Lightweight Testimony: Jim Sweeney's Enlightenment via Lead Weights, Helium Balloons, and Yachting

This is a preview of a member exclusive premium article.

I guess I first realized my pack weight had to change when I was in intensive care recovering from a bad fishing trip. I'm not sure how much you know about fishing terms, but I was a depth fisherman. A lot of guys seek the perfect location, others think the perfect temperature is what counts. I believed the best way to catch fish was to have the hook hovering at just the right depth in the water. To that end, I usually carried a variety of floats and lead weights to bring the hook to that perfect hover location.

ARTICLE OUTLINE

# WORDS: 1190
# PHOTOS: 1

--- End of free preview ---

Member Exclusive

A Premium or Unlimited Membership* is required to view the rest of this article.

Membership Login

* A Basic Membership is required to view Member Q&A events

This topic is empty.

Viewing 18 posts - 1 through 18 (of 18 total)

Author

Posts
Jan 13, 2009 at 9:34 pm #1233232

Addie Bedford
BPL Member

@addiebedford
Locale: Montana

Companion forum thread to:

Lightweight Testimony: Jim Sweeney's Enlightenment via Lead Weights, Helium Balloons, and Yachting

Jan 13, 2009 at 9:52 pm #1470029

Ken Thompson
BPL Member

@here
Locale: Right there

I just don't know what to say.

Jan 13, 2009 at 10:47 pm #1470039

Adam Kilpatrick
BPL Member

@oysters
Locale: South Australia

…often comes at the princely price of one's sanity.

Bravo!

Jan 13, 2009 at 11:47 pm #1470041

Roger Caffin
BPL Member

@rcaffin
Locale: Wollemi & Kosciusko NPs, Europe

> I just don't know what to say.

I do …
but I can't…

Jan 14, 2009 at 4:15 am #1470055

Jim Colten
BPL Member

@jcolten
Locale: MN

[tears of laughter running down my face]

No way I can let my family see this article, they'll want to know where I found someone to write that article for me.

I DID almost end up in the hospital after my first return to backpacking trip eight years ago (subtitled "The Pack Mule at age 50")

Jan 14, 2009 at 7:12 am #1470070

David Stenberg
BPL Member

@dstenberg1
Locale: South

This was an excellent article. A new monthly column?

Jan 14, 2009 at 7:28 am #1470076

Devin Montgomery
BPL Member

@dsmontgomery
Locale: one snowball away from big trouble

I think this came a bit early – the first of April is still a few months off.

Jan 14, 2009 at 7:40 am #1470082

John S.
BPL Member

@jshann

I'm speechless too.

Sigmund Freud

Jan 14, 2009 at 2:15 pm #1470154

Lynn Tramper
Member

@retropump
Locale: The Antipodes of La Coruna

WOW!

Another speechless reader.

Jan 14, 2009 at 2:46 pm #1470158

Tony Wong
BPL Member

@valshar
Locale: San Francisco Bay Area

Let me understand this.

Did the author of this article just write an essay documenting for the world a declaration that he has funded all of his backpacking purchases with counterfeit money from a printing press built by his relative???

Jan 14, 2009 at 3:05 pm #1470162

Judi Henson
Member

@ritzhenson
Locale: The Deep South

That's what it sounds like to me…So, where does your Grasshopper Uncle live again?

Jan 14, 2009 at 4:43 pm #1470191

Jim Sweeney
BPL Member

@swimjay
Locale: Northern California

Tony and Judith, I can't say I pretend to understand economic theory, but my uncle explains that the Treasury Dept actually (tacitly) encourages what they call the "orderly entrepreneurial enhancement of the monetary supply". What they object to is sudden, dislocating currency infusions. So, for example, when I suggested to him that we might let everyone at BPL use the machine, he explained (with a stiff left hook) "Now that would be getting greedy, wouldn't it?" The orderly, low key use of his machine stimulates the economy and saves the treasury dept the cost of printing and distributing extra currency. After all, my uncle says, where do I think the money for the current economic stimulus packages is going to come from?

Jan 14, 2009 at 4:46 pm #1470193

David Gore
BPL Member

@davgor
Locale: Central CA Coast

Thanks BPL editorial staff for printing the funniest thing I've read all day. Its style reminds me of books authored by Tom Robbins, whose paperbacks have on occasion gone into my pack. In all cases, well done, Mr. Sweeney.

Jan 14, 2009 at 7:27 pm #1470238

Ryan Jordan
Admin

@ryan
Locale: Central Rockies

Tony, I'm confused too.

The accountant here is still trying to figure out if we have to report Jim's purchases as … legal sales … to the IRS …!

Jan 14, 2009 at 7:54 pm #1470248

Jay Wilkerson
BPL Member

@creachen
Locale: East Bay

There is a lot to think about in his article and then agian there is not. SPOOF!! UL is a waste of time-Right!!

Jan 14, 2009 at 8:04 pm #1470252

John Whynot
Member

@jdw01776
Locale: Southeast Texas

Will there be a sequel on April 1st?

Jan 17, 2009 at 8:57 pm #1470948

Mary D
BPL Member

@hikinggranny
Locale: Gateway to Columbia River Gorge

ROTFL!

Jan 20, 2009 at 2:03 pm #1471563

Tom Clark
BPL Member

@tomclark
Locale: East Coast

Hard to believe this article wasn't listed as members only. To think I skipped over the Cowboy Coffee article for this.
Author

Posts