It is tomorrow - has anyone asked him any questions - we need to just ping away at him - asking him a multitude of questions and post the questions and results on here.
A few weeks ago, Mrs Mags and I made use of a very generous gift card we received to a local fancy schmancy restaurant. Everything you need to know about the food is this: They sold a tiny bowl of "pasta fagioli " for $40! That's "macaroni and beans". Something Grandma made and for $40, you can make a hell of a lot.Originally Posted by Sara
Despite Grandma's lack of a James Beard award, I also guarantee her dish was many times better. Find t amusing that the "peasant food" my grandmother made is now yuppie "foodie" dining.
Anyway, in this place we see a woman in her late 20s. she was wearing a thigh high dress that was also low cut paired with tall, black leather boots.
Her "companion" wa a gentleman in his mid to late 60s. Dresed in what I call Boulder dress casual (mountain khakis, fleece vest , button down shirt from Prana, Patagonia or similar)
Adrianna made the comment that it seemed inappropriate to dress like that for a night out with her father.
I smiled and said "Hon, I doubt that's her father"
Last edited by Mags; 03-30-2013 at 13:26.
Paul "Mags" Magnanti
http://pmags.com
Twitter: @pmagsco
Facebook: pmagsblog
The true harvest of my life is intangible...a little stardust caught,a portion of the rainbow I have clutched -Thoreau
He did not answer any of your questions .
He is an average guy who thinks he has an Iron will and no quit mentality, like many others he should prove his toughness on the trails but not at the expense of some naive companion.
The first question was answered.
It's not like you'd be committed to paying if you won the auction. If your bid was serious, you'd be better off using the auction to get in touch and putting together a support plan instead of paying everything up front.
You are right he answered the first question, My bad.
he should put up a new sale looking for 5 people to hike with him for $900 each. he has a better chance and he will be cheaper them the competition
I'm so confused, I'm not sure if I lost my horse or found a rope.
Yeah, I'd join in trying to do that and wind up being the LUCKY oh so lucky $500 high bidder and be expected to shell out the do re mi when he should be paying me to do what he's offering.
I asked myself this same question, "what's he positively offering in return for the $4500?" ASSUMING, without first verifying his claims, he is as he says he is, here's what I came up with, without all the sarcasm, - besides offering the obvious, creativity and chutzpah, some hiking experience(at least he has done 15 mile days WITH 30 lbs on his back and has the wherewithall and honesty to admit doing that in flat Florida is not EXACTLY the same as doing it on the AT, that alone is more than some of those who want to do speedy hikes or accomplish calendar yr Triple Crowns consider or bring to the table!), sharing a dream that someone else might similarly have, his healthy living lifestyle(I for one would prefer thru-hiking with someone with this lifestyle), energy, self discipline, his motivation(if that's really a pic of him he didn't EARN that body or a college degree by being a lazy couch potato or not seeing things through to completion!, that right there is important to someone who actually has a HIGH desire to COMPLETE AN AT THRU-HIKE, it also tells me that at the least he knows the BIG difference between simply desiring something expecting others to GIVE IT to him and EARNING what he desires), intelligence(he's college educated), his possible hiking friendship, etc. So to say he brings ENTIRELY NOTHING POSITIVE to the hike isn't, I think, correct. Now, if someone is willing to pay him $4500 for that that's another story.
To not come off like a mooch he needs to frame things better in describing what someone is possibly going to POSITIVELY receive in exchange for $4500. If he played that card he would get better results in obtaining offers and money! In all seriousness, if that's actually his body, his achievements, and non lazy mindset, he might consider making some hiking do re mi as an exotic male dancer, personal trainer, motivational coach, working in a gym, working at a hiking outfitter(which would address several issues simultaneously!), etc. Before letting all the possible negative connotations that exotic dancing/entertainment might entail I knew several people both male and female that paid for college educations, nice cars, apartments, etc through exotic dancing AND DOING NOTHING "ENTERTAINING" FURTHER THAN THAT.
Besides, is everyone aware of some of the petty things that are sold, especially to Americans, sometimes at what seem to me ridiculously high prices, on Ebay?
THANK GOODNESS, at least he didn't start yet another thread asking "Can I thru-hike the AT with under $1000?" Oy vey!
I once thought this exact same thing when a college friend in the late 80's told me his family sold bottled water, NOT bubbly mineral gourmet water with a fancy French or Italian name or packaged in an unusually shaped bottle either, just "SPRING" and "PURIFIED" tap water in plastic bottles. With an ignorant snicker and a big laugh, I said to him, "isn't tap water already purified?' By the time the two of us moved on to furthering our college educations his family sold off their bottled water biz to a larger well recognized bottled water company in access of 3 million dollars(that's in 1988 dollars too)! Have you ever seen the avg annual growth in the last 25 yrs in terms of the number of consumers and total annual sales in the U.S. in the bottled water industry? Suppose my college friend could do some snickering and laughing at the attitude I once had about bottled water.
Personally, I wish him the best in getting the money needed to complete an AT thru-hike and I wouldn't bet against him finishing his thru-hike once he does get the money either!
Find t amusing that the "peasant food" my grandmother made is now yuppie "foodie" dining.
One of my Italian friends and Sicilian friends(he makes it a pt to say he's Sicilian if you say he's Italian) say the same things. The food that was found growing as weeds in Sicily or considered "peasant foods" are now considered hoity toity expensive gourmet foods demanding high prices elsewhere.
He is an average guy who thinks he has an Iron will and no quit mentality, like many others he should prove his toughness on the trails but not at the expense of some naive companion.
AGAIN, assuming all is as it's been presented by him, yes and no. I respectfully partially agree with you Kookork. Again, he's proving ON THE TRAILS that he can do 15 miles per day with a 30 lb pack on his back. Iron will and no quit mentality surely seems so! Average guy - NO! Being healthy and physically in shape(works out TWICE A DAY!, although not necessarily mutually inclusive though), especially at his level, are really not so average in America anymore. Nor is it so average to be accepted to a college and EARN a college degree. If somone is naive enough to drop $4500 and NOT HAVE A FULL UNDERSTANDING of what they might get in return well the naivety and foolishness is on the person's shoulders shelling out the do re mi not the one seeking the $4500.
Hey, that was me in the Patagonia shirt and yes, that was NOT my daughter !
A few weeks ago, Mrs Mags and I made use of a very generous gift card we received to a local fancy schmancy restaurant. Everything you need to know about the food is this: They sold a tiny bowl of "pasta fagioli " for $40! That's "macaroni and beans". Something Grandma made and for $40, you can make a hell of a lot.
Anyway, in this place we see a woman in her late 20s. she was wearing a thigh high dress that was also low cut paired with tall, black leather boots.
Her "companion" wa a gentleman in his mid to late 60s. Dresed in what I call Boulder dress casual (mountain khakis, fleece vest , button down shirt from Prana, Patagonia or similar)
Adrianna made the comment that it seemed inappropriate to dress like that for a night out with her father.
I smiled and said "Hon, I doubt that's her father"
Boulder from New Hampha' is a heck a long way to go for some very expensive and mediocre food. Have you considered Boston? Closer AND better food. More colleges to choose from, too.
Paul "Mags" Magnanti
http://pmags.com
Twitter: @pmagsco
Facebook: pmagsblog
The true harvest of my life is intangible...a little stardust caught,a portion of the rainbow I have clutched -Thoreau
This person's (probably a male but could be a female) ENTIRE two paragraph reply is a TEXTBOOK example of what a SCAM ARTISTS does and says. He knew how to appeal to me too. This person has done their SCAM ARTIST homework, probably by sharpening their profiling SCAM ARTIST'S SKILLS right here on WB. This person is a seasoned SOLICITING MONEY SCAM ARTIST. This SCAMMER might come back out of the woodwork SOLICITING MONEY under other pretexts so BEWARE.
Two SPOT ON questions Richmondhokie89 that should be answered by both parties and mutually agreed upon before the exchange of any money and certainly before embarking on any hike together, especially a long distance thru-hike like the AT. First, no REAL guarantee can be given by EITHER party that either will finish an AT thru-hike. That's why some arrangements should be made considering those contingencies. For example, if the person paying the money(payer) quits Mike Laura(the payee) gets his full $4500 amount. If the party seeking the $4500(payee) isn't able to finish the payer protects himself in that scenario by paying in installments rather than in one total up front $4500 fee. Sounds like Mike is already understanding some of that but doesn't go into detail about it in his initial sale's pitch on Ebay.
I like what he says here, "I... have pushed myself beyond my comfort zone many times to accomplish things. I feel that there is a huge lack of that type of self discipline in the world today and it disgusts me. If there is someone kind enough to go out of there way and rely on me to complete this trail with them, then I will most definitely not let them down." MAYBE, he is genuine about that and, then again, MAYBE he's just telling those who might appeal to the offer what they want to hear!
Let's add some other potentially positive characteristics he brings to the table - passion, love of the outdoors, his desire to share the AT thru-hiking experience, NOT to be a FINANCIAL burden to people who CAN NOT afford giving or paying him $4500, etc If you can't afford to give or pay him to hike with you, which means you ARE NOT whom he is addressing with the offer, than WHY pull him apart? Is he hurting anyone with the offer? I really can't see the harm in having him make the offer or seeking the funds!
My take on things. He probably just threw this unbaited hook out there to see if he could get any fat wallet fish to bite.
I missposted some info on my last post. ALL that needed to be said is contained in my FIRST paragraph.
You know what if he was willing to work my job for 5 Months while I Thru hiked the AT, I would gladly give him $4500.
And once again, no sale. Maybe he should drop the price.
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