Heaven, For Me, Is One Focused Project

When Alex Left For Alaska," Franz Remembers, "i Prayed. I Asked God To Keep His Finger On The Shoulder Of That One; I Told Him That Boy Was Special. But He Let Alex Die. So On December 26, When I Learned What Happened, I Renounced The Lord. I Withdrew My Church Membership And Became An Atheist. I Decided I Couldn't Believe In A God Who Would Let Something That Terrible Happen To A Boy Like Alex.

Common Sense Is No Match For The Voice Of God.

He Was Unheeded, Happy, And Near To The Wild Heart Of Life. He Was Alone And Young And Wilful And Wildhearted, Alone Amid A Waste Of Wild Air And Brackish Waters And The Seaharvest Of Shells And Tangle And Veiled Grey Sunlight.

Above The Comforts Of Base Camp, The Expedition In Fact Became An Almost Calvinistic Undertaking. The Ratio Of Misery To Pleasure Was Greater By An Order Of Magnitude Than Any Mountain I'd Been On; I Quickly Came To Understand That Climbing Everest Was Primarily About Enduring Pain. And In Subjecting Ourselves To Week After Week Of Toil, Tedium And Suffering, It Struck Me That Most Of Us Were Probably Seeking Above All Else, Something Like A State Of Grace.

Mr. Franz, I Think Careers Are A 20th Century Invention And I Don't Want One. You Don’t Need To Worry About Me; I Have A College Education. I’m Not Destitute. I'm Living Like This By Choice.