Edward Abbey

Recently I ran across a quote by Edward Abbey:

"There is science, logic, reason; there is thought verified by experience.  And then there is California."

This quote got me thinking about Abbey.  For those who are unfamiliar with him (including me) - Wikipedia says that Abbey was born in 1927and died in 1989.  He was an American author and essayist noted for his advocacy of environmental issues and criticism of public land policies.  Larry McMurtry referred to Abbey as the 'Thoreau of the American West'.

I'm not sure of the dates but Abbey received a Master's degree from the University of New Mexico.  This is where he took part in one of the great practical jokes of all time.  (Note:  I'm not normally a fan of practical jokes, I'm making an exception for this one.)

A few miles west of Albuquerque are the remnants of several volcanoes which have been dormant for a VERY, VERY long time.   One night while Abbey was at UNM, he and several acquaintances took a number of old truck/auto tires out to one of the dormant volcanoes.  There they set the tires on fire, then headed back to Albuquerque.  Needless to say, there were some panicky people the next morning when everyone woke up and saw thick black smoke coming from a 'dormant' volcano.  It was checked on and found to be just burning tires and not actually a volcano waking up.

I just love this practical joke.  Nobody was hurt (emotionally or physically) or humiliated and everyone ultimately was able to laugh.

Papillon