It Should Have Been Called a Moustache

Abstract

Stories you say? A significant moment from the field? Hmmm. Countless stories, numerous, humorous, tragic, magical, and fascinating, simultaneously clogged my creative ducts the moment I was invited to contribute to the present book. Sadly, some experiences, such as a particular incident involving a terrible night’s sleep on the rocky soil of the Sonoran Desert, a gallon-sized can of ranch-style beans, and two dogs with incredibly vile dietary proclivities, must forever remain as orally transmitted traditions. (If you know the story, you are cracking up right now; if you do not, you will hear it eventually, and if you were there, you are fighting dry heaves). Of those stories suitable for general consumption, we will save the dramatic and the comedic for future campfires, lean-tos, base camps, black lights, and rainy days in the field. I have chosen, instead, a single monumental day, now more than two centuries in the past. It is a day I will never forget, a story I have shared during many talks, and one from which I continue to draw inspiration, amusement, and even wisdom.