Two friends of mine have recently started blogs, though of different stripes.
One is by Gary Borjesson called Idle Speculations. Gary and I met on the faculty at St. John’s, and, like me, is on leave right now. Gary’s book on dogs, friendship, and philosophy, Willing Dogs & Reluctant Masters: On Friendship and Dogs
The other, Clearing My Head, is by Robert Henderson, a good friend from my grad school days at the University of Rochester where I studied experimental particle physics. Bob studied theoretical particle physics, but following his degree became a quant on Wall Street. After 15 years working at several banks, he’s gone on a motorcycle trip to clear his head and make a transition in his life. He’s riding across the US, taking the back roads from New York to the west coast, mainly improvising the path along the way. Clearing My Head, is primarily a travelogue, recording his trip and commenting a bit along the way. He’s a big fan of Pirsig and istened to our episode on Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance as he rode from Madison to Cedar Rapids, Iowa. There’s something fitting about listening to that episode while riding a motorcycle across the country.
I don’t know if Robert Henderson is headed for Bozeman but that’s what a good number of Pirsig fans have done over the years. They’re called “Pirsig Pilgrims” and they come from all over the world. There was an article about this on the Montana State University website last year…
“A steady trickle of pilgrims passes through Bozeman every year, and artist Tina DeWeese has met most of them. Her late parents, Bob and Gennie, were close friends of Pirsig the professor, and the author mentions them often in Zen. That makes the DeWeese home in Cottonwood Canyon holy ground.
“The people who do this trip are all really, really interesting,” DeWeese said. “They’re all caught up in the thought and the mythology.”
For those who might like to see that article: http://www.montana.edu/mountainsandminds/article.php?article=10313
Bob was planning on doing the Minneapolis to Bozeman trip as a Pirsig Pilgrim, but the weather was just too cold. As he says on the blog, above 50 degrees isn’t too bad on a bike, but below that is a real drag even with being bundled up. I’m hoping to make the trip Bozeman trip with him sometime as a dedicated ride. Would certainly be fun.
Looks like Bob’s blog is invite only. Bob, if you’re listening: open it up! 🙂