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neebee

Social climber

calif/texas

May 31, 2010 - 07:47am PT

hey there ol' chicken skinner ken... say, this post keeps getting better and better... :) oh my!!!

thanks for the wonderful shares...
:)

god bless...
:)

keep giving yosemite a big hug for me...
;)

Tony Bird

climber

Northridge, CA

May 31, 2010 - 11:35am PT

ah, here we are--the front porch of the old climber's home--east side, of course, life being much cheaper there. don't we love to sit and argue all day, especially the ones who can't climb any more?

for what it's worth, i interviewed chuck wilts in the early 80s and asked him where all the yosemite old-timers had gone. he said he would still get a christmas card from john salathé, usually a rather religious one, and that john lived in one of those communities around the salton sea which move from higher to lower elevation and back depending on the water level.

i tucked that information away for awhile, but as i began to approach retirement age, it regurgitated into a bit of songwriting:

in a little tin trailer
by the salton sea
there's affordable retirement
there for you and me
lotsa baby boomers
keep us company
everybody gettin' frailer in a little tin trailer by the salton sea.

ain't got much pension
no annuity
but i'm very social
without security
i get to see the doctor
once a month it's free
i get a trusty inhaler for my little tin trailer by the salton sea.

(deep breath here leading to steel guitar solo ending in melodic quote from "aloha oe")

see the sun a-risin'
out across the sea
got no air-conditionin'
but the heat is free
and my sexy tan lines
are a sight to see
older but not paler in my little tin trailer by the salton sea.

(song ends with full angelic chorus accompaniment.)

here's to JS--he always said the climbing started when the aiding started, somewhat after 5.9.

p.s. my wife hates this song for some reason. if you want to hear it, email me a number and i'll sing it to you over the phone when she's not around.