Wednesday, March 22, 2006

"OK, Then, I'd Like to File a Person-Who-Doesn't-Want-to-be-Bugged Report"

A family of six was rescued on Tuesday after spending 17 days stuck on a snowy road in the mountains of southern Oregon. The story is here. Two things pop out. One is a quote that's no longer in the story, as far as I can tell, but was there earlier today, and it regards the two children (8 and 9 years old) who were part of the group:
Peter Stivers rested his hands on the shoulders of his 9-year-old son, Sabastyan.

"He had fun. They enjoyed it," Peter Stivers said. "They didn't know we were in trouble."
That's astonishing, right? I mean, either the kid was petrified and this is the most condescending quote of all time, or the kid has marbles for brains. I have a 10-year-old sister. If she was marooned in a van on a mountain for two and a half weeks, with adults taking turns on fruitless treks through the snow for help, I don't think she'd describe the experience as "fun."

My favorite moment in the article is a toss-up between that and this quote from the police detective, who was explaining one theory that held the family wasn't missing, but just purposefully keeping a low profile:
"It’s not against the law to be missing," he said. "People say, 'I haven’t seen Fred for three days,' but we can’t go knocking down the door. It may be that Fred just doesn't want to be bugged."

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