Before Mitch and I started our trek back to the U.S. from Costa Rica we went on the most epic hike I’ve ever been on. We hiked along the coast from one village to the neighboring village down the coast. We had no idea how far away it was, it was foolish, and dangerous, and amazing.
This is sort of a HalfThrottle Origins story. I guess these are the major life events that led up to me becoming the traveling adventuring person that I am today. After my deployment to Nicaragua both Mitch and I decided we really like Central America and wanted to see more of it. So we hatched a plan to travel over land back to Utah. Along the way we would see a movie that inspired the next trip. Traveling overland by motorcycle.
Another story from my time in Nicaragua. The Supply SGT. became my arch nemesis, and Mitch and I tried to liberate as many items from his evil clutches as we could. This is a story about a very well executed plan that landed us 2 refrigerators, and cold drinks for the next 4 months.
(I thought the sneeze was funny)
Tango 2 was the most grizzled man I have ever known, and feel very lucky to have been able to work with and learn from him. I try to keep the language in my videos clean, but sometimes it’s unavoidable. Especially when talking about my days in the Army. Profanity becomes a vital part of the story, but I do try and keep it to a minimum.
I don’t have many pictures of him, he somehow manages to disappear anytime someone had a camera out.
This story takes place during my deployment to Louisiana after hurricane Katrina wiped out the place. I had planned to talk more about what we actually did there, but got off on a big tangent about this Scientology experience. It’s been my only real contact with Scientology, and I must admit that although they were a bit strange I didn’t see any other religious groups donating their time to help. That doesn’t mean there wasn’t other churches doing good, but they were the only ones I saw.
I tell more stories from Katrina in the future. I had a great time working there.
In 2005 I spent four months living on a dusty, hot tent city in Northern Nicaragua. I enjoyed most of the deployment, but no matter what your job is or where you’re working everyone has those days that send you off the deep end. I had a lot of days like that in Nicaragua, and my story today is about one of my, “very fed up with being in the Army” moments.
Asked to patrol the base, and guard the blackhawk helicopters, but refused a weapon to stand guard with I report for duty with a home made weapon.
On Mitch and I’s motorcycle ride from Utah to Panama we met a couple girls from New York in the small town of Gracias, Honduras. After hanging out at the hot springs we gave them a ride back to their hostel to find that it was locked and no one would come to open the door. The 2 girls ended up spending the night in our hotel room, and one of them had a very, very long night.
It bugs me that I can’t remember this guys real name. I suppose Dingo Boy is a bit more memorable than the average name. In Basic Training everyone gets made at people like Dingo Boy because we are punished for everyone’s mistakes. So sometimes Dingo Boy got yelled at by the other privates. What some people fail to realize is that Basic Training is all about being yelled at and getting punished. If Dingo Boy wasn’t there to be screamed at the Drill SGT’s would find another whipping boy. So as for as many problems as he caused I was always glad to have a guy like Dingo Boy around. He allowed people like me to lay low while he attracted the wrath of the Drill SGT’s.
For True Story Sunday today I tell the story of the worst motorcycle accident I’ve ever been in. Thankfully it isn’t all that bad. I was a little banged up, but made it home okay.
While I was at the Baringer Meteor crater I made this goofy video of the place.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lYe0eXZBMA0
I want to start doing a video each Sunday which I will add to the playlist, “True Story Sunday.” Something from my past, maybe about dating, or Army life, even motorcycle adventures. I hope I can keep it up for a while and make it a Sunday tradition. If you have any suggestions for topics I should cover please post a comment below, and I’ll try to get to it.
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This story is about a short relationship I had with a girl I met at church. We had fun for a while and I was thinking of inviting her to Thanksgiving dinner with my family, but then something very weird happened. Fellas if your girlfriend has to explain to you that she left her tampon in too long and needs to go to the emergency room because she doesn’t want to wake up dead the next day. It’s a deal breaker.
