4 ms·

It is a lovely story. You can get annoyed by incompetence and lack of determination. Sitting here in your day-to-day job where your frame of reference revolves

It is a lovely story. You can get annoyed by incompetence and lack of determination. Sitting here in your day-to-day job where your frame of reference revolves exactly around that. But try removing that from you head for a little while and picture these young couple doing something different and living life. Hurting noone.

SkipperCat 3y ago
Until they have a problem, and then they will require society to spend time, energy, money and risk personal safety to rescue them. Yes, I am a killjoy but this couple could be just as adventurous and creative in a much safer manner.
- marssaxman 3y ago
  Perhaps safety is not the point; often the adventure lies in the risk.
trgn 3y ago
It's classic Mme Bovary syndrome. The inability to separate the concept of romance (e.g. burning devotion) from the tangible thing of romance (e.g. rendez-vous with a lover in a big city hotel). Like here, the real romance in Huckleberry Finn is something effuse related to prepubescent adventure, not its implementation of floating down a raft on the Mississippi. The "brand" of the aspiration supplants the actual aspiration, eventually it becomes identical to it. It's hard to avoid the trap, especially for young people, growing up in an environment where everything is branded.
- metabagel 3y ago
  According to the article, neither of them had read Huckleberry Finn when they came up with the idea. I think they just thought it would be fun.
  - trgn 3y ago
    I read that more as a snide remark from the author. Floating down a raft on the Mississippi, specifically this, is what Huckleberry Finn cemented in the collective consciousness. Why not a kayak? Why not not another river? The brand (raft, mississippi) is so strong that people who have not read the book, are saturated with the idea nonetheless. 99% have not read the book, but most of us can so easily conjure up the image.

SkipperCat 3y ago

Until they have a problem, and then they will require society to spend time, energy, money and risk personal safety to rescue them. Yes, I am a killjoy but this couple could be just as adventurous and creative in a much safer manner.

marssaxman 3y ago
Perhaps safety is not the point; often the adventure lies in the risk.

trgn 3y ago

It's classic Mme Bovary syndrome. The inability to separate the concept of romance (e.g. burning devotion) from the tangible thing of romance (e.g. rendez-vous with a lover in a big city hotel). Like here, the real romance in Huckleberry Finn is something effuse related to prepubescent adventure, not its implementation of floating down a raft on the Mississippi. The "brand" of the aspiration supplants the actual aspiration, eventually it becomes identical to it. It's hard to avoid the trap, especially for young people, growing up in an environment where everything is branded.

metabagel 3y ago
According to the article, neither of them had read Huckleberry Finn when they came up with the idea. I think they just thought it would be fun.
- trgn 3y ago
  I read that more as a snide remark from the author. Floating down a raft on the Mississippi, specifically this, is what Huckleberry Finn cemented in the collective consciousness. Why not a kayak? Why not not another river? The brand (raft, mississippi) is so strong that people who have not read the book, are saturated with the idea nonetheless. 99% have not read the book, but most of us can so easily conjure up the image.