A Thousand Mile Rickshaw Race and Lessons from Seattle's Pre-Grunge Era

Dave Beck
07/21/2008

$4.35 a gallon doesn't seem as bad when you find yourself in the middle of a gas riot. Today, Travis Arket tells us about the riots, crashes, and close calls of a thousand–mile rickshaw race through Nepal and India. We also get life lessons from Seattle's pre–grunge era.

At 2:05 p.m. – Judith Skillman: 'Heat Lightning'

Kennydale poet Judith Skillman brings us three poems that offer familiar summer pleasures – peonies, berry pie, and a roadtrip through the country. But in her hands, each becomes a kind of mirror, reflecting our own lives and choices back to us. Judith is the author of 10 collections of poetry. Her most recent is HEAT LIGHTNING, New and Selected Poems, 1986–2006, published by Silverfish Review Press in 2006. Recorded May 29, 2008 for the Jack Straw Writers Program.

At 2:20 p.m. – Rickshaw Race In Hindsight

A gallon of gas costs about $4.35 in Seattle right now. That's a lot of money. But the high cost doesn't seem as bad when you find yourself in the middle of a gas riot. That's what happened to Seattleite Travis Arket about a month ago while he competed in the Rickshaw Run. It's a thousand mile race of three–wheeled motorized rickshaws. The course runs through Nepal and India. We spoke with Travis back in May before he left for the Rickshaw Run. And he expected to encounter some danger and difficulty. But he was totally unprepared for just how hard the race would be.

At 2:40 p.m. – Nancy Pearl Book Reviews

Our weekly visit with Public Radio librarian and author of More Book Lust, Nancy Pearl.

At 2:50 p.m. – Jonathan Evison, Lessons from the Pre–Grunge Scene

Crowded bars, punk rock concerts, bonfires in the middle of Pioneer Square – this probably isn't the safe evening you'd want for your average fourteen–year–old. But that was what Jonathan Evison was into in the mid 80's. And he turned out OK. Still, Jonathan said it could have easily gone the other way. Jonathan's new novel is called All About Lulu. In it, he tries to capture what he calls "the velocity of adolescence" he experienced in Seattle's pre–grunge scene.