My Real Biography, I Think
Last Updated: June 1999
Since we just had our first successful (read no casualties) "East Coast Trip", and are planning more, let me introduce you all to the real Idiot BoB. Of course this is my vain attempt to secure your confidence. Once you get to know me, you will become confused and probably think Idiot BoB is a name well deserved. However, my real name is Wayne Applegate, and I sent a couple of posts to Trail Talk as a lark back in October 1998. Most people were humored by the lame brain persona of Idiot BoB, so I just kept posting his moronic philosophies. I was stressed out from the demands of modern society, and Idiot BoB became a tonic for me. More appropriately -- one might say -- IB was the gin in my tonic.
I live in the hills of southeastern PA and am a backpacker with mid-level experience. That's just a way of saying that I don't get in as much trouble as I used to when on the trail. It's another way of saying "I am stupid enough to try my first solo backpacking trip." Anyway, I just started doing this backpacking thing in 1998. I read a lot from the internet, talked to sales people who backpack, and bought "Backpacking in the 90's" by Victoria Logue. My wife Lynn, and I took a shake down overnight hike on the Conestoga Trail in PA near the Susquehanna River. We then backpacked the weekends all last summer on Horse-Shoe Trail which runs from Valley Forge to the AT above Harrisburg.
I am 6'0" and used to weigh 240# (12/97), but now weigh 185# (2/99), and took about 6-7 months to lose. I got my energy back and asked my wife if she would like to try backpacking. This is something I've been wanting to do for years. However, I was not fit enough for anything but a heart attack. (Which I didn't have.)
I wasn't sure how backpacking would go since I ruptured a disc in '78 and it causes me problems from time to time. You know, chronic siatica. I was pleasantly surprised to find out that the mechanics of bp'ing and trail running (which I still do, because I am an idiot) are completely different, so bp'ing is my new found love. Of course there are other interests besides bp'ing. I just completed a stint with the Coatesville Parents' Music Club (CPMC) as treasurer. CPMC supports the music education program at our local high school. My wife kept telling me that it took up too much of my time. I agree with her. I also love to act, read and write. But like I said, I do not have the time. Mostly, I spend my time with my family which is fine with me. A regular Ozzie & Harriet, my wife and I are.
Starting in September 1999, we will be empty nesters. Our son, Dave (18), just graduated in the top 10 percent of his high school class. He will be heading off to Kentucky with a "partial" scholarship to Asbury College. He loves playing the guitar, and leading in worship with his high school buds. Our daughter, Lee Anne (20) graduated high school in 1997 as valedictorian, and "Honor Soloist". She presently attends Washington & Lee University in VA with a generous scholarship. She works with local high school students in a Christian Ministry program, and is a member of InterVarsity. They both work at Camp Sankanac during the summer. Camp Sankanac is a Bible based summer camp located in Pughtown, PA. All the credit for their smarts goes to Lynn. She's a great mom, who read to them when they were small. When I say read, I mean read, and read, and read, and . . . They are two great kids. Don't ask me why, or how; I'm just blessed is all. In November Lynn and I will be married for 25 years . . . that's to each other by the way. That'll make me 48 years old, and I can't tell you her age. Let's just say, we're a couple of old farts, is what we are.
I have an AAS degree in EET from Middlesex County College in Edison, New Jersey. I work as an Instrumentation Specialist at a petro-chemical plant in good ol' Marcus Hook, PA. Some people say it should be an ASS degree, but I'm not going to argue over the particulars. I'm also the Radiation Safety Officer there. Now what that means is, if we ever have a radiation problem, I get to run out into the plant and jump on it, just like they used to do with hand grenades in old WWII movies. Well, that's what my boss told me to do. My employer is Epsilon Products Company, and we make plastic. Lots of it.
My wife is a nursery school teacher in West Chester, PA. Now, this may not be as a high falutin' a paying job as mine, but in many ways, it's more important.
Now, as far as Idiot BoB is concerned, I'm sticking with the following story:
My trail name comes from a dear friend's final words as he stepped over a cliff. He was looking over his shoulder at another backpacker who was wearing a funny hat and said to me, "look at that idiot BoB!" Well he made another noise too, something like "whooaa sh*t". But I don't believe in using profane language.
So I took on the name "Idiot BoB" as a way to respect a dear departed friend who was wearing my Dana pack at the time of his demise.
Idiot BoB
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