involved in the way of dedication, and of people making choices in favor =
of
a river trip. One person is a dentist, and he simply closed his office f=
or
the time that we were on the trip. His patients were phoned and either
rescheduled, or they went to a different dentist. This person's prioriti=
es
were - river first, work second, and he made the choice to shut down his
practice so that he could run the river. A second person is a contractor=
who was building a house. He simply started working double shifts and
weekends, so that he could get ahead on the job. He then took the time t=
o
run the river. To him, it was worth the extra worktime, which he chose t=
o
put in. A third person had a job from which he could not get enough time=
off, so he just quit it. His attitude was that he could always get a job=
,
but could not always go on the river. Again, he ordered his priorities,
and made tough choices. The fourth person is retired, so he had no
problem. For me, I had long ago recognized the importance in my life of
running the river, and I had made the choice to be self employed, so that=
I
was in control of my time. Again, assigning priorities and making choice=
s.
There was another permit cancellation this year which came two weeks
before the put in date. That cancellation stayed available for a full we=
ek
or ten days, and no one took it, because the choices that they had made i=
n
their lives would not allow putting together a trip in that short time. =
There could have been a thousand calls to the permit office during that
period, but no one took the date. Yet people on gcboaters complain that
they can't get a permit. The permit office finally just canceled that
permit, and added the river days to the pool. Everyone assigns prioritie=
s
and everyone makes choices, and it is unfair, in my estimation, for those=
whose priorities are elsewhere to criticize those who have a high priorit=
y
of running the river and make choices which help them to do so. I hear
people say, "Well, I don't have a speed dialer". OK, go buy one. You
don't have the money? Sell something to get it. Do without something. =
Get a better job. Get a second job. You don't have the ability to get a=
better job? Apply for a job as a commercial boatman. You have kids to p=
ut
through college, or you can't arrange your vacation on a moment's notice?=
=
That is not the system's fault, and there is no reason to bias the system=
in favor of those who have made choices which make it difficult for them =
to
run the river. But do something other than blame the system for the
choices that you have made in your life which make it either difficult or=
impossible for you to get a permit. One other point is that running a
private trip is not anything which the poor usually do. One needs to own=
or rent equipment which is worth thousands of dollars. One must take two=
or three weeks from job and family. One must travel from wherever one
lives to the canyon, and return. I doubt if many welfare recipients or
homeless people indulge themselves in this luxury. Running the Grand
Canyon is, by its very nature, an exercise which generally excludes the
poor. There are complaints about the cost of the permit, but it just
doesn't wash. The most that a permit would cost is $100 to get on the
list, $250 to stay on the list for 10 years, and $200 to launch, or a tot=
al
of $550. If only one person went, and he took 15 days, the cost would be=
$37 per day. If 16 people went for 18 days, the cost would be less than =
$2
per day. Bargains like this just do not exist, and the fact that there a=
re
almost 7000 people on the waiting list makes it obvious that this cost is=
not a big factor. Those 7000 people know a bargain when they see it. =
Bill
=
=
=
=
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