Aside from this isolated incident, which is likely a big troll story that put the hook in so many of our mouths, when I think of the Green, I still see a community that really is quite positive and supportive.

I think of the new folks that I've shown down that run over the years, and how happy I was to see them with their creeking grin on at the takeout. I think of the times I have wiped out and folks have come to my assistance. I think of the friends that have helped talk to me about strategies on certain rapids, so that I've been able to run more than I thought I would (Sunshine aside...haven't been back on that one in 7 years, but I might someday, I guess). I think of the guys I've randomly met in the parking lots who I now call friends. I think of the notes I've seen from friends after they check off a new rapid and the excitement they have which is quite contagious!

I think of the times when I meet a paddler I know who is showing someone new down, and I've been able to give 'em a big "Good luck, pay attention and you're going to have a great time" comment. I think of the times we've spent swinging on the rope swing, realizing that Narrows paddling isn't simply about bombing the gnar. I think about the times I've bombed the river's gnar. I think about the times that, after going there for something like 13 years, I still have found myself in an eddy I've never bothered to catch before and enjoyed looking at the river from a new angle and position, or like the time this year I found what I think is the most beautiful sieve on the river, where the water comes out peacefully and evenly from a large boulder that seems to float, quite level, over the water. I think about the birds we've seen, and the "sweet line" praises that have been both given and received.

I think of the community as everyone runs into other groups in the eddies and on the rocks below Sunshine, and the openness that goes on there. I think about the time we've put a rope to a guy we'd never seen before right when he was about to get really beat down behind the curtain at Sunshine. I think about the time I suggested to a couple folks that they really ought to consider waiting for their first Green run and maybe hit the Watauga or NFFB up a few times to get really dialed in. They may have not liked to hear it then, but deep down, they probably do appreciate it and are now comfortably running the river.

I think of the memories I have when I see Jerry's plaque at Gorilla, and I think about the friendships I've established by meeting up with folks on a Saturday morning...and then doing it again and again and again. I think of the greetings Narrows boaters give to their brethren who are carrying out of the Upper Green, and the "hope you had a good run," followed by a "yeah, good time, and I hope you do too"  that comes with that. I've been the out-of-town paddler and I've been the guy who is there regularly because it is close. The feelings didn't change; the drive to the river just became shorter.

Yeah, I've seen some attitudes here and there and seen some folks that would prefer to stay in their own world and not be part of the loose community of friends that's down there, but I never see those past the parking lot. By the time we're all on the river, those attitudes and work and home concerns are gone, and we're in the flow, either fighting for our lives or gunning for the perfect line or just content to be there, on the Green River. And while we may laugh at carnage over a beer afterwards (just over 200 feet from the river or whatever that rule is), we never wish carnage on anyone.

All that said, there are people who really do perceive some attitude about the Green River -- I think it mainly comes from this online forum, because it's easy to be anonymous and swing a hammer. We need to cut that out, because some of the people who we've turned away due to that perceived attitude are really incredible boaters and people. They'd be perfectly at home on the run, full-on or Lite or Extra Lite, and they should be welcome. We all need to diminish the negativity about the Green; it only exists in the online world but transpires into the "real world" and can harm the community around this magical river.

As to whether we've gone to shit, I don't think so, and I hope this was just an elaborate troll that created some interesting discussions. If it was, Jack is one hell of a fisherman.

All that said, there seem to be a few rules that we all know, and I think that's good, because every community develops some rules that help hold it together:

1. Respect the river.
2. Don't trash the river.
3. Don't get caught drinking beer at the takeout.
4. Be kind and help your fellow paddlers out when they need it.
5. Buy a key.
6. Ride the lightning, wherever you may find it.

--Geoff