From The Oracle

From The Oracle

By Tom Worcester

I was born in 1940, back then when you turned eighteen you became the property of Uncle Sam. Faced with this I joined the Navy since sailors wore black, hung around bars and chased women, and as a biker I was already doing that.

Well, I got to sea, above and below - WOW! - After my four years were up, Uncle Sam saw fit to teach me to be a machinist in a special government program. Eventually, my work, along with sixty-five thousand other people's, got us to the moon.

Back in those days of the sixties and seventies I was called an outlaw club president mainly so my buddies could stay alive and we could keep our scoots.

In 1981 I heard about the Rendezvous, we're a little slow in getting information on a good party up here in New Hampshire. At first I partied and lay in the mud or dust, was beaten up by the man on the way there and just kept coming. Eventually I became aware this party meant more to me than Christmas.

Oh yeah, somewhere in the early seventies a hobby got me a job representing a well known Swedish chain saw company. This had gone on for over thirty years, when I realized the Rendezvous' importance to me, and I wanted to give something back. Originally, I gave way to my primitive self. If you've ever been to the Top of the "Hill" you'll know what I mean. I thought what is the thing that we as Rendezvousers all share? - we all die - some far before our time, some as old farts, it doesn't matter, it's a fact of life. So I thought of a totem pole for each year divided into one hundred and fifty six by six squares, and sadly, we lose just about that many of us each year.

So, here I am, the keeper of memories of those of us who came before, not by my choosing, but out of need. You have to come to one of my memory poles and listen to the stories as people carve their message into the square to understand the importance of this permanent part of future Rendezvous. I consider this an honor.

You can borrow my hand carving tools for free, or for a small fee, I'll carve it for you.

You don't choose life, life chooses you. Someday my son, who has come to many Rendezvous, will carve my name into a totem, not the other way around. Nothing I have ever done has prepared me for this job.

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