Steve Trujillo:  

You would think that marrying your high school sweetheart would be the perfect start to a story, but that wasn’t really the start at all. I had already set myself up to have a very tough time of it. Not knowing a thing about real life, being a sucker for romantic fairytales, and having delusions of grandeur make a very bad mix. And then again, she really wasn’t my sweetheart. Yah, I was sweet on her, but she keep me at a distance for a long time. It wasn’t until after high school that I was able to find a way to bridge that distance and bring us together. How? By pouring my soul into love letters every day until I was able to convince her that I was the one who would love her always. And then, after a year, I only needed to fly to Europe to consummate our love in the flesh. Being together, in love, was great, but it is so easy to screw that up if you are unable to provide for the simple necessities for life, and for family life too, because, in just the first few months a family was on the way. I didn’t really know how to take the necessary measures to provide for a family. Yah, I knew in my head, but how to get myself to carry those steps out. I only knew how to focus on things when I was feeling nervous and more of less miserable. And with her I was not miserable. I was in that love happy paradise where all I wanted to do all day long was to look at her, and to make love. === Climbing Askival (on the island of Rum) in winter with a whiteout approaching really focused my attention. I had gone with a group of students and instructors from the University of Amsterdam, and I did not expect it to be very challenging. I was sure that I was a much better climber than they would be, and even though the recommended gear for the trip included crampons, I was sure that they would not be tackling any slopes that would require front-points (the ‘German technique’ - rigid spikes at the toes of the crampons to drive into the snow or ice and stand on), so I just brough alone simple step-in crampons, and no ice ax. Well, that was miscalculation, and it sure gave me a problem on the way up. There was an almost vertical snow slope on the route and, without the front-points to drive into the hardened snow, I didn’t have purchase for my boots. So what did I do? I took off my gloves, flattened my fingers and hands into a trowel (or blade) and drove them as deep as I could into the snow bank as I climbed up. I made it to the top, but when I got there it sure seemed as if I had frozen my hands. I recovered but the excitement continued as, when we reached to top, the whiteout caught up with us and we had to make our way down the other side of the peak with also zero visibility. Fortunately this group included a professional guide who knew the mountain well, and he led us down to the rough comfort of a Scottish bothy (a simple mountain cabin, sometimes including wooden sleeping benches, but mostly just wet and cold). === I sure was the right guy to make a mess out of my first love, my first marriage and my first family. Ok, maybe it was not all my fault. She had a few secrets that made it difficult for us to understand each other, and to be able to set realistic goals. But I know that I was not ready to take care of a family, and I wouldn’t be ready for a long, long time. So what happened? Divorce, deep depression for many years, slowly, very slowly, crawling out of that darkness. And then learning a new trick for motivating and actuating myself. So what was the key? Letting go of all the rules and learning to do exactly what I wanted to do. Every day when I went into work I would tell myself, they can fire me today, but I am going to do exactly what I want to do. Would they actually do that, fire me? Not when I worked 14 hours a day, 7 days a week, and usually had the work that they wanted done before they asked for it. === The Grand Canyon captured my imagination the first time I saw I as a child. I vowed that I would explore its depths some day. And I have. I’ve made about 8 trips on trails through the canyon, some off the beaten path, along the plateau, and down to the river. A ranger gave me a tip about a hidden camping spot, along the little used Deer Creek Trail. Take the winding trail about 3 miles up from Bright Angel Campground just before sunset. At a hairpin bend there is a large (about 7 feet tall) bolder forcing you to turn to your left. But if you inch your way around the boulder you catch a glimpse of the Colorado River, the waters glistening in the moonlight, far down below you. There is a...Expand for more