Okay, sure, I'll join the
Search and Rescue team. Sounds like a
good cause, and it should be
exciting. Okay, I've got all my
stuff--what do I do now? A
field test? Hey, no problem, I'm in
pretty damn good shape, considering. And there are all these
tiny stick-girls I could probably use as
freeweights--yeah, this won't be a problem. How long have I been in
Santa Fe? Oh; I'm a
Freshman, so only about a week-and-a-half. Where did I live before? Oh,
Michigan; I've always lived in Michigan. Sea level? Yeah, actually I think my
hometown was like 600 feet above
sea level. Yeah, I know
Santa Fe is at like 5,500. The mountain? Oh, that's
eleven thousand on
top of the original five? Wow. Hey, I can hack it.
Tired? No--puff--I'm not--huff--tired. Just--huff, huff--
getting started, aren't we? Right. Hufff.
dizzy? do i
look dizzy? oh. no, i'm fine. keep-gasp-going.
three hours later
Hey? Hey, how did I
get down here? I was almost
there--no, I
wasn't sick, I was just a little
tired, that's all. What?
WHO did I cuss out?
When? I don't remember--
throwing up? No WAY! No way, no how--I'm in much better
shape than those...oh. They've been here a while? That can't make
much of a difference....oh, hey, I'm
sorry the
three of you had to
abandon your
test to help me
down off the
mountain...
Altitude Sickness: A
good way to put
big egos in their
places. Especially
mine.