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survival
Big Wall climber
Terrapin Station
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Wow. That is so cool....
Good luck in all you do going forward!
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Wayno
Big Wall climber
Seattle, WA
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So cool. The soul smiles.
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perswig
climber
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but the ceilings were never high enough.
(Sounds like your genes speaking loud and clear...)
I think it's outstanding that the assistance Boodawg and others have provided in your worthy effort (which to them was likely ample reward enough) has allowed them to rebuild ties among the Bruin Mountaineers, which in turn graces us with more climbing history here on ST.
Dale
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neebee
Social climber
calif/texas
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hey there say, thanks so very much for daring to share something very special and dear to your heart...
god bless, adn may this new part of your life, be even more special than you'd ever hoped...
the good lord has done special thing here, too, for me, from the supertopo...
(my brother was known here, by these folks, from his yosmite dayas--that is how i found supertopo--by name connection) :)
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healyje
Trad climber
Portland, Oregon
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Lila, good for you! My mother was adopted and never learned more than scraps about her mother or that other family before she died; glad you are having some windows opened here on ST for you to learn more about your parents.
I sadly didn't know either of them (and I'm no collector of climbing gear), but I have one of your father's pitons and it is one of the few material things I cherish - it and a number of his other creations are quite amazing in the level of subtle artistry he brought to bear on the things he touched.
All in all I'd say it turns out you are from remarkably good stock all the way around (good adopted parents as well). Proud. Sorry you didn't get to meet them, but please do consider yourself family here on ST.
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Prod
Trad climber
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Woods are for sissies! I'll take my irons any day over woods
Pretty much agree with that. I have and use a 2 iron.
Prod.
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Toker Villain
Big Wall climber
Toquerville, Utah
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The Taco rules!
Great story and much respect for the daughter of a legend. Your dad's passing was so sad, and hopefully the community here helps alleviate the kind of sadness and isolation he may have fallen to.
It may also be a good resource for you if you seek to pursue outdoor climbing.
But I gotta go with Mark Twain about golf, and that sure don't look like Alaska.
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LilaBiene
Trad climber
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Topic Author's Reply - May 6, 2012 - 05:40pm PT
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Hey All,
I'm overwhelmed by your warm welcome, and thanks for giving me many opportunities to LMAO. In some ways, I think that humor is one of the greatest gifts we can give to anyone.
Reilly: Kevin Bacon, you ask? You wouldn't happen to be related to the Reilly's of New Harbor, Maine, would you? (My mother's side of the family.) My Grandpa Reilly was my favorite person in the entire world.
And you're going to have to take back the "normal" comment, I'm afraid. No one has ever called me that before. Seriously!
Piton Ron: Unfortunately, I haven't been to Alaska...yet. So much to do! I'm on the East Coast, but will be headed West for a visit in the fall. Really looking forward to it. (I've been to CA a few times, but always felt like the ocean was on the wrong darn side!)
Your point about sadness and isolation is well-taken. Connection is what keeps us all going. I know virtually nothing about the circumstances which led to Bill's heartbreaking decision, and perhaps it is best so.
What I can share is that I hit my own health "wall" in my mid- to late-30s (I went from ricochet-rabbit to turtle in a matter of months), and it was absolute Hell going to doctor after doctor and hearing that nothing was wrong. Ultimately, I figured it out for myself and was finally diagnosed with celiac disease last summer. (It is most often referred to as an intestinal illness, but what most people and doctors don't realize, is that it often creates a horrific nutrient imbalance/deficiency, which can directly impact and drastically affect the levels of certain neurotransmitters in the brain, and therefore, a person's emotional wellness.) After experiencing my own battle, and being back to my ricochet-rabbit self through a simple change in diet, as well as excluding the disease on my birth mom's side of the family, I strongly suspect that Bill may have also suffered from the same disease. What does crush me at times, is that it may have been something so simple that took him away from us.
Now, as for your comment about golf...I suppose it might be the equivalent of saying that climbing is a good gondola ride spoiled! Golf is nearly exclusively mental (in anguish and joy, respectively). :D
BooDawg: I haven't responded to your unbelievably generous offer because I don't feel worthy!
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Rick A
climber
Boulder, Colorado
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Such a poignant story! And another example of ST magic!
My wife Gerry bought a small DOLT zippered nylon bag in the early seventies at Lauria's West Ridge store. If you send me a private message with your address, we'd be happy to send it to you.
Rick and Gerry
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Crimpergirl
Sport climber
Boulder, Colorado!
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Thanks for sharing!
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guido
Trad climber
Santa Cruz/New Zealand/South Pacific
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Lila
Welcome to the ST clan and thank you for sharing your story with us. I met your dad only once but I was fortunate to climb with many of his mates over the years. If you get a chance, have Boodawg do his Robin Williams, history of golf act if you make it to Yosemite.
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couchmaster
climber
pdx
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What a fantastic and amazing tale. I both thank you for sharing it, and wish you the very best on your journey to discover your roots while you still can. All too true and sad, time waits for no man or woman.
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nature
climber
CO
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John.. I'm still bitter... not a single bite!
good times with new friends but dammit I wanted fresh yellowfin!
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BooDawg
Social climber
Butterfly Town
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Lila: In many ways, like many others here on S.T., I was blessed with being able to climb in Yosemite at a very special time and as a result, to become friends with some remarkable people. Two of these were your birth mother and father. Dolt, by offering his newest, hand-forged by his own hands, pitons for Don and me to “test” on the Nose had some symbolic significance for both him and us: He’d helped to pioneer the Nose yet he never climbed the whole route himself. In a sense, he was asking us to take him along with us. Were we worthy? Was he? Actually, yes. He was our friend, and by accepting his generous offer, he helped us all learn about his design and how he could improve it, which he did afterwards. There were mutual benefits for all of us.
As part of my climbing blessing, I’ve come to own some special items. As you may discover, there are some especially deserving people whom I’ve met here on S.T. that were missing, from their collections, various items that I possessed. I deemed they were “worthy” and offered them items that they coveted. No one has refused my offers.
You approached me asking for help in your quest to discover who your parents were and, I suspect, recover whatever you could, information, stories, even artifacts, from their lives which will give your own life and your daughter’s more meaning. Had I thought you were “unworthy,” I might have just deleted your message. I know this has not been easy for you, yet you have persisted with your heart and soul. Now, after a life of not knowing much about either of your birth parents, you have been welcomed into both of their families. Your persistence and your heritage makes you especially worthy. I know you will find a place of honor in your home for a DoltPeg, and you will use it to teach your daughter about her family. Think of yourself as this DoltPeg’s steward. Will you hold it in trust for either your daughter or YCA? Please?
I recently visited the Holocaust Museum in Wash., DC. Of all the displays there, the one that touched me the most was the place where one walks between displays of hundreds, if not thousands, of shoes that were worn by those who lost their lives. Those shoes actually touched the feet of those who possessed them. Likewise, those DoltPegs were created by the impassioned hands of Bill Dolt. He was putting his heart and soul into making the finest pitons he could. It is his heart and soul that I want you to be able to hold in your own hands. Please accept that you are worthy to possess one.
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Prod
Trad climber
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Golf is nearly exclusively mental
Being a climber turned golfer turned back to climber I can say that both sports take a great deal of physical concentration and mental agility.
Prod.
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Toker Villain
Big Wall climber
Toquerville, Utah
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Well, aside from spoiling a good walk, I like that it is essentially a marksmanship competition.
But the tools are so crude and the wild cards so variable that it is an inefficient determinant of skill.
I'd probably golf like Bill Murray anyway.
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Roger Breedlove
climber
Cleveland Heights, Ohio
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Hi LilaBiene,
Welcome to SuperTopo, the online version of real life, with no spatial or time dimensions and certainly no regard for statistical probabilities.
Also, we have a basic rule: everyone is worthy. (Otherwise there is no accounting for the full breadth of what is posted here.)
We have tried other rules to account for all of the folks who post and read ST, but the only two that seem to fit all the possibilities are "unworthy" or "worthy." To keep it positive, we choose "worthy" for everyone and everything.
Besides, how cool is to have a Dolt pin that was used by Don and Ken on the Nose in 1967, when Bill was still alive. If you don't like it, sell it on eBay--just kidding.
Comparing the pictures you posted, you look like your Mom.
Thanks for posting.
Roger Breedlove
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Reilly
Mountain climber
The Other Monrovia- CA
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Lila, pardonnez-moi! But I did say you only looked normal. Your trenchant
history of your most admirable investigation clearly belies any resemblance
of normality. That and the fact you've willingly descended into this warren
of anti-normality.
I don't know how many degrees separate me from Kevin Bacon but I am sure our
Grandpa Reillys would not need to go back very far. My esteemed Grandpa Reilly
held sway over our Chicago clan. To his credit he was not above employing his
ethnic connections to achieve a position of great power on the streets of the
Windy City. One of my fondest memories was going to visit him at work and
helping him to raise his drawbridge. Now that was a tangible power!
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hooblie
climber
from out where the anecdotes roam
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the taco stand has reach it's summit. lilabiene had the grit. drinking it all in ...
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perswig
climber
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You wouldn't happen to be related to the Reilly's of New Harbor, Maine, would you? (My mother's side of the family.)
I work in Boothbay and Wiscasset, tons o' Pemaquid, Bristol, and New Hahbah Reillys around here.
Dale
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