Re: [Texascavers] book review: Lew Bicking

[Rod Goke]

Mark, You probably are thinking of the story I posted to Texascavers May 1, 2010. A copy of that message is appended as the "Forwarded Message" below. I believe that the original statement was made by a Florida state legislator instead of the governor, but your memory was close. Rod -----Original Message----- >From: Mark Minton >Sent: Aug 8, 2011 11:16 AM >To: texascavers@texascavers.com >Subject: Re: [Texascavers] book review: Lew Bicking > >At 10:32 AM 8/6/2011, Mixon Bill wrote: >>My favorite >>summing up was written by Squire Lewis on encountering Bicking in >>Mexico after the 1966 convention: "Lew's only traveling and survival >>equipment consists of a small Kelty pack whose sole contents are the >>largest Spanish dictionary every printed--about a 20-pounder--and a >>box of Mexican crackers. . . . His only clothes are those he wears, >>and he obviously has some warped goal of not taking them off--ever-- >>for washing or any other purpose. . . . He has gotten all the long way >>from Baltimore to California to [Mexico City] with nothing but his >>great dictionary and his crackers. We have never seen him spend any >>money--not any--he may well not have any. > > That reminds me of a statement attributed, I believe, to a >governor of Florida. In reference to hikers or whomever coming to >visit being good for the economy, he said something like, "They come >with only one pair of underwear and a five-dollar bill and don't >change either." > >Mark Minton > >Please reply to mmin...@caver.net >Permanent email address is mmin...@illinoisalumni.org > > -----Forwarded Message----- >From: Rod Goke >Sent: May 1, 2010 6:47 AM >To: texascavers@texascavers.com >Subject: Re: Traveling with $5 per person > >Back when Texas cavers and hippies were visiting Mexico with only $5 per person, I was a caver and graduate student in Florida. At that time, some backpacking enthusiasts were trying to get the State to build more hiking trails and were trying to win support for the project by suggesting that it would help Florida's economy by attracting more tourists. At least one state legislator, however, was not impressed with this argument, and he made headlines by saying, "The average backpacker comes to the State with one pair of underwear and a $5 bill, and he never changes either." > >Not many Florida cavers traveled to Mexico, since most of us couldn't afford to travel that far, but during breaks, we often went caving in the TAG (Tennessee/Alabama/Georgia) region on similarly cheap travel budgets. Sometimes we'd camp in tents, but for only 25 cents per night per person (dropped into an unsupervised coin jar via the honor system), we could stay at the TAG House, an old semi-abandoned farm house with one light bulb, one wood/coal burning stove, and no plumbing. At other times we negotiated a deal with a certain cheap motel in Alabama, where we could rent 1 or 2 rooms for a week or more with no sheets or towels and with no limit on how many cavers could share a room. Sometimes we'd pack so many cavers into a room that the motel actually cost us less per person than the TAG House! > >Cheapskate travels weren't just in Mexico. Cavers found ways to travel cheaply wherever we went back then. > >Rod > >-----Original Message----- >>From: Mark Minton >>Sent: Apr 30, 2010 3:09 PM >>To: texascavers@texascavers.com >>Subject: [Texascavers] Re: Mexican paperwork >> >> It is true that back in the 70s or thereabouts tourists were >>sometimes asked to prove that they had enough money to survive during >>their stay in Mexico. The amount needed was not specified and seemed >>to be up to the admitting customs official to decide. The problem >>for cavers who were camping out in the mountains was that we needed >>far less cash than the average tourist, so it sometimes seemed like >>we didn't have enough. On at least one trip I was on when this was a >>problem, we pooled our money and gave it all to one person, who then >>went through the line and got his permit. Then he gave the cash to >>the next person, etc. It took a bit longer, but we all got through >>with the same wad of cash. :-) >> >>Mark Minton >> >>At 02:22 PM 4/30/2010, Gill Edigar wrote: >>>On Fri, Apr 30, 2010 at 12:18 PM, Fofo wrote: >>>...so I guess that now when getting a visa for Mexico people are >>>better off having some credit card or bank statements and pay stubs. >>> >>>Mixon Bill wrote, on 30/4/10 9:54 : >>>That would >>>have been entertaining back in the old days of Mexican caving (the >>>sixties), when eight hippi gringo cavers in one truck with $5 cash each >>>would head into Mexico to look for pits. >>> >>>The $5 story is true. On at least one occasion I went to Bustamante >>>for a long weekend with only 5 bucks in my pocket--and came back >>>with change. In those days $40 in cash was 'proof of solvency'. I >>>would guess that 300 or 400 dollars would do the trick today--for a >>>short trip at least. For a 180-day permit (I must repeat that they >>>are not visas) it would be hard to carry several thousand dollars in >>>cash so flashing a credit card or two should be allowable. Having >>>said that, I must add that I haven't been asked to show any money to >>>prove solvency since probably the early '70s. I don't think they do >>>it anymore and doubt they have much trouble with Gringos looking for >>>work or becoming wards of the state down there. >>>--Ediger >> >>Please reply to mmin...@caver.net >>Permanent email address is mmin...@illinoisalumni.org >> >> >>--------------------------------------------------------------------- >>Visit our website: http://texascavers.com >>To unsubscribe, e-mail: texascavers-unsubscr...@texascavers.com >>For additional commands, e-mail: texascavers-h...@texascavers.com >> --------------------------------------------------------------------- Visit our website: http://texascavers.com To unsubscribe, e-mail: texascavers-unsubscr...@texascavers.com For additional commands, e-mail: texascavers-h...@texascavers.com