(no subject)
Decided to read the book Into the Wild after watching the movie for a second time. I wanted to know what else there was to the story. If you've seen it, you may understand what I'm about to write. Ronald Franz (not his real name; at his request, the author gave him a pseudonym) was one of the people who came in contact with McCandless. He asked to adopt him, but Chris just said "Well talk about it when I get back". Anyway, if you know the movie, maybe you'll appreciate this. "For more than eight months after he said good-bye to McCandless, Franz remained at his campsite, scanning the road for the approach of a young man with a large pack, waiting patiently for Alex to return... See More. During the last week of 1992, the day after Christmas, he picked up two hitchhikers on his way back from a trip into Salton City to check his mail. 'One fella was from Mississippi, I think; the other was a Native American,' Franz remembers. 'On the way out to the hot springs, I started telling them about my friend Alex, and the adventure he'd set out to have in Alaska.' Suddenly, the Indian youth interrupted: 'Was his name Alex McCandless?'
'Yes, that's right. So you've met him, then--'
'I hate to tell you this, mister, but your friend is dead. Froze to death up on the tundra. Just read about it in Outdoor magazine.'
In shock, Franz interrogated the hitchhiker at length. The details rang grue; his story added up. Something had gone horribly wrong. McCandless would never be coming back.
'When Alex left for Alaska,' Franz remembers, 'I prayed. I asked God to keep his finger on the shoulder of that one; I told him that boy was special. But he let Alex die. So on December 26, when I learned what happened, I renounced the Lord. I withdrew my church membership and became an atheist. I decided I couldn't believe in a God who would let something that terrible happen to a boy like Alex. 'After I dropped off the hitchhikers,' Franz continues, 'I turned my van around, drove back to the store, and bought a bottle of swhiskey. And then I went out into the desert and drank it. I wasn't used to drinking, so it made me sick. Hoped it'd kill me, but it didn't. Just made me real, real sick'."
Now maybe that is what some people needed to understand why I feel the way I do about religion.
I felt the same way when Adison died. Didn't even get a chance to live. What "great" being would ever do that?
'Yes, that's right. So you've met him, then--'
'I hate to tell you this, mister, but your friend is dead. Froze to death up on the tundra. Just read about it in Outdoor magazine.'
In shock, Franz interrogated the hitchhiker at length. The details rang grue; his story added up. Something had gone horribly wrong. McCandless would never be coming back.
'When Alex left for Alaska,' Franz remembers, 'I prayed. I asked God to keep his finger on the shoulder of that one; I told him that boy was special. But he let Alex die. So on December 26, when I learned what happened, I renounced the Lord. I withdrew my church membership and became an atheist. I decided I couldn't believe in a God who would let something that terrible happen to a boy like Alex. 'After I dropped off the hitchhikers,' Franz continues, 'I turned my van around, drove back to the store, and bought a bottle of swhiskey. And then I went out into the desert and drank it. I wasn't used to drinking, so it made me sick. Hoped it'd kill me, but it didn't. Just made me real, real sick'."
Now maybe that is what some people needed to understand why I feel the way I do about religion.
I felt the same way when Adison died. Didn't even get a chance to live. What "great" being would ever do that?