti to me.
|
|
donini
Trad climber
Ouray, Colorado
|
|
God, all those years in Camp 4 in the 70's and nary a photo to show for it.....spilled acid on the lens.
|
|
mouse from merced
Trad climber
The finger of fate, my friends, is fickle.
|
|
Pressing on, here is the Rev's take on people in the Foley softball photo.
Starting on the left, he ID-ed Terry Pintola (not Pimental) as the catcher.
Paul Cowan is the pole leaner. Bruce Hawkins behind Paul. Kid Carrot with his back to us. Chris Wagner (?). Dick Ellsworth, bearded, glasse. Pettigrew beneath the swing of the bat by Mighty Cock. Beardo in the flat cap, ? Then the venerable, loveable Bobby Ashworth.
Chris van Diveer, in the bent posture characteristic of vD. :), Chris!
Got my Jumars?
Bruce Brossman. Steve Sutton.
Falkenstein and Kauk sitting (?).
Tim Harrison, So Cool in beach wear! Then Jeff skips to Werner, but I think he skipped--is that George Meyers?!
Tim Fitzgerald might be behind WB.
He didn't ID Mark Chapman, nor can I, never having met him.
So there is the latest on the shot heard round the Valley.
There's a Jeff Mathis on the Angels, but he's known for lying to the umps, and we all swear that our Jeff Mathis, the Reverend, never lies.
The Reverend reminds his acolytes please to keep sending your cash, checks, and money orders to him in Groveland, CA, and the Lord's blessings will flow, children, they will flow like the Mighty Merced into your homes and hearts.
Amen.
|
|
Gypsy
Social climber
NC
|
|
|
Sep 13, 2012 - 09:23pm PT
|
It is Randy Hamm in the blue sweater and red hat in the above photo series--would recognize that sweater and hat anywhere. Randy and Tim did look similar and they always goofed on it. Randy got that hat when he lived in June Lake (just before I met him). The dogs brought it in and he wore it for years and years. I think the sweater was a Christmas present from his mom. I still have his EB's. I don't think I have ever seen these photos before though. Thanks. Wonderful to sit back and read all the posts and think about those days of cave-living and bandit camping. Mouse be sure to say hi to Jeff for me. These daze I spend my senility living in the Blue Ridge Mountains and hiking on the granite island of Corsica.
|
|
mouse from merced
Trad climber
The finger of fate, my friends, is fickle.
|
|
|
Sep 14, 2012 - 11:26pm PT
|
Solid, my sister!
That's good to know.
I want to compliment you on the lush photo on FB and I'm looking forward to listening in soon's I can.
Don't wander too, far, Gyp.
BTW, Mathis el Jefe was here last Sunday. Of course he's fine as frog hair. I'll send a pm soon. Ah, ther it is on Wednesdays. Musical Migrations. Looking vorvarts! Some oompah, yah? :)
|
|
Gypsy
Social climber
NC
|
|
|
Sep 15, 2012 - 05:53pm PT
|
And Mouse do not forget that the fate of fingers is also fickle--as you should well know. Talk to you soon...off to a family dinner. Still trying to score those free meals, you know. "Dick Ellsworth leaning over in his very hairy way to some tourista in the Yosemite Lodge cafeteria, 'You plannin' on eatin' that?' he would (not so) innocently ask.
|
|
mouse from merced
Trad climber
The finger of fate, my friends, is fickle.
|
|
|
Sep 15, 2012 - 07:14pm PT
|
//Touche, Pussycat!!!
Hawn!!!
Bon spetit out...Italic Text//
|
|
neebee
Social climber
calif/texas
|
|
|
Nov 11, 2012 - 09:03pm PT
|
hey there say, throwpie and all...
just taking a peek at the old pics here, as i had a bit more time...
thanks for sharing...
:)
|
|
Steve Grossman
Trad climber
Seattle, WA
|
|
|
Mar 16, 2013 - 08:16pm PT
|
Bump for the 300...
|
|
BASE104
Social climber
An Oil Field
|
|
|
Mar 16, 2013 - 08:46pm PT
|
|
|
Jaybro
Social climber
Wolf City, Wyoming
|
|
|
Mar 16, 2013 - 09:27pm PT
|
"Ned's real and so are his boots. Get Ned's moonboots, today!"
|
|
|
SuperTopo on the Web
|
Let us know!