July 30, 2007

  Bob on Mike
    By Bob Francis, Owner
    soundRUNNER




A thoughtful description of Mike Uehlein’s passing can be found on the following url:

http://www.clarissahudson.com/fcdp_news.php?mode=viewnews&id=5055&cat=1

The news article offers details of the death of our desperately ill friend, and includes his favorite photograph, taken by Jerry Turk on our two-day fast-packing adventure on the Appalachian Trail in October 2006:





This was the side Mike wanted everyone to see. Jerry has a particular artfulness in capturing meaning in an image. In this photograph he got everything, perhaps much more than he realized at the time, especially the radiant morning sun reflecting from Mike’s face. This was the Apollonian Mike: “Oh, Thou Sun, send me as far around the world as is my pleasure and thine; and may I make the acquaintance of good men but never hear anything of bad ones, nor they of me.” The Prayer of Apollonius of Tyana, circa 23.

The rushing water, expanding and frothing at Mike’s feet, suggests the Dionysian. His body was found in a river Saturday morning in the middle of a small Colorado town. Those who found him assumed the worst about his character, not without reason. It wasn’t intuitively obvious that the man who drowned in eight inches of water had attended Roman Catholic seminary, leaving after confessing he loved women. And it wasn’t intuitively obvious that Mike was a good runner. He ran the Hartford Marathon and the Stone Cat 50-Miler with us last year.

Also captured in the photograph is the pose. Jerry took lots of terrific shots over those two days. I believe they are still available on www.mrbimble.com. In striking the pose, Mike neutralized the spontaneity of the day, the energy of the experience, the acute level of exertion. This is a composition, and it is perfect. It is perfectly serene. This is Mike the way he wants us to remember him. I am willing.

Archive of Bob’s Lane

Issue 1: May 1, 2007: Bob on the Bash
Issue 2: May 10, 2007: Bob on Dave Parcells
Issue 3: May 24, 2007: Bob on the Branford Road Race
Issue 4: June 1, 2007: Bob on Being Green
Issue 5: June 15, 2007: Bob from the Left Coast
Issue 6: June 23, 2007: When Pain is Leisure
Issue 7: July 6, 2007: At Seventeen
Issue 8: July 13, 2007: Bob on Cities